Several days ago, I notified readers that I would be undergoing surgery on my right eye on Tuesday, March 22. It didn’t happen. I got a call on Monday telling me that the surgery was postponed until March 30. That was the last straw. I informed the surgeon that I no longer wanted her to do the surgery. I’ve since found another doctor.
Here’s the background: I went to the doctor with a referral for Lower Lid Ectropion OU, a drooping of the lower lid of my right eye that requires removal of part of the lid to make it tight again. The doctor scheduled the surgery but didn’t tell me the date or time. I repeatedly tried to telephone her but got no answer, only a recorded voice saying stay on the line my call would be answered. Four different time I waited through ten minutes of no-answers before I gave up. I finally wrote a letter to the doctor and sent it through the U.S. mail, telling her that I needed to know the date and time of the operation. Several days later, I found a message on my answering machine from her telling me that she would have her scheduler contact me. He never did.
I finally called the Towson Surgical Center, where the operation was to take place, to see if it had been scheduled. The center told me that it would be either March 22 or March 23, but it didn’t know what time. Several more calls from me and my daughters finally nailed the date and time down to 7:00 a.m. on March 22.
Then, on March 21, I got a phone call from the surgeon’s scheduler telling me that the surgery had been postponed again, this time until March 30. But once again, he didn’t know what time. Then and there I cancelled the surgery and wrote a letter to the surgeon confirming the cancellation. I have now found another eye doctor. I have an appointment for an exam with her on July 7.
I am disheartened to learn that a surgeon, a professional by trade, can treat a patient so unprofessionally.
Tom Glenn, Writer 