Feldman ENT Group

By 8:30 this morning, Tiffany at Bethesda, had called me 3 time to work out fitting my daughter into their full schedule. She was pleasant and very helpful. Dr Earl (our favorite) texted me several times last night answering my questions and assuring me that she would squeeze us in today.

Terrible office and doctors. I was dealing with Dr. Jack Williams in DC — who drunk performed my procedure. From a simple procedure, i had to go to the ER and be given strong pain killers and treated for infection. To top it, i received a bill from the Feldman office. Needless to ay i will NEVER go back to that office or doctor ever again.

The doctors were so-​so and the scheduling an appointment was not easy. Their follow-​up habits are horrible. I tried to call several times to get test results and left more than four messages and I never received any follow up calls. The admin staff seem unprofessional.
The only plus was that they offered evening appointments.

I have suffered with Spasmodic dysphonia for quite some time. I work in a salon and I have to talk, and I’m an educator, no one could understand everything I was saying, and people would think I was nervous all the time or have a cold. It’s rare and affects 1 out of 100,000. So Jerome Schwartz explained everything in detail from beginning to end and told me exactly what to expect during the procedure and that’s exactly how it played out. I like education because that’s what I do. So now at least for 3 – 4 months I have my voice and my life back so I can present and public speak. I am so grateful to him and his assistant, they both made me feel special and again thanks!

I have been a patient of this practice for more than 25 years. The doctors are very good. Some are excellent. Four have performed surgery on me and my children. I trust them.
But the good ends there. It’s often impossible to get a person on the phone. Wait times are consistently 45 minutes plus. A routine visit to the Chevy Chase office can turn out to be a half day affair.
When my son needed surgery they sent us to the surgery center they own. I’m generally OK with doc-​owned surgery centers. They can be better than hospitals in many ways. But in this case I ran into huge hassle they could have and should have avoided. The anesthesiologist they use at their surgery center doesn’t accept my insurance (which almost everyone accepts, including the Feldman ENT group and the surgery center itself). But they didn’t tell me that in advance. In fact, they never told me. I figured it out only by reading closely the fine print they asked me to sign at 5:30 am on the morning of the surgery when I had already taken my son out of school and the day off work. Sneaky or just an oversight? I don’t know. But it should never have happened.
We haggled, but I was captive at that point. Ultimately, even with big concessions by the surgery center my out of pocket cost was several hundred dollars more than it should have been. And if I hadn’t read the fine print I would have been on the hook to pay the anesthesiologist a small fortune. Other than that. .. their surgery center is great. No complaints, other than that small matter of hundreds of dollars.
At this moment I’m about to miss an important meeting with one of my own clients because they are running (as always) vastly behind schedule. Yes, I PLANNED for them to be vastly behind schedule and it’s even worse today. I know things can go off schedule in a professional practice. It happens. But this place never, ever seems to be on time or anywhere close to it.
Oh, and I get annoying email spam from this practice pushing hearing aids and other things I don’t need. It’s really, really, really annoying.
I’ve got decades of records and history with this group. It used to be wonderful. The docs are very good. But that’s not enough. The overall experience (including out of control wait times) is unacceptable.
Two stars for very good docs. Everything else is less than zero.

I will say that I appreciate the fact that Dr. Dettelbach fixed my problem; but I wasn’t impressed with having to tell him what we had done at the last visit (especially since I was coming in like ever other week), or reminding him what the treatment was to be. And more than anything, I am really frustrated with the billing. Sometimes the reception desk would charge me a co-​pay and the next time they wouldn’t, then they would tell me I owed over a hundred dollars. Then I started getting the bills, which are totally out of sequence and are really confusing so that I feel like I’m really getting screwed over financially. I wish I hadn’t followed my doctor’s recommendation and had found an ENT on my own. (Downtown Office).

