Golden Gate Urology

Honestly not sure how this place is still in business. This place is in business to just fleecing insurance companies and nothing more.

Dr. Andrew Pienkny take me to greenlight Lasic surgery in January it was very successful he’s a very professional dedicated and a wonderful doctor I highly recommend Dr. Pienkny

This past Friday I had my 6 week old circumcised. The place was clean and had friendly staff. Dr. Piser made me feel comfortable and very welcomed. He explained to me the steps that will be taken before he took my son into the room. It went by pretty quick and the only reason my son was crying is because it was time to eat. Thank you, everything seems to be healing just fine.

I have been a patient of Dr. Piser for about 30 years. He has taken excellent care of me and my late father, also a physician. Among physicians and patients, Dr. Piser is widely regarded as the best and most respected urologist in the area. Don’t let his great sense of humor and the penis shaped items in his consultation room fool you, this doctor knows his stuff. I have seen him for several procedures over the years and he is gentle, thorough, and has outstanding follow up after the procedures. I am the kind of patient who will travel wherever necessary to get the best possible care, whether that is the Mayo Clinic, Scripps, or UCSF, but it’s nice to know that I can get that level of care right here in the East Bay with Dr. Piser.

Though I can only speak to my experience with Dr. Piser, I’ve found his skill and expertise to be top-​notch and the practice very accommodating. Plagued with frequent bladder infections, Dr. Piser and his team have come to my rescue on numerous occasions with same-​day appointments, after hours calls to the pharmacy and conscientious follow-​up. I recommend the practice wholeheartedly.

I have been a patient now for over a year. At first, didn’t like Dr. Lee too much, but he was local to my home, so shrugged it off. After several ESWL treatments, I got to like him ok, and then we did some serious work on my kidney stones. The doctor sweated bullets treating my problem, and still needed some follow-​up treatment. The doctor gave me everything he has.
I also like the office staff, personally. The front desk is very professional. My only complaint, really, is that the surgery scheduler doesn’t follow up on phone calls. Several times, I have called and left a message because of an urgent need to know (for example, need to know date and time of procedure so I can arrange with work and transportation). Waited hours and days for a follow-​up, with none apparent. So I had to call back again to get an answer. Not just once but several times. I like the lady personally, have a bunch in common. I don’t know if she needs more help, the practice in general seems frantic. Have never had to wait long for an appointment, though the lead times can be very long.

SCAM! — DO YOUR RESEARCH FIRST
I hate to write this review because I like Dr. Piser. He’s got a good sense of humor, and he seems like a nice guy. However, this practice is apparently little more than an expensive diagnostics mill.
I had a very scary symptom, and I freaked. Went to see Dr. Piser, who ordered an MRI, lab work, etc., and told me to drink a lot of water.
After I pounded water for a couple of days, the problem went away completely, and I passed some gritty stuff that’s consistent with harmless «stones.» MRI indicated no problems.
Went back to see Dr. Piser about an unrelated minor issue, but he was determined to do a «cystoscopy» — sticking a tube into the bladder and looking around. I let him talk me into it – make sure I don’t have bladder cancer, etc.
Afterward, I looked up bladder cancer symptoms, and my case was definitely a stretch. It would’ve shown up in the MRI. Am I happy I know for sure that I’m clear? Yes, but I wasn’t given any info whatsoever as to probabilities of a serious problem or anything else, just, «OK, let’s do this thing.»
It’s not hard to understand the push for these kinds of tests: they charge hundreds of bucks for a few minutes of work. Sweet deal for them, not so much for you, especially if you’re not at high risk. Plus, there are potential complications from having foreign objects stuck into your bladder via your urethra, which could make you a very unhappy camper indeed.
BOTTOM LINE: Avoid GG Urology; don’t let any urologist stick tubes in you unless they have a very good reason; and do your research online to see if your symptoms warrant such an invasive, unpleasant, expensive procedure.

If you’re a woman, stay away from this practice. Dr. Piser and Dr. Pienkny (can you be a urologist without a PP?) were both limited in their understanding of female urological problems, especially urethral dryness that results from low estrogen and mimics as a UTI when irritated and also the symptoms/​severity of Interstitial Cystitis. My pelvic exam was so rough, I’m still hurting. Plus, I was told that pain I identified is nowhere near my bladder! C’mon doc, I’m not stupid (as well as being female, right?). The all-​women staff are wonderful and warm. The male docs are harried, over-​scheduled and make hardly any eye contact (never a great sign). They do love to prescribe meds, of course. So if that’s what you’re after, they will accomodate.

