So I had my consult with Dr. Mardirossian last week. Back to square 1 after driving across the entire state.
From the onset of the appointment they were unprepared and it only got more awkward. I was there for a consult on a brow reduction/rhino/tracheal shave.
First, i arrived 20 minutes early to my appointment in case of paperwork. 9:00 comes and the patient coordinator hadnt shown yet much less the doctor. The doctor comes in first and we immediately hear in the background that they have no internet and all of their systems are down. Great.
The doctor comes over and introduces himself to my mother who was there for support but pretty much ignores me completely from looking at me to speaking. He says they will wait a few more minutes for the patient coordinator to arrive (who he lets us know is his wife) and then we will get started.
Another 10 minutes pass and no patient coordinator. He comes over and says we might as well get started. We go to a room where again none of his before/afters are working like they should and he spends 5 min fiddling with the tv before giving up.
Another red flag, he says the only before/afters are all on the website, so nothing new to show me. Biiig drop in confidence in him here. All the before/afters are much older getting work done that was not comparable.
He trudges on, moves to an exam room and goes over the process of the 3 procedures and then we go back to the before/after room.
Finally the patient coordinator arrives but computers are down so they said they are unable to provide a price for the procedures at this time and they will mail me.
W-t-f
So i woke at 5 to get there before 9, wait 20 minutes for late doctors, entire consult lasts 15 minutes and no price given. I was on the highway again by 9:50
I am really sad now
Edit:
I received an email with a cost of 19K for the 3 procedures and hospital/OR/anesthesia. 13k for the procedures themselves
Ack! Looks like you dodged a bullet there! I hate when things like that happen to me, but at least in this case you know better than to proceed with his services.
Sorry to hear about your experience. For every unfortunate bad story there seems to be always a good one to even it out. Recently I was chatting with a girl that had several consults (8-9) all with top surgeons all over the globe and she ranked Mardirossian as the best of the bunch. Crazy.
I just dont understand if it was just a bad day or that he really doesn't care if he gets my business or not? Like he had no idea what to tell me since the patient coordinator didnt speak to me first.
the appointment time itself was so weird. The staff wasnt even there yet, just the receptionist. I requested the first opening weeks ago and didnt need to change times or dates so it wasnt like i was a difficult booking.
Oh well, on to the next one.
Quote from: LShipley on June 09, 2017, 03:07:08 PM
I just dont understand if it was just a bad day or that he really doesn't care if he gets my business or not? Like he had no idea what to tell me since the patient coordinator didnt speak to me first.
the appointment time itself was so weird. The staff wasnt even there yet, just the receptionist. I requested the first opening weeks ago and didnt need to change times or dates so it wasnt like i was a difficult booking.
Oh well, on to the next one.
I suppose it wouldn't hurt to call back and express your frustration and concern with the consultation. Perhaps this was just a bad day at the office and you had unfortunate timing.
I guess he can hardly be blamed for a computer failure, but of course he could still have done a decent consultation despite this, right? People seem to depend too much on their electronic toys these days. I now keep bringing printed photos with me to consultations, so if needed, we can draw on it with pen :D
I'm sorry about your bad experience!! I did two long skype consults with him and he was absolutely stellar both times. After the first consult I was impressed but like you, had some concerns due to him being relatively new (1500 surgeries with spiegel, and 100-150 surgeries on his own I was told) and his lack of comparable before and afters. There's not a lot to go off of there, I agree, and I suspect it's hard to get permission to share photos (I didn't allow it when I signed the paperwork).
In any case because I liked him, I decided to do another consult and used pictures of my own face I had mocked up as discussion points, asking him what he'd do specifically and what to expect. We went over the pictures in great detail and in the end he won my trust. He's a bit of a risk due to his newness yup, but out of everyone I consulted with (including spiegel and deschamps-braly), he was the one I trusted the most.
I've also had no issues with Galina. She has been extremely responsive and accommodating in every respect.
Maybe you caught him on a bad day, hard to say :( my surgery is in less than 3 weeks and I'll be sure to post my results, so I'll know more then!
PS. staciM, I'm the one that chatted with you on FB :)
To me...when things start going wrong and keep going wrong, it's the universes way of telling me that I'm on the wrong path. Consider it a warning that things wouldn't have worked out right and move on to the next person. This one obviously just wasn't right for you. When you do find the right Doctor, everything will feel right, everything will go right...everything will be smooth. Thats how you'll know. That's how the forces of the Universe work. Keep your eyes, ears and soul open for all the clues. Good luck, Hon!!!
LShipley,
I had FFS with Dr Mardirossian about 4 months ago and I found him to be very personable and his before and after pictures helped me decide that he is the surgeon I wanted. His results look natural, not too extreme.
For an initial interview, a 4 hour drive is a bit much. The skype interview sounds like a really good idea.
The only procedures Dr M does in the hospital involve the throat, trach shaving and voice surgery. All other procedures can be done in his surgical suit. This will reduce the cost significantly. I had my FFS in his surgical suit and I had no problems with doing FFS that way.
Thanks Dani!
He mentioned doing several procedures recently that were too soon for the after picture. He confirmed what you are saying as far as the hospital fees and such.
I had liked everything to the point of my consult though. Prompt and courteous response by email and phone, never deadnamed once from my paperwork, scheduling was a breeze compared to others with months of waiting. The office itself was very warm and comforting. The price is on point with being the best to expect. Galina was excellent once we finally met.
I schedule in person consults though so I can meet the Doctor and staff. Facetime is just not personal enough and it is hard to get the feel of someone you havent met before that way.
Perhaps I will find the other doctors I meet to be less personable and I will look back and love him haha. I need to trust my doctor for this though