This review is for Dr. Shen. She has been great with my son (he was 4 when we first saw her, currently 5), is helpful and attentive during appointments, and has worked with me to avoid a procedure that I’d rather not put him through (I’m sure there are plenty of other doctors that would’ve just taken the quick/‘easy’ path & suggested the procedure, but she’s been following his progress closely for a few months to see if we can avoid it). I’ve seen the other reviews re trouble reaching staff, etc., but have not experienced those problems to date, working with the Dupont & Chevy Chase locations (in fact I just called to move our appointment for tomorrow, & someone answered the phone within about 2 minutes & moved the appointment for me no problem). I have recommended Dr. Shen to friends with kids.

From personal experience with 2 of my children and from all we’ve heard from other parents, Bruce Feldman is a wonderful surgeon for caringly attending to children. I will always recommend Bruce Feldman for surgery for children.
But, I cannot recommend his office for anything requiring a follow-​up for any other services his office offers. All the doctors I’ve seen there are most competent, but I cannot get a call back. I truly believe the doctors do not get messages. I’ve tried in person and the person taking my note seems put out and I do believe did not keep my note.

Wildly incompetent and unprofessional office.
— Called me the day before my appointment to confirm a time that was not mine. I corrected her over the phone, showed up the next day, and my appointment was still at the incorrect time they quoted me the day before.
— At least two people working the front counter were wearing hoodies. It’s not casual Friday… if you’re not wearing scrubs you should at least be dressed business casual.
— While we waited, the staff were loudly heckling about something stupid, disturbing patients.
— I have now called three times for a referral and left messages for the «medical assistant» that have gone unreturned for almost a month now.
Stay away, go literally anywhere else.

I can’t speak for the overall practice, but I can’t recommend this place based on the experience that I had with one of the ENT’s that I reviewed here:

Prepare yourself for begging the appointment scheduler to get someone on the phone for you and leaving a bunch of unanswered voice messages! Will not be returning!!! (Germantown) location

The actual doctor (Dettelbach) was very good and friendly, but every other person we interacted with was terrible. They recommended tonsil surgery for our 3 year old which we were told «is done at River Road surgery center» — — We had no choice of venue and it was a terrible experience. The surgery center was a total factory and rushed us through recovery, making us take a 3 year old home who was still screaming and had a nose bleed. (Feel free to look at review for River Road Surgery Center). Additionally, despite diligently verifying insurance information with the office, the surgery center they picked utilized an out of network provider and then they decried all responsibility because «It was the surgery center.» They never told us we needed to check insurance with the surgery center — in fact, they handled all of that. The whole experience was impersonal and factory-​like.

Dr. Earl was rude, lied to me, and made my condition worse than what it was before I saw her. I had several appointments with her and surgery performed. Dr. Earl never said to me everything what was done during my surgery until I asked her about what I saw on my bill. I have sent letters to her office and she never called me as her boss said she would. I would never recommend Dr. Earl to anyone.

Mark Dettlebach is a relaxed down to earth doctor with great credentials. So happy to find a fine medical resource for my hearing issues. Recommend.

I saw Dr. Shen for sinus infection, laryngitis, clogged ears, coughing, yada yada. I have been there twice and am very pleased with her and the staff, and their knowledge of what they’re doing. They were great at answering all my questions, and diagnosing my issues and prescribing the right stuff. Their computers do online ordering to the pharmacy. (Yeah, I know a lot of docs’ computers’ do – but it’s worth mentioning — since I didn’t have to wait when I went to pick up the drugs at the pharmacy.)
And Dr. Shen even has evening hours — what a dream!

Had Feldman ENT recommended to me by a colleague. From start to finish, Dr. Malaisrie and the support staff here have been superb. Treated me over many months and when the time came, did sinus surgery & a polypectomy on my sinuses. I am still recovering (only a few days out from surgery), but have been VERY happy with their work, responsiveness, and demeanor throughout. Would recommend Dr. Malaisrie & the Feldman ENT Group to anyone that asked!

