Dr Soderstrom removes negative reviews, so I am again writing this review, to warn dog owners not to make the same mistake I made, before agreeing to fork over your beloved family member to this clinic for surgery. My experience detailed below, is that Soderstrom and his staff care about quantity rather than quality, and making the most amount of money as possible, no matter the risk to beloved pets. My general Ahwautukee Foothills Animal Clinic veterinarian suggested and referred me to Dr. Soderstrom for exploratory and biopsy surgery for an enlarged liver that could possibly be cancerous. My experience was the heartache, helplessness, pain and death, my beloved Foxhound named Angel, experienced after the unnecessary, risky, painful, and expensive surgery, that she went through; and feeling helplessly devastated after she died an unexpected "painful" death, 36 hours after her surgery and 18 hours after bringing her home.
Eight days prior to my dogs surgery, I had brought my happy, energetic Foxhound with a bloated belly, to my longtime vet at the Foothills Animal Hospital in Ahwautukee, where they x-rayed her and saw that she had an enlarged liver. My vet referred me to Dr. Soderstrom as they have partnered with him for surgery referrals.
During my appt with Soderstrom, he told me the only way to determine if it was cancer, was to do exploratory surgery costing $3750.00. He said a needle biopsy would not be conclusive. I trusted him and my trust in him was a BIG mistake. I agreed to the surgery the next day as he said he had a cancelation, which was a another huge mistake. He assured me that if the biopsy was cancerous, then I would go to an Oncologist vet in Gilbert for further treatment. After dropping my dog off the morning of the surgery, I called after 3 PM and was told by his assistant my dogs surgery was pushed back into the LATE afternoon because the dogs surgery before hers, had become "complicated" and lasted longer than expected. By 5:30pm I called and was told Soderstrom was going to started her surgery momentarily and I expressed my concern about his fatigue and skill level after doing surgeries all day and its now going into the evening hours. His vet assistant told me "Oh no, he's just getting warmed up". I should have stopped the surgery right there, and I failed to protect by dog by not doing so. In my opinion, it is reckless for a vet to be operating nonstop all day and then late into the early evening on non emergency cases as the quality of the surgery maybe compromised due to fatigue.
You need to know the following things prior to your pets surgery with Dr Soderstrom, so you can protect you beloved pet from dying unnecessarily.
1. Don't rush your decision to agree to the surgery and ask important questions such as "How risky is this surgery; can my dog die as a result?" Go with your gut feeling. If you are unsure, get a second option from ANOTHER trusted veterinary surgeon.
2. As with any vet you choose, check with the Arizona Veterinary Board for past complaints filed by pet owners before surgery. Also read online reviews.
Takeaways.....Make an informed, well thought-out decision, and get a SECOND OPINION from another TRUSTED specialty vet. Every case is different, but in my dogs case, if I would have had to do it all over again, I would have not opted for surgery but instead, made an appt with an Oncology vet. If I had made the decision not go through with her surgery, my beautiful dog would still be alive right now as I am writing this.
My dog trusted me with her life, and I failed her by making the decision to use this vet for a surgury that I now know was unnecessary, reckless and a money grab from an trusting pet owner. I love you my baby Angel. read more