Dr. Alpesh A Patel, MD

I wouldn’t recommend Sr Alpesh Patel to my worst enemy. He spent the entire time undercutting any prior physician’s opinions given to me, including a Harvard fellowship trained surgeon who fixed my back with a perfect result. Even said his opinions were garbage. Says a lot about him. Very unethical Doctor and person. I wouldn’t believe a word out of his mouth and I wouldn’t trust him at all with my life for spine surgery. Stay Clear if you value your life!

I saw Dr. Patel about a month ago for severe leg pain radiating down my left leg, refractory to more conservative treatments. I was so impressed with his knowledge and demeanor and when he told me he could operate 6 days later, I was so relieved. I left his office feeling great about his knowledge and skills. I’m 3 weeks post-op and I’ve never felt better. Such easy recovery and looking forward to getting my life back.

When did doctors lose their compassion for their patients? After many years of suffering debilitating back pain, I live everyday at a 9 out of 10 on the pain scale, another physician referred me to Dr. Alpesh Patel. I had visited another spine surgeon at Rush a year prior, who told me my pain was coming from herniated discs, and I would need to do pain injections, though she said she didn't think they'd work. I went to Dr. Patel hoping for more insight, and brought him a copy of my MRI from Rush. You are seen by a nurse and a doctor in training before you actually see Dr. Patel, and the student doctor is the only one who does an exam. Everyone spends maybe two minutes total with you. By the time Dr. Patel comes in, he's talked to his staff and viewed your MRI outside of the exam room, so he's already made a diagnosis before he's even seen you. He comes in to tell me he thinks the herniated discs are probably just from age (I'm 35), so they likely aren't the root of my pain, and that I… probably have a muscle strain somewhere. He never explains where exactly. He's already rushing out the door as he says it. I stop him to ask more questions, as I don't think it explains why I've been in this severe of pain for so long, but he says it's certainly possible. He tells me a nurse will be in to refer me to a pain specialist, and he leaves, basically with me in tears because nothing was answered. I get it, maybe I am not a patient who immediately needs spine surgery, but I am a human being in severe pain. The fact that he never even pretends to care, and rushed me out the door, is unforgivable. I deserved better. Since then, I have gone to an AMAZING surgeon at Illinois Masonic who actually spent a half hour with me listening, caring, and talking about the things he thinks it could be. He has ordered additional tests to be done, and is on top of it. I truly wish I would have gone to him first instead of wasting my time and money with Dr. Patel.

I am confident in Dr. Patel's skill and expertise.

Great Job Dr. Patel! Living with a disc herniation was miserable.

Helped my bf a long time ago. Thank you.

Dr. Patel is a very knowledgeable, caring and kind surgeon. He took the time to answer all my questions and was sure to check that I was comfortable with my care plan. He