My friend, Pat, from Wewoka had been waiting for over 3 years for eyelid surgery. She was led to believe a surgeon at this facility would be able to perform surgery to reattach a muscle and repair her lids so they would stop covering her eyes. She asked that I give her a ride today to an 10:45 a.m. pre-surgical consultation. The day before making the 216 mile roundtrip, I asked her to call the practice to ensure we wouldn't drive that distance just to be told he wasn't going to do the surgery. The receptionist reassured her that he was planning to do the surgery; this would be an opportunity to ask questions and set up a surgery date.
I therefore asked my 85-year-old mother-in-law to drive herself to an appointment in Seminole so I could take Pat to her appointment this morning in Edmond.
Pat is on a blood thinner which she could easily discontinue prior to surgery. She had previously discussed this with the surgeon. When he talked to her today, however, he stated that while he had been planning to do the surgery, he had changed his mind because he didn't want her to "bleed out" during the procedure. He also wanted to know who in his office had told her that he was planning to go ahead with the surgery.
He and his staff should have not wasted our time coming to an appointment only to be told he couldn't do the procedure. This was a lousy way to charge insurance for a completely unnecessary office visit, and was a disservice to their patients who could have saved many hours driving plus the cost of gas to make the trip. I wish we could bill him for our time and expenses. read more