Dr. Thomas Francis Prestel Jr, MD

My dear brother was in Dr. Prestel's care for nearly twenty years. When he passed away recently I wrote to Doctor thanking him not only for his expertise but also for his patience and kindness. My brother was a complicated and often difficult patient. His pulmonary problems were significant and his psychiatric problems even worse. Doctor Prestel and his wonderful staff always treated my brother with the respect and dignity he deserved - no matter how trying his behavior could be at times. I cannot adequately express how much this high level of care meant to me and to my family. Without Doctor Prestel, I doubt we would have had my brother with us as long as we did. I will be forever grateful.

My mom was treated by Dr Prestel during an inpatient visit and was discharged with orders to follow up within a month. Called his office a few days later with a very detailed message on a Monday about stabbing back pain at the site of a needle to drain lung fluid that he performed. The doctor did not call back. His admin called late Weds saying "you need an appointment"? I said no I need to speak to the doctor. She jus gave me an appointment for the following Tuesday. Too bad my mother died a day later on Thursday of respiratory failure.I can't help but think things would be different if he just called me back on that Monday.

My mother was referred to Dr. Prestel after being diagnosed with an abnormal finding on a routine chest xray. She had been a lifetime smoker. Dr. Prestel diagnosed her with lung cancer and despite the diagnosis, over the next ten years while under his expert care,she experienced a healthy and happy lifestyle.He was patient and kind and respectful not only to my mother but to her family members who accompanied her on every visit. He answered our questions with great patience and with a calm and reassuring demeanor. We never doubted that she was in the best of hands at all times. Dr. Prestel's office staff was friendly and accommodating, making every effort to help us schedule tests and appointments, as we traveled over an hour to see him. I don't know what we would have done without him, he walked this journey with us and for that we will always be grateful to him.

I can't express adequately how grateful I am to Dr. Prestel and his kind staff. I first saw Dr. Prestel a couple of months after chest surgery at a nearby hospital. I had been experiencing severe episodes of shortness of breath that I at first attributed to the surgery. I had trouble walking even short distances, doing almost any activity really. I saw my surgeon again and again trying to find an answer. Finally a neighbor of mine who is a nurse recommended Dr. Prestel who had taken care of her father. Dr. Prestel listened carefully to my story and did an examination. He ordered some tests, and when I returned for my follow-up visit he told me that he had some serious news. It turned out that some errors had been made during the surgery that compromised the circulation to one of my lungs. I was only thirty-five years old, and my left lung had to be removed. I am doing pretty well now, and I am so grateful to Dr. Prestel for his ability to sort out what I have since learned… was a very complicated set of facts.

I had worsening asthma symptoms and my family doctor didn't seem to be doing enough to keep me under control, so I sought out Dr. Prestel for a second opinion. During my first appointment, he kept telling me that women of a certain age who were not yet married often had breathing complaints. I kept reminding him I was married for 14 years! He sent me for pulmonary function testing with methacholine challenge, which the tech stopped after the second dose because my volume had decreased by an amount which mandated ending the test. Despite this, he called me psychosomatic on my followup appointment. He advised my family doctor to stop all asthma meds and start me on anti-depressants. After 6 emergency room visits for asthma attacks the family doctor finally realized Dr. Prestel had given completely wrong advice.3 years later I was hospitalized for total respiratory failure and diagnosed with Churg-Strauss syndrome. The failed PFT that Prestel ordered was one of the key tests which… helped the diagnosis. How Prestel missed this is a mystery to me.