Well, I've lurked here for a few years while I debated whether or not to do anything about my gyno. This past Thursday, I finally took the plunge! Considering all of the help I received from this forum, I wanted to add my two cents. Keep in mind that this is just an account of my own personal experience.
After reading many of the posts here, I originally decided to go with Dr. Bermant for my surgery. He seemed to be the most highly qualified and reasonably priced. However, when I first called the office, they informed me that they did not take credit card. I was eager to have my phone consultation (which is $200), so instead of waiting to mail a check, which was my only other option, I chose to go with the only other option they offered, a Western Union payment (You can also wire money directly to their account, but this too is expensive). This alone seemed pretty ridiculous. Western Union is a giant waste of time as well as expensive. Why a doctor's office can't take credit cards is beyond me. I even payed the extra $12 to have it sent the same day so I could have my consultation sooner. I had a time scheduled two days later for the phone consultation but had to cancel due to work reasons. I rescheduled and was told Dr. Bermant might have time to call me Thursday afternoon, but if not then, then I would receive a call Saturday Morning. I didn't receive a call either day. I called the office and rescheduled another phone consultation for the following Tuesday, which we did have.
Dr. Bermant definitely knows his stuff. He talked to me for 45 minutes off of what seemed to be some sort of script he has written for gyno patients. He wasn't a particularly warm personality, but I really didn't care about that. I just wanted the best doctor performing my surgery. The phone call felt rushed, especially for it costing $200, but even that I was fine with. Things seemed like a good fit and I was confident in him as a surgeon.
Since I was scheduling so soon, Dr. Bermant's office needed the entire sum a week prior to my surgery date. This wouldn't have been a problem except for the fact that their office A) doesn't take credit cards and B) offers NO financing options. Apparently many medical lending services require a small kick back from the provider when they loan money to a patient, and Dr. Bermant's office does not participate in any of these offers. I spent some time on the phone trying to see if there were any other financing options that they could recommend, but they had none. 0. I then asked "So how do people go about paying for a $8,000 surgery without financing?" I was told "They just save up". What a joke.... Between the travel expenses to Virginia from Indiana (where I'm from), very limited contact with Dr. Bermant himself (just that 45 min $200 phone call), and the fact that his office offered 0 financing options, I canceled my surgery date.
This is when I looked into
Dr. Pensler in Chicago. I was a little nervous going with him originally because I'd heard mixed results on this board, but as far as the midwest went, he seemed to have the most experience. Let me just say, I'm very happy I did!
From the very beginning, his office was a pleasure to work with. I initially inquired about having the surgery, sent in my photos, and
Dr. Pensler himself emailed me back the same day. He then gave me his personal phone number and told me to contact him that evening so we could talk about my condition. That night I had a conversation with him while he sat in his kitchen with his dogs. He gave me a solid 45 minutes of his time, all without ever seeing a dime of my money. He then told me to call him after work any time if I had any other questions, again, I had yet to pay them a dime.
He says he does about 150 of these surgeries a year and this year is looking to do 200, so he also knows his stuff.
And
Dr. Pensler's office DOES take credit cards. They also offer financing through a company called Care Credit, which i was able to get 6 months no interest on the portion of my surgery I financed. To make a long story short, I traveled to Chicago, stayed at a hotel next door to
Dr. Pensler's facilities (The nurse actually wheeled me back to my hotel room bed), had the surgery done, and was on my way the next day. His office and nurses were top notch all the way.
I get to see what things look like tomorrow when I get to take off this damn vest to shower
But from what I already saw at my follow up, I'm very happy thus far!
So all of that being said, I'm not saying don't go with Dr. Bermant. He has a great reputation and obviously does great work. I just found his billing policies hard to work with. Perhaps they will again offer financing in the future, because if they would have, I would have went with them. However, he was going to charge me $7,500 (This price fluctuates depending on the severity of your condition) for everything. Pensler charged $5,500, offered financing, and was a 3 hour drive away. It just made more sense in my case.
I just wanted to write this in case there was someone else out there contemplating
Dr. Pensler and possibly feeling a little hesitant just because he isn't as widely known on these boards.
If I get around to it, I"ll try to post some before/after photos. And thanks again to everyone here who has taken the time to post their own experiences. It certainly helped me.
Topic: My experience with Pensler and Bermant (Read 3901 times)
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