Dr Lee is a big ego doctor. I remember him laughing it up because I wanted a second opinion and he talked to the other doctor and managed to kill it off. He bragged to me about that. He has radically changed his diagnosis of me a couple of times but had never explained it clearly so I am not sure what the problem is. He probably doesn’t know and his ego won’t let him admit it. The offices are small, crowded, and busy and it just seems like everyone is going through the motions and not really caring.

Dr. Pienkny was very professional and did a good, efficient job in the surgical suite. Very little pain was involved. And the support staff were great — very helpful and efficient.
He did leave a patient with an incomplete prescription for vicodin the day of the prescription, so it wasn’t legally possible to fill the same day. We called in to ask how to fill the ‘scrip, and they just brushed off our questioning, telling us to figure it out with the drug store. They could have given us the prescription the weeks in advance of the surgery. I can’t imagine what would have happened if the pharmacist had not taken pity and filled the script for us anyway.
The work itself might be excellent, but you shouldn’t necessarily expect personalized service.

Dr. Wieder might be a great urologist, but I wouldn’t know, since I left Golden Gate Urology (as this place is now called) before I got the chance.
I did everything possible to have a painless appointment experience (made an early morning appointment, gave insurance and history information over the phone, arrived on time) and still had to wait about 40 minutes in the waiting room. During this time, two other people were admitted, one of whom had a *later* appointment time (see below).
Once I finally got into the examination room, I waited *another 45 minutes*. The assistant told me a few times that «the doctor was coming soon» (including once when I went out in the hall and asked, clearly annoyed), but after a few times I learned the hard way this wasn’t actually true, and left in a huff to take my business elsewhere. The assistant was apologetic but didn’t try to get the doctor to try and save the situation, she seemed resigned that I was now an ex-​patient. She wanted me to wait around further to refund my co-​payment but I told her to mail it to me; I wasn’t about to waste any more time with these people.
As an aside, I also witnessed an unhappy patient while I was in the waiting room: She was late for her appointment since she waited at the other office on the same floor, but still arrived before the appointment time of another man who was taken early and before her. She was visibly upset and complained, and didn’t get much emotional reaction from the staff. She was taken next and might have been part of the reason the doctor delayed in seeing me, but that’s not my problem.
All in all, I would at least expect the doctor himself to peek in and apologize for such a long wait. Of course, the main problem is overbooking and expecting that patients will wait through anything. The doctor’s time is valuable, I am sure, but so is mine.

I had bladder problems for about two years that had gone totally untreated by the doctors who were covered by my insurance. Feeling basically helpless, I tried paying out of pocket to see Dr. Andrew Pienkny, who was recommended to my mom by her friend.
Right away he was more professional and receptive about my condition than any doctor I had ever seen. He went down the list of my symptoms and medical histories with a sharpness and attention to detail that you would expect from a highly paid attorney. Unlike my prior doctors, he refused to dismiss any symptoms or experiences I reported and never attempted to re-​direct our conversation.
And I was not hastily moved out of his office with a prescription to some non-​pronounceable drug, as is usually the case for me at my own doctor’s office. Sure, Dr. Pienkny wrote a prescription for a generic form of Aleve, but you can always get this over the counter and he made it clear that the medication was not central in getting over my symptoms. He advised me about my condition by indicating that a specific diet can be followed in order to decrease my urinary frequency. Specific information about the Interstitial Cystitis Diet had never been mentioned to me by any of my other urologists.
Since my appointment, my symptoms have decreased dramatically, and I can actually have a life now. If you want solid answers and a thorough investigation of your condition, then Berkeley Urological Associates is definitely worth your time.

These guys are pretty solid. I had to take my 2-​year old son here a few years ago and they were patient, understanding and pinpointed the issue immediately.
Fast forward to last year and I visited them myself for a surgical consult — professional and knowledgeable all the way.
The atmosphere/​décor is definitely something out of Hawaii Five-​O, but the doctors are really good.