Joseph Letzelter III, MD

We had a very disappointing experience with Dr. Letzelter at Children’s National Hospital. My daughter has been dealing with ongoing arm and shoulder pain, and more recently numbness in her hand. During the appointment, she was clearly in pain and trying her best to follow instructions, but physically could not perform certain movements. Instead of approaching the situation with patience, the doctor became visibly frustrated when she couldn’t comply. At one point, he told her to spread her fingers and make a fist. She explained that she couldn’t, and when she tried to use her other hand to assist, he firmly told her not to. His tone became increasingly forceful, and he even suggested canceling the appointment because she wasn’t “cooperating.” My daughter became very upset and started crying. Rather than de-escalating the situation, the interaction continued in a way that felt dismissive and unsupportive. When he applied pressure to her fingernail and she reacted in pain, he used… that to dismiss her report of numbness instead of considering that both could be true. When I raised concerns about his approach, he blamed me for interfering, but could not explain what I had done. This was a pediatric setting, and the lack of patience and empathy toward a child in pain was extremely concerning. We left the appointment feeling frustrated, upset, and without confidence in the care provided. I would strongly recommend that families seek a provider who demonstrates more compassion and understanding when working with children.