Dr. Anita Chacko, MD

Our daughter was diagnosed with the rare condition of Kawasaki disease, which causes inflammation of the blood vessels and if not treated within the first 10 days, the risk for complications go up significantly. Our daughter was hospitalized on day 5 after her symptoms started and seen by Dr. Chacko in the hospital. She showed all the signs of the illness, but because it presents itself as so many other things, it's hard to diagnose. That being said, Dr. Chacko advised to hold off treatment and monitor her overnight. Since she was 9, she didn't "fit the typical case" as it typically effects children 5 and younger. She was discharged the next day and Kawasaki was dismissed after some of her symptoms improved and we were told, "not to freak out if her fever comes back". One of the main symptoms of Kawasaki is the persistent fever over 5 or more days along with tons of other symptoms, all of which my daughter had some variation of, just not "textbook versions". Once home, the fever… was still present and her other symptoms were still hanging on, but because we were told not to worry if the fever was there, we rode it out over the weekend. It was now Monday, her 9th straight day with a fever and symptoms. We visited our pediatrician that day and he was still very concerned with the way she looked and her symptoms were progressing further. He advised us to set up an appointment with the infectious disease specialist, Dr. Chacko. This is where our biggest issue with Dr. Chacko began. We were not able to get in touch with her at all on Monday to set up an appointment so we had to wait until Tuesday morning (day 10) when her office opened. Which is what we did. Long story short, she was out of the office all day and the earliest they could see my daughter was Wednesday (day 11) the next morning at 10am. We explained our situation and the urgency to at least speak with Dr. Chacko to her staff on the phone and we were promised a call back if she had time that day. Needless to say we never got that call and that evening my daughter's symptoms got much worse and we visited the ER again and they immediately confirmed the Kawasaki and transferred her to Children's Hospital where they began treatment immediately. After a long night in the hospital we got a follow up call from Dr. Chacko's office the next morning when we didn't make it to our appointment. Apparently "she had a plan", but it didn't include calling us back on day 10 when her situation was getting worse and we had expressed that to her staff. While I'm sure Dr. Chacko is a wonderful doctor and has been to many people, with the clock ticking and our daughter's health on the line, she dropped the ball and we were just expected to sit around and wait as she became available. Our daughter has made a full recovery to date, but I can't help but wonder if her not getting treatment until day 10 instead of day 5, when we were in the hospital the first time, will increase her chances for complications of heart issues down the road.

Our daughter was diagnosed with the rare condition of Kawasaki disease, which causes inflammation of the blood vessels and if not treated within the first 10 days, the risk for complications go up significantly. Our daughter was hospitalized on day 5 after her symptoms started and seen by Dr. Chacko in the hospital. She showed all the signs of the illness, but because it presents itself as so many other things, it's hard to diagnose. That being said, Dr. Chacko advised to hold off treatment and monitor her overnight. Since she was 9, she didn't "fit the typical case" as it typically effects children 5 and younger. She was discharged the next day and Kawasaki was dismissed after some of her symptoms improved and we were told, "not to freak out if her fever comes back". One of the main symptoms of Kawasaki is the persistent fever over 5 or more days along with tons of other symptoms, all of which my daughter had some variation of, just not "textbook versions". Once home, the fever… was still present and her other symptoms were still hanging on, but because we were told not to worry if the fever was there, we rode it out over the weekend. It was now Monday, her 9th straight day with a fever and symptoms. We visited our pediatrician that day and he was still very concerned with the way she looked and her symptoms were progressing further. He advised us to set up an appointment with the infectious disease specialist, Dr. Chacko. This is where our biggest issue with Dr. Chacko began. We were not able to get in touch with her at all on Monday to set up an appointment so we had to wait until Tuesday morning (day 10) when her office opened. Which is what we did. Long story short, she was out of the office all day and the earliest they could see my daughter was Wednesday (day 11) the next morning at 10am. We explained our situation and the urgency to at least speak with Dr. Chacko to her staff on the phone and we were promised a call back if she had time that day. Needless to say we never got that call and that evening my daughter's symptoms got much worse and we visited the ER again and they immediately confirmed the Kawasaki and transferred her to Children's Hospital where they began treatment immediately. After a long night in the hospital we got a follow up call from Dr. Chacko's office the next morning when we didn't make it to our appointment. Apparently "she had a plan", but it didn't include calling us back on day 10 when her situation was getting worse and we had expressed that to her staff. While I'm sure Dr. Chacko is a wonderful doctor and has been to many people, with the clock ticking and our daughter's health on the line, she dropped the ball and we were just expected to sit around and wait as she became available. Our daughter has made a full recovery to date, but I can't help but wonder if her not getting treatment until day 10 instead of day 5, when we were in the hospital the first time, will increase her chances for complications of heart issues down the road.

Dr. Chacko helped my infant who had continuous ear infections that would not clear with medicine. After having his ear drum rupture twice, I told a Pediatrician and an ENT I needed to seek further help. I didn't want his hearing and speech affected. I was referred to Dr. Chacko by the ENT. Dr. Chacko immediately cultured the bacteria from both ears and then figured out what would kill this bacteria. It was a bit challenging as my son is allergic to many medicines. After getting the diagnosis, she suggested for him to have a certain vaccine done to help him in the future. This took place 9 years and 6 months ago. My son who is now 10 had tubes and the medicine/vaccine helped him all these years. Today, his tubes are gone and his ears are doing very well. His hearing and speech are perfect due to Dr. Chacko! She is an outstanding doctor!

Dr Chacko is fantastic. Very caring and very thorough - she saved my son's life.