I went to Waltzman Institute on August 20, 2025 for a consultation for brachioplasty and an…read moreassessment for skin tightening procedures on my abdomen and thighs. Prior to this consultation I submitted photos and had multiple phone conversations with the patient coordinator Abagail. Abagail spent a long time with me on the phone answering all of my questions and was very helpful. We spent a lot of time searching for the right date to schedule the surgery, considering how long I would need for rehab, when my husband would be available to drive me afterwards, arranging a dog sitter, scheduling my pre-op appointment and all of the details which must be arranged around the surgery date. We finally agreed on the date of Thursday, September 18, 2025.
I told my husband the date. He arranged his schedule of work, travel and meetings to be available during that time, I scheduled the dog sitter, I went to my pre-op appointment, I got clearance from my cardiologist and I was all ready to go on Thursday, Sept. 18. Then I went in for my consultation with Dr. Waltzman who I liked very much. We decided I would be a good candidate for the brachioplasty. He explained the likely outcome and the details of the rehab. He was also kind enough to let me know that I am not a good candidate for skin tightening procedures at my age, due to the lack of enough collagen to get good results from skin tightening procedures. I was very happy to then go to Abagail's office to pay for the procedure and finalize the schedule. That was when Abagail casually informed me that the date she and I had so carefully chosen, the one I had spent so much time making arrangements for, with my husband and his work, my dog sitter, my cardiologist, and my primary care doctor- she informed that this date was no longer available. I was so shocked when Abagail very casually informed me that she had given that surgery date to someone else. I asked her why she had not let me know that the date I had so carefully arranged for was a tentative date.
She said that her policy was to not give priority to anyone. My response was that she certainly gave priority to someone else for that date when she had already promised it to me. Abagail declined to apologize to me or to acknowledge that she should have told me the date was tentative. She declined to be accountable at all for putting me in such an inconvenient position. I felt that I had been betrayed, or misled or manipulated or disrespected by this person who refused to take any responsibility. I followed up by calling and speaking to who I was told was the office manager at that time, whose name I do not remember. We had a very helpful conversation where I explained to the manager my experience with Abagail and how inconvenienced I was by being given a surgery date that was so casually withdrawn with no acknowledgement at all that she should have made it clear to me this date was tentative. The manager listened politely and thanked me for the feedback. I thought that was the end of the issue until yesterday. Yesterday I tried calling the Waltzman Institute to schedule a consultation for injections in my lower face. However, Makayla, who I spoke to today, said she had never spoken to me before, and is now the office manager. Makayla very authoritatively informed me that The Waltzman Institute is refusing to have me as a client. So today I learned that the Waltzman Institute has chosen to ignore a potential client's attempts at providing, what some professionals would consider to be valuable feedback.
I am disappointed at this response and at how this supposed professional patient coordinator at a reputable medical practice was able to act in such an unprofessional way, refuse to own up to what she did, and then convince other staff members to not listen to me or to consider my feedback. These types of experiences are the most valuable learning experiences for all us, except for those who refuse to hear or listen to feedback, or for those who can't acknowledge their own accountability for their own mistakes, as in his case, when a client calls them on their responsibility to inform the client of all pertinent information pertaining to the surgical date. Before this encounter with Abagail, I was impressed with Dr. Waltzman, and I felt that, to him, earning the trust of his patients is a very important part of his practice. It is ironic that his own patient coordinator, along with the current office manager, should go behind his back to erode that trust . When I spoke to Makayla today, she verbally
included Dr. Waltzman himself as one of the decision-makers who voted to ban me from his practice. However, I think that Dr. Waltzman will be ashamed when he learns of this sabotage. I hope that Abagail will at some point grow a seed of how to acknowledge her mistakes and learn that listening to feedback can be personal growth material.
