This review describes a series of interactions I experienced with Dr. Massry and his office staff…read moreat the end of 2021. It has taken me five years to write it because it was such a perplexingly awful and unsettling experience that I struggled until now to put it into words. When I occasionally happen to recall these events, they still bother me somewhat, so I am writing this review to get closure and inform other prospective patients.
I come from western Europe, and I am a university associate professor of mathematics here in the United States.
When I tried to contact Dr. Massry's office for a consultation for a revision procedure, I initially used the form on the practice's website, which was faulty, as I later found out from the Doctor.
So, after not receiving a response for several weeks, I sent the office an email. They wrote back and told me the cost of a consultation, and I responded with a few straightforward practical questions about their logistical procedures for out-of-state patients, since I live in another (faraway) US state and was trying to decide, before booking an expensive consult, whether surgery in California would be logistically feasible for me.
Three weeks later, having received no reply (and bear in mind that I had also received no reply when using their web form), I sent another polite inquiry: still no response. So, I sarcastically asked his front-desk employee whether she was incompetent or just lazy, as I doubt their office receives so many inquiries as to justify ghosting prospective patients... Lo and behold, she responded immediately, with a snotty reply stating that "she is only human" and works at her own pace!
So, I wrote a negative review here on Yelp, to which Dr. Massry, to my surprise, responded in person, offering a complementary remote consult.
I inferred that the Doctor must be reasonable and efficient, unlike his front-desk employee, so I accepted.
The consultation went well and was informative, and Dr. Massry convincingly recommended a surgical procedure, but explained that he would have to see me in person before definitely confirming that I was a good candidate for surgery.
Then, his patient coordinator sent me a formal estimate of the cost of the procedure ($25.000 including all ancillary costs and fees), and prompting me to book the procedure by paying a $5000 non-refundable fee, as well as accepting further cancellation penalties that would increase closer to the date of surgery. I forget the exact percentage and details, as this occurred five years ago, but it was a substantial amount of money at the time. So, I politely wrote back asking if I could perhaps be seen in person before paying a hefty non-refundable fee and signing a contract with further cancellation penalties, since the Doctor was not yet completely certain that I was a good candidate for the procedure.
In response, they told me that Dr. Massry wanted to have a second complimentary online consult with me. -- Naïvely, I thought perhaps he wanted to re-examine me remotely to determine whether I was a good candidate for the procedure, or something reasonable of that sort, and was grateful for the upcoming appointment.
During the Skype call, however, Dr. Massry threw a major emotional tantrum, a truly remarkable infantile reaction! He was very angry and agitated, telling me that he had discovered the email I had sent to his front desk employee (the one asking if she was lazy or incompetent), and now he was hesitant to perform surgery on me because he had to "protect his girls" (quite sexist, referring to his female employees), and was now afraid of my possible reaction in the event of complications. He sounded very upset, so I tried to calm him down by explaining once again that trying to contact his office had been a losing battle, a veritable ordeal. I concluded by telling him that I no longer wanted him to perform surgery on me. The reason I changed my mind was that he had ambushed me with such a deranged dress-down, berating me and treating me like an unhinged cretin child: Now it was I who was afraid of HIS reaction in the event of surgical complications!
At that point, he tried (in vain) to win me back as a patient, but I was done with him. He even had the audacity of pulling the COVID card, telling me that California had experienced many deaths, so they were all emotionally altered... Interesting and tragic, but I come from northern Italy, the worst early epicenter of the Pandemic, with people dying in droves, and I had just lost both my paternal grandparents (who had helped raise me and were very close to me) to the disease. They had died all alone, with no loved ones by their bedside to hold their hand. Yet, I still did my job and tended to my obligations efficiently and professionally.
What a ridiculous, overly emotional (and sexist) temper tantrum! And what a disorganized office! Not for me, thank you very much. Rational, even-keeled patients beware: This Guy is a bit touchy!