Mark Anderson (Bernardo Heights Veterinary Hospital)

Stephani Rizo

Dr Anderson is the owner of Bernardo Heights Veterinary Hospital. He contracts with Dr Frankel, a board certified orthopedic surgeon, to perform orthopedic surgeries every Wednesday. Dr Anderson did an orthopedic exam on my dog and recommended a tplo surgery which was performed at his clinic in April 2023 supposedly by Dr Frankel. My dog also had a papilloma on the same leg that was supposed to be removed at the same time. After my dogs surgery, Dr Frankel, called me to let me know I could pick my dog up. During the phone call he was chastising me about an incident that I had no recollection of, and later discovered he had confused me with another client that had also been seen that day. During the conversation he never once spoke to me about the details of my dog’s surgery. As I was driving to pick up my dog, I was very concerned about her surgery because Dr Frankel was obviously upset with me on the phone and I was hoping that his grievance did not affect his performance as a surgeon or the way he handled my dog. As I was waiting in the office to pick up my dog, another dog that had the same surgery walked out in good spirits. Meanwhile, I could hear my dog crying in the background. I was told prior to surgery that my dog would be able to walk out but would not be able to go up steps and to have a ramp with me as she would easily be able to go up the steps. My dog was unable to walk, much less go up a ramp and I finally had to get assistance by a staff member to pick her up and get into the car. The papilloma also was not removed as discussed and they said they would do this at her 2 month follow, while she was under sedation for her follow up x-rays. My dog cried all night and continued the next day and I called the hospital and was told it was normal. Over the course of the next weeks, I called and emailed several times and sent multiple pictures as my dog had profuse swelling, was leaking fluids from the surgical incision, and pain didn’t seem to be under control. My dog was on strict crate rest, wearing a cone and had a strict regime of initially only going out to potty, progressing to very short walks that were supposed to increase with time and we adhered very strictly to this protocol. I continued to call, email, and leave messages daily because the swelling wasn’t subsiding, the incision was leaking fluids, and she was unable to progress on her walks as the time for these walk’s extended. Dr. Anderson and his staff continued to blow me off and treated me like an over reactive pet parent. (I run a rescue and have had surgeries on hundreds of dogs over the years and am versed enough to recognize when something isn’t right). Finally after sending pictures of the oozing from the surgical sight, Dr Anderson called in another antibiotic to combine with the other medications my dog was already taking. On my dogs 2 week follow appointment for her suture removal, there was a hole the size of a dime at her incision site. I was told there was nothing they could do about this and to just continue her on her medication and it should eventually close up. I continued to call and email over the next few weeks as I still felt something wasn’t right because she was having difficulty in meeting the walking goals as outlined in her post op instructions and was instructed to continue but instead of distance progress with the time of the walks. For her 2 month follow appointment, I elected to have her seen at a specialty hospital because I wanted a second opinion on her surgery. This cost me an additional $1000 because it was sone at a different place. After reviewing my dogs medical records and before my dog was even examined, I was asked if her surgery was done by a board certified orthopedic surgeon, and I confirmed that it had been been done by Dr Frankel a board certified orthopedic surgeon with over 20 years experience, but curious towhy they asked. I was told her post op x-rays revealed the pin was put in at the wrong angle and was going into her meniscus and this was a “rookie” mistake and something he would expect from a first year resident and not someone board certified with 20 years experience and literally used the term “malpractice”. He also said the papilloma should have been removed during surgery as it was much to large to remove while only being sedated. After my dogs exam and follow up x-rays he revealed the pin was still going into her joint as initially shown in post op x-rays and her other knee which was stable and showing no signs of a tear during orthopedic consult or the day of her surgery was now also torn. I asked how this could have happened considering she had been on strict crate rest with only very short monitored walks the past two months and was told due to her large size and inability to distribute her weight properly because of the pin misplacement that all her weight on the one good leg, had now compromised that cruciate as well. In moving forward it was recommended my dog have another surgery to remove the pin going into her meniscus, remove the papilloma at the same time and repair the cruciate on the other leg during this surgery. Hearing this I was very upset because I had been calling and emailing Bernardo Heights Veterinary Hospital daily after my dogs surgery and not once did someone take the time to review her post op x-rays. I am a disable veteran and my dog is not just my pet but my service dog with over 2000 hours of training and has been an integral part of me being able to live a normal life the past 6 years which has made this even harder on me emotionally and I knew it would be better to have this addressed with Dr Anderson and Dr Frankel by an attorney friend who could navigate this without the emotion but in the proper way. Initially Dr Anderson was very apologetic and seemed to care and be concerned but wanted this addressed with Dr Frankel directly. I understand Dr Frankel was contracted by Bernardo Heights Veterinary hospital, however, it was Dr Anderson and Bernardo Heights veterinary Hospital that I contracted and paid to perform the surgery on my dog. When Dr Frankel was contacted about the surgery and the concerns based on the second opinion, he initially said for me to bring my dog in and he would redo the surgery. However, at this point, I had lost faith and trust in him and this hospital and didn’t feel comfortable entrusting her care to them. When this was expressed to Dr Frankel he became very hostile and aggressive. My attorney reached back out to Dr Anderson explaining what had transpired during the conversation and that I would like to have my dogs surgery to be redone elsewhere and asked them if they would cover the costs as I had already paid them for two orthopedic consults, the surgery and had to pay an additional $1000 for the second opinion. Despite being Dr Anderson, and his hospital that I contracted for services and paid them directly for everything he said he had to speak Dr Frankel before making a decision. Dr Frankel refused to help in any other way except for him personally being the one to redo the surgery. I have since found out they do have malpractice insurance and we have contacted their insurance company but in order to have their malpractice insurance cover the costs I have to file a lawsuit first and this could take up to a year. I’m a disabled veteran and was able to work because she was my service dog and was amazing with the tasks she’s trained to do, and I haven’t been able to work since last April when she got her surgery and have suffered a significant decline in my own health as a result. Where I’m making every effort to come up with the money to have her surgery redone at my expense she may be forced to wait while we go through litigation to get their malpractice coverage to cover the costs. I’m writing this review because I have now learned Dr Frankel has had many other dogs suffer from his surgery mistakes but has a history of aggressive and erratic behavior that has instilled fear and prevented others from bringing to light their experience with this doctor. If my review prevents another dog and owner from experiencing what myself and many others have gone through it will serve its purpose as I would t wish this on anyone else.

Jan 1 2024 4:03 PM