Brian J Waddle, MD

I have a sister who is developmentally disabled– she is verbal, but has the capacity of maybe a 10 – 12 year old. Taking her for medical care is sometimes a challenge, and she’s often anxious about things, and needs some help understanding complex ideas. I scheduled a consultation for a colonoscopy with Dr. Waddle at the direction of her primary care Dr. It was to be a screening procedure, so there was no urgency to having it quickly. It took a couple weeks to get an office visit, which I scheduled early in the afternoon so that she wouldn’t have to wait too long. We arrived on time, filled out the paperwork, gave them the insurance info and then waited nearly 30 minutes, to see a PA who obviously had no sensitivity in seeing patients who were differently abled. I made an appointment for 3 ½ months ahead so that she could have the first appointment in the morning. The office billed her insurance incorrectly, and it took me a couple hours on the phone with various people to fix that. My sister started the prep for the procedure the day before, and then got a call at 4:20 pm that the doctor had an emergency and needed to reschedule her time for 9:00 am. She was upset, but we got there a bit before 9 and the wonderful folks at Santa Cruz Surgery Center got her ready after taking a history that was a duplicate of all the info we had given his office, which they didn’t seem to have. And then, we waited, and waited, and waited, and waited. the staff had no idea when he would arrive, because they had gotten no updates. To be helpful to the staff, I sat with her, rubbing her legs and shoulders, trying to distract her from the time. When he finally arrived (yelling in the hallway, «let’s get this going») they took her in for the procedure, but she told me there was a further delay while he talked on his cell phone. When I spoke to him about it after the procedure, calmly, but wanting at least some acknowledgment that maybe it could have been handled a bit more professionally, he told me that when I got a license to practice surgery, I would have the right to comment. Now, I know that having her as a patient takes a certain patience that other folks don’t need. It is why I have been a ‘translator’ for her for nearly 60 years. She’s generally happy and cooperative, but because of her disability has suffered plenty of thoughtless and sometimes mean comments and I feel protective of her. I can’t say that his surgical skills are not good, but if you are looking for an office that is efficient, or a surgeon who is kind and understanding, don’t go to his office for care. I think it’s a real comment on people when you see how they treat the most vulnerable. He proved himself to be arrogant and far more «disabled» than her.

Had a hernia repair procedure done by Dr. Waddle recently. I’d never had any surgery before but he was very friendly and answered all my questions. The procedure at SC Surgery Center went well. I had very little post-​op pain and did OK with plain Tylenol. Results were good and healed up great. Two weeks later I’m back at work.

One of the rudest doctors I have met.
I had gone to his office with an excrutiating *something* at the base of my spine.
He was unsympathetic and wanted to drain it right then right there. He commented, «Well I don’t have all day — I have other patients here, co’mon. I can’t be waiting.»
He appeared with a long needle and told me to lie on my side. I was terrified, and told him that I didn’t think that I could go through with the procedure. I was very upset, as the pain scared me, and as I *knew* that something was very wrong.
When I told him that I was afraid of more pain than I already had, and asked for a tranquilizer, he simply rolled up a wad of paper towels and said «Here, you can bite down on this.»
That’s when I got up and left the office. For goodness’ sake, what was it, the wild west?!
Soon afterward I was diagnosed with stage III colon cancer, by a doctor who was sympathetic and took me seriously (in my husband’s home country, Sweden).
These doctors who forget what it’s like to be on the other side of the equation need to go directly to hell. People of his type have made my life very difficult, too many times.
Do yourself a favor and find a respectful physician who demonstrates a sliver of compassion. This man fails olympically on both fronts. He can just «Waddle away.»