Juan J Garro MD

This is way overdue but here it goes:
BACKGROUND: Around July/​August of 2011, I started getting red, itchy, splotches in random places on my body. It was an all of a sudden thing and I couldn’t figure out what it was. I thought it was the soap I was using, some new clothes, my comforter, my new apartment… anything. I called my mother in FL (who’s a primary care physician) and she told me I need to get a blood test for allergies. I had an allergy test when I was a kid but she said it needed to be updated and to make sure they test for certain things she made me write down. So, through my insurance I found Dr. Garro. I wish back then I knew you could look up Unilocal reviews for doctor visits…
FIRST VISIT: When I arrived, I filled out all the necessary paperwork and paid my co-​pay. I waited an additional 30 minutes after my scheduled appointment time. Luckily, it was near the end of the day so I didn’t have to go back to work. When I was finally called back, Dr. Garro asked me what was wrong. I told him about the splotches but unfortunately it wasn’t happening to me that day. (Isn’t that how it always is? lol) He said it sounds like allergies –_​–
Sigh…I requested a blood test that included what my mother advised. He said I probably didn’t need everything but I insisted. He left with the nurse and they were gone for about 8 – 10 minutes. When they returned, she had a lab request form and he had a syringe. He told me that he was going to give me a steroid shot that would block any allergic reactions for 3 months. Now, that might seem a little off putting but I was familiar with the shot since my brother had to get them when he was younger. So, I received the shot, they gave me instructions on where to go get my blood drawn and the visit was over. Or so I thought… as I was leaving, the woman at the front desk told me I needed to pay. I informed her that I already paid my co-​pay. She stated that I needed to pay for the shot. It would have been nice if someone had told me that the injection was going to be extra beforehand. I paid and left.
Later that same day… I woke up in the middle of the night, with my skin on fire. Not literally but my skin was hot to the touch and itched beyond imagination. I ran to the bathroom to find red splotches and bumps all over my body (neck, chest, arms, stomach, legs, back).you get the point. I ran to wake up my roommate because I didn’t know what else to do. She took pictures of my legs, back and arms and then helped me rub some chilled lotion on my back (the best idea we could come up with). After that, I took some Benadryl and tried to go back to bed. The next morning, I promptly called Dr. Garro’s office and insisted that I speak directly with him. When he finally called me back, I told him what happened. His response, «That’s impossible!» I was shocked. I told him that’s exactly what happened and I have the pictures to show you if you’d like me to send them via email or stop by your office. He told me that that is NOT what happened and I probably got bitten by some bed bugs (really!?). I told him that I would stop by later and to please have my bloodwork so I can have a copy. He said okay.
When I got there, the nurse informed me that the bloodwork wasn’t ready yet and Dr. Garro couldn’t see me. I was livid. Needless to say, I called them everyday until they faxed over my blood work results. When I received the paperwork, I found out that I was allergic to wheat. Yes, wheat… as in almost everything has wheat in it!
OVERALL: I will NEVER go back! E-​V-​E-​R. Not only is their level of «customer service» shoddy but for a doctor to basically tell me that I was making something up is incredulous. Good thing I got my results but that was co-​pay money wasted!

I completely agree with Dahlia S. and I wish I had read her review before I made the appointment. .
I found Dr. Garro through my insurance company’s website and I would not recommend him to anybody. I had never met the man before; he had no knowledge of my medical history. I brought in pages and pages of recent (and expensive!) allergy-​related bloodwork, which he didn’t even look at. He was extremely short with me. I tried to explain the sinus problems I’ve been having over the last two months but he didn’t want to hear it. He cut me off to ask, «But why are you here TODAY?» I didn’t know how to answer this without recapping the recent symptoms leading up to my scheduling the appointment.
Within three minutes of sitting down with him, he was writing me a prescription for antibiotics and ordering me to get a CT scan and an MRI. (I can’t even begin to guess how he determined — so quickly and without conversation — that I had a sinus infection.) Before I knew it, I was being ushered out the door.
Bottom line: I’m not about to pump myself full of antibiotics and pay thousands of dollars for scans without at least a little explanation.
Another annoying thing is that he wouldn’t prescribe me Diflucan to take along with the antibiotics to prevent a yeast infection. Women who take antibiotics run the risk of getting a yeast infection in the process and every doctor who has ever prescribed me antibiotics has thrown in an Rx for Diflucan (Fluconazole). Dr. Garro refused and told me to go to my regular doctor for that. Thanks, but no thanks. I get five paid doctor visits a year. I’d rather use it on finding a better, more communicative ENT.

I have to completely disagree with the previous review that Dahila wrote. I have been seeing Dr. Garro for about 7 years now. He has been seeing me as my ENT/​Allergist where he has been treating my allergies for all of the years that I have been going to him. My allergies had subsided tremendously since I have been seeing him. He also had saw me when I had a pretty dangerous bike accident back in 2005 where I landed on my face. I had went to the ER in Georgetown, where they stitched my face up and basic sent me home with some Vicodin and called it a day. They did not take any x-ray’s and said that my nose didn’t look like it was broken and to wait until the swelling goes down, and if it looks crooked then I will need to see a plastic surgeon to have it corrected. Surely enough it was broken. I went in to see Dr.Garro. He was in shock and could not believe that they didn’t take any x-ray’s on my face and nose. He sent me to have a CT scan where it showed my fractured nose and diviated septum. He was able to surgical correct my nose so it is straight again. I saved a lot of money by not going to a plastic surgeon, but most importantly he was willing to do all that he could to help me in the situation that I was put in from leaving the ER with a broken nose and with no x-​rays, on my own. I have to give him high praises for that. He has a lot of experience, he is a great doctor and surgeon. I will definitely be seeing him for as long as I can.