My initial impression of Dr Lawler was very good. His office got me in in less than one week for evaluation of a painful groin injury. He spent a lot of time with me and was very charming. He seemed to understand my concerns. He predicted that my groin injury would heal in up to 4 - 6 weeks. He recommended that I take Pilates for rehab letting my symptoms be my guide.
When my symptoms persisted for longer than 8 weeks despite daily rest, ice, compression and ibuprofen, I phoned his office. At that point I was in pain all of the time worse with prolonged standing. I was completely unable to exercise.
A mid level provider phoned me back, said she spoke to Dr Lawler and that he suggested a diagnostic/therapeutic steroid injection. I was uncomfortable pursuing this at that time due risk of tendon injury, weakening of the tendon and tendon rupture (albeit rare). I wanted to try a cryo-compression device but the provider was not familiar with their use or how to prescribe.
After dealing with the disabling pain for a few more days, I became willing to try the injection. I phoned Dr Lawler's medical assistant, described my problem and requested an appointment. I was then told that it would take almost a month to get in. I explained the severity of my symptoms and requested that the doctor call me to further discuss since I was not going be able to see him promptly. I waited 6 days for a call. On the 7th day I called and told the MA that I hadn't heard from the doctor. The MA said she gave him my message but would try again. An hour or so later, she phoned me back, said the Dr wasn't sure of what the next step was and that he wanted me to keep the scheduled appointment. I asked "is he refusing to call me back". She just reiterated that I should keep the appointment. At that point I decided to seek another physician evaluation and asked to cancel my appointment.
In retrospect, despite his charm, he seemed to miss the findings seen on my MRI by the UCSF radiologist. His diagnosis of hip flexor strain did not quite fit with the location of my symptoms and the exacerbation with resisted adduction. I am not an orthopedist of course and he may be correct but now I'm going to need to look for another physician for evaluation and management of my condition.
As a retired physician, I compared his telephone policies with my own. I usually called patients back within 24 hours to answer questions but within the hour for urgent complaints.
In summary, although Dr Lawler seems open, friendly and knowledgeable, I am dissatisfied that he did not call me back or get me in for f/u more quickly. I am concerned that my problem is more complex and severe than he indicated. And I'm not sure he interpreted my symptoms and MRI correctly. I'm also concerned that at one point he recommended a steroid injection but then told the MA that he was unsure about what to do. One simple and brief phone call could have set my mind at ease.
I have never posted a review of this type on-line but since the Dr did not call me back, I felt he deserved this feed-back. read more
