Dr. Arthur Donald Vatz, MD

At the ripe old age of 20 I found myself hospitalized with a very serious and life-threatening illness. It's true to say that I was scared I would die and afraid I wouldn't. Once my diagnosis was established, Dr. Vatz cared for me. He provided excellent care for a very serious condition and truly saved my life. I was young and scared. He was always kind to me. I truly owe my life to him. Thank you Dr. Vatz.

Dr. Vatz is the most thorough, brilliant physician I have known, with perhaps one exception.

I scheduled an appointment with Dr. Vatz for a vasectomy consultation. I am 30, unmarried, and childless. I gave these details to the front desk person and scheduled the appointment about three weeks out, as that was the first availability. I do not want children - it's just not part of my plan for my life and I am positive about that (have been for years). When the appointment came around, I arrive early, filled out paperwork, read the vasectomy information packet and signed the accompanying release indicating that I understand the risks and I realize that this procedure is permenant. I was then told to wait in the waiting room, where I sat for about 15 minutes past my appointment time before I was called back to a room in the back and left to wait for an additional hour. When the doctor was finally ready to see me, he introduced himself, asked my age, marital status, and how many children I have. I repeated my answers. He asked if I intended to get married. I told him that… I'm rather iconoclastic and not interested in the institution of marriage. He then explained to me that it is likely that I will get married and that my wife will likely want children. I, then, will likely want this procedure reversed, and the success rate is not always great. So for this reason, he will not perform my vasectomy. I was floored - he had all of my demographic information weeks ago, why would he waste hours of my time just to refuse me service? And where does this man, who has known me for all of 30 seconds, get off telling making my life decisions for me? I told him that I thought it was extremely rude of him to waste my time like this. He didn't have anything to say. I don't know if Dr. Vatz is just a paternalistic old man who is stuck in his old-fashioned ways, or if he has the stereotypical surgeon god complex and thinks he knows better than his patients what is right for them. Either way, I left upset and I think everyone should save their time and avoid Dr. Vatz altogether.

Every aspect of my visit was a failure. I went in to get an exam for a scrotal lump. His diagnosis was "I don't know what it is,so we'll just go into surgery..." He had no interest in doing an ultrasound or mri. The surgery referral I received a few days later included the cpt code for "remove scrotum". (Can you say second opinion?). Vatz then scheduled the surgery without contacting me to discuss a date... (The hospital called me to preregister for a date 4 days down the line), and without asking me nor leaving time for a pre-surgical screening. I very much felt like this Doctor had little care and was only interested in railroading me into the surgery room. Billing went wrong too, as they did not submit it as a referral. He did send a nice "Thank you" card.... which to be honest is the last thing I would like from a urology office. Needless to say, I saw another doctor of whom did order an ultrasound to determine the diagnosis of a cyst with no need for surgery.

Heartless, doctor. Avoid! Avoid! Avoid! Does not care about you or the fact that you are in pain ,put you down with no communications !

Absolutely the worst. Zero bedside manner. The roughest, most painful prostate exam ever. This guy wanted me to undergo a cystoscopy. You can bet he won't be doing it.

Terrible experience with this MD. The worst bedside manner I've experienced from a doctor. For the first time ever, I've asked for a new referral.