I'll start by saying that Dr. Yee saw me one time, and I never went back. I had fallen, had shoulder pain for four months, and tried Motrin, prescription NSAIDs, and Physical Therapy, but still experiencing shoulder pain. He was quite dismissive of the whole injury and was reviewing my x-ray with me. I let him know that I had prior surgery on my left shoulder for decompression and that I was told I would eventually need surgery on my right shoulder (current shoulder in question). I went on to let him know that I worked in Physical Therapy (PT) for over 20 years and knew better than to let my shoulder get "frozen." He checked my range of motion and said there was no way I could have a tear in my shoulder because I had almost full ROM. He deemed my issue to be caused by a calcium deposition and ordered a US-guided needle Barbotage to get rid of it. He said it would either fix my problem altogether or give me 3 months of relief after the cortisone injection.
Knowing how I was feeling and having had prior experience with my other shoulder, I pushed him for an MRI. He replied that my insurance would never cover it because I "hadn't tried to get it better." I let him know that was not accurate, I had 4 weeks of PT, used prescription NSAIDs, and reminded him that I had a fall in September. He reluctantly ordered the MRI stating I should have the barbotage done soon to get relief and not to wait on the MRI because it may not be approved. Later that day, my after-visit summary came through, it said several things that were not discussed during my visit. Such as that he instructed me to stop taking my B vitamins, but he didn't even review my supplements in our appointment. Also, he told me to stop PT until after the barbotage but in the summary, he said that he told me to continue with rotator cuff exercises. This should have been a red flag, but I let it go.
On the day of my barbotage, I was told I would have severe pain, worse than before the procedure by the radiologist. They told me to contact my doctor for pain meds if needed because the pain was going to be severe after the anesthesia wore off and before the cortisone kicked in, generally a three-day process. I called Dr. Yee's office that same day and requested medication. No callback. The next day after not being able to sleep the night before, I called again. I was told they had the request and would get it in front of him that day for approval. No meds and no call back on day two either. On day three, I called at 8 am, after sleeping for two hours in three days, and finally had it. I have never been ignored by a doctor like this, and I have been at Sutter for over 20 years. I told them that I was going to sit in their lobby until I got meds. I can't heal if I can't sleep and this was not acceptable. I was told by the woman on the phone that they have a 48-hour turnaround on medication requests. I said I could understand but I had a very painful procedure ordered by the doctor and I was not sleeping. Also, at that point, we were well beyond the 48-hour mark, we passed that the day before! Finally, at 6 pm three days after my procedure, they called in two pain meds for me. I used them for one day after suffering for three. How horrible!
Two weeks later, I had an MRI. My results showed "almost a full-thickness tear of my supraspinatus and a linear intrasubstance tear." So, I had two tears, and I needed surgery. Dr. Yee's response to my results? "MRI confirms partial rotator cuff tear and calcium deposits. Treatment options include PT, pain management, cortisone injections, and shoulder arthroscopy surgery. Please let me know if you have any questions."
He did not schedule me to see a surgeon, make any orders for me, ask to see me again, nothing. He just left me there with that diagnosis. Had I not worked in the industry and had prior experience, I could have just waited around in pain for his next steps to never come. Thank goodness I have PPO insurance, and I was able to get in to see a surgeon outside of his office and now I am scheduled for surgery. The diagnosis I have will not heal on its own and if I wait longer to repair it, I could lose the opportunity to have a successful repair, it's already been five months since my fall.
I have never had such a horrible experience at a Sutter doctor in my entire time as a patient. I prefer Sutter. I made sure I carried PPO coverage so I could go where I wanted to for treatment, and I always have chosen Sutter. Not this time, it's just not acceptable to be treated like this. Stay away from this doctor, believe the reviews. read more
