Dr. Abel Antonio Galaviz, MD

The most knowledgeable Dr. visit ever. Dr. Galaviz was very thorough and extremely patient. He explained everything to my husband and I in a way that when we left we had absolutely no questions as to my condition. We’re so lucky to have Dr. Lane Lee as our family doctor and Dr. Galaviz as our surgeon. The best experience ever!!

Dr Galaviz had great bedside manner and was very caring and made me feel comfortable and reassured during this whole process and he was very thorough at looking into my entire case instead of just focusing on the one problem I went Into the emergency department for. excellent doctor!!

I would not send my worst enemy to Dr. Galaviz for surgery. He did a horrible job on my surgery, lied about my test results, and withheld a complication of my surgery from my family and I. When first seen, Dr. Galaviz stated my hernia would be no problem to fix laproscopically. He explained laproscopic surgery came about many years ago and is now a routine way of doing many procedures. Dr. Galaviz stated he was very good at doing laproscopic hernia repairs and it would be no problem. He seemed very confident in his abilities and went on to state I would be back at work in 3-4 days on light desk duty and riding my bike in one week. I had the surgery about a week later, and shortly after waking from surgery I was in extreme pain. I was given the max dose of morphine, but it barely touched my pain. Dr. Galaviz recommended hospitalization, but I refused due to cost. I was having a hard time affording the surgery in the first place. After refusing to be admitted to the hospital,… the San Marcos Surgery Center (partly owned by Dr. Galaviz) rushed me out with my pain still uncontrolled. I endured extreme pain all night and went back to see Dr. Galaviz the next morning. I was very frightened there may be something seriously wrong. He ordered a CAT scan and then admitted me to the hospital for observation. Dr Galiviz came to my hospital room that evening to give my father and I my CAT scan results. Dr Galaviz stated everything looked completely normal, and the ONLY thing he saw on the CAT scan was constipation. I was released from the hospital two days later, still in a lot of pain, but doing a little better. I saw Dr. Galaviz four days later, and stated I was on the extreme bad end on the bell curve. He stated I will get better, but it will just take time. He stated he had one other patient who took four weeks to recover. Dr. Galaviz then joked "two in thirty years isn't that bad." Two weeks later and still in a lot pain, I saw Dr. Galaviz. Again, he acted like he did not know why I was in pain and the surgery didn't go as normal. His suggestion was to take more time. I was running out of time due to using all my vacation and sick time at work. At this point, I was on unpaid leave with bills piling up. The next two days, I experienced horrible break through pain from a private and sensitive area. I explained what happened to Dr. Galaviz and he still stated he did not know why this was happening and had no ideas or theories to offer. I saw him a few days later, and more tests were ordered which came back normal. I felt Dr. Galaviz was tired of dealing with me and was frustrated with me. The next day, I made an appointment with another general surgeon in town for a second opinion and a fresh look at my problems. When going over the test results with the new doctor, he mentioned a hematoma (blood clot outside blood vessels) in my abdomen near the pelvic bone. The hematoma showed up on the first CAT scan taken the day after surgery. Dr. Galaviz told my father and I the ONLY thing abnormal on the CAT scan was constipation. The hematoma was 8.9 cm x 2.5 cm x 4.5cm. That is a very large amount of blood around the surgery site. Dr. Galaviz never mentioned the hematoma to my father or I. He stated "the only thing abnormal on your CAT scan is constipation." Dr. Galaviz blatantly lied to my father and I. A hematoma is a know complication of laprascopic surgery seen in 2%-5% of operations. Basically, I bled internally after the surgery. This can happen a few different ways. Usually, the surgeon doesn't fix the cut blood vessels completely causing bleeding at the surgery site after surgery. When a hematoma is found, there are a few treatments. Sometimes, they drain the blood out with a needle and syringe. Other times, the patient is taken back into surgery, the incisions are opened, the area is cleaned of the blood, further bleeding is stopped, and the patient is sewn back up. At the very least, a hot and cold treatment is applied to encourage the body to absorb the blood. Dr. Galaviz ignored the hematoma on my CAT scan and did not treat it. Instead, he allowed me to lie horrible pain and suffering for weeks. The hematoma was very large, impossible to miss on a CAT scan, and clearly stated as the #1 issue on the CAT scan final report. The constipation he told my father and I about in the CAT scan was stated as the #2 issue. Dr. Galaviz blatantly lied to my father and I about my CAT scan results and covered up a complication most likely caused by his incompetence. Six weeks after the surgery, I am under the care of another doctor and have been improving. My most recent cat scan taken five weeks after surgery still shows signs of healing. However, the pain is still so bad I must take pain killers, and I am unable to even do light exercise. The pain also makes it difficult to work and generally do anything. I am very active and love to kayak and ride my bicycle. Six weeks after surgery, I do not imagine doing the things I love for at least a few months. Please be wary of doctors and their promises. I was not. Dr. Galaviz was able to instill confidence in me and himself, and made me feel like he would do a great job. He did not. He did a horrible job, and I am just hoping I have no lasting damage and that this pain will go away. Please get a second opinion and do your research. Furthermore, please do not choose Dr. Galaviz to operate on you! You can find a much more competent and caring doctor to perform your procedure. A doctor who does a poor job, lies to patients, and covers up complications of their surgery should not be trusted! Please don't trust Dr. Galaviz like I did.

Dr Galaviz and his nurse Lindsey are the most caring and compassionate medical professionals that I have ever had the pleasure to meet. I did not have an appointment when I walked into their office after a suspicios mammogram. It was the end of the day and they stayed late to speak with me then waited another hour to talk to my husband as well. When it was confirmed that my lump was cancer they were so patient with and answered all of my questions in a way that I could understand. Dr Galaviz even offered to speak to my sister over the phone to help her understand what we needed to do. Leading up to my surgey date Lindsey called me regarly to answer any questions i had and even made all my appointments for me. She also put me intouch with another woman that had been recently diagnosed. Dr Galaviz performed my double mastectomy with care and made sure that my husband was communicated with the entire time.

Dr. Galaviz has a great bedside manner. He treats you like family.

Dr. Galaviz and his staff are wonderful! He explained everything so well. Answered all of my questions. Very caring. He called me, himself, the following week to see how I was doing and to make sure I had scheduled an appointment with the radiologist he referred me to. He is one of the best.

he did my daughters gall bladder surgery and was the most caring and concerned doctor i have met, he absoloutely refused to let her go home until he was satisfied with her recovery, she was 3 days! He is Amazing! Bed Side manner you just dont find anymore! AWESOME!

I would highly recommend Dr. Galaviz. He goes above and beyond to care for his patients and make sure that they can make good decisions about their health.