Excellent, excellent service every time. I am currently suffering from vertigo, and having spent my weekend spinning between home and Urgent Care, I went to this ENT at their DC location on 19^th St.
I was seen immediately, and the staff is compassionate and professional. I was given good explanations of my condition, and was provided with a hearing test and the Epley manoevre (which although terrifying and nauseating, must be endured to make progress). The professional who administered this, was amazing and made me feel safe. I am currently in a neck brace to prevent movement, and am already on the mend.

3.5 stars is probably more realistic, but because I love my docs, I’ll round it up to 4. :)
I’ve seen 4 docs in this practice, and Jerome Schwartz and Jack Williams are by far my favorites. I have seen Jerome for a year and Jack for 5 months.
I discussed the possibility of a tonsillectomy with Jerome due to recurring sore throats over the past two years, which have affected my sleep and have caused me to miss work. After looking at my throat and asking me some questions, he said that I’m a good candidate for a tonsillectomy. He did a great job explaining what would happen, the risks/​benefits and was honest about the post-​op pain. I didn’t feel that he was pushing me to have the surgery, but rather made the recommendation based on my history and symptoms. Also, he always encourages me to call with questions or concerns. Since I’ve never had surgery (aside from my wisdom teeth in the oral surgeon’s office), naturally I have at least a moderate level of anxiety. A few weeks after I decided to have surgery, I called him to talk about my anxiety. He was very reassuring and understanding about my concerns. My tonsillectomy in April went well and I had a fairly easy recovery. I had no issues with my throat until October, when my right tonsil tissue grew back. I will have to have a revision tonsillectomy at some point, but I trust that I’ll still be in good hands with Jerome.
I will admit I sometimes get frustrated with Jerome as he hasn’t been able to figure out my chronic ear pain for 6 months. He also had difficult with my nasal and sinus issues, which I got a second opinion from Jack, who recently performed nasal surgery on me. Being honest and direct about my symptoms helps me communicate with him, as well as reminding myself that he’s frustrated with himself/​the situation, not me (even if it feels that way). Despite my frustration, I know Jerome really does care about me/​my issues, and I’ve always had the «I can’t leave this doc» feeling.
I haven’t had any issues with the front office staff or nurses so far. I go to the 19^th St office and the staff there is great. Shout out to Kimber and Alexandra at the front desk and assistants Adam and Dave! Usually I have been seen on time or a few minutes after, with the exception of my first visit where I had to wait over an hour.
Finally, I love that I can make appointments on ZocDoc!

Here’s my update — if you have a recurring problem (for me, it’s boatloads of sinus infections), go while you are having that problem (for me, a sinus infection). Don’t go during an off time because they won’t be able to help you out.
After hearing recommendations for this place like three times after my bad review, I went back and had stellar service. (But again, you gotta wait until you’re legit sick for them to figure out what’s wrong — generally, that’s a no-​brainer but when I’m a recurring sick person, I thought that’d be different.)

I have been seeing Dr. Natalie Earl now in the DC office for about 6 months. Dr. Earl gets an automatic 5 stars! She is a great doctor — knows her stuff and also has a great personality and bedside manner. She pretty much diagnosed me with a thyroid problem as soon as she walked in the door, without even touching my neck (I guess it was that noticeable!). I had numerous tests done and she was always the one to call herself with the results and to discuss the next steps with me. I ended up needing to have half of my thyroid removed and she was the surgeon who performed that procedure.
The front office seems to be hit or miss — sometimes they are nice and sometimes are grouchy. If you are calling for something other than an appointment, it is near impossible to get through to someone without having to leave a message. While I get perturbed when I can’t speak to a live person, they are good about calling you back within the same business day or the next day (if you happen to call later in the day). I was just there recently for a post-​op visit and the DC office is undergoing a renovation. That was also the first time that I had to wait more than 20 minutes to be seen (granted, I usually tried to get early morning appointments and on this occasion they were squeezing me in since it was a post-​op appointment made just days before). I hope that’s not a sign of the «new» changes coming to the office.
Overall, I highly recommend Dr. Earl, but you may need some patience with the office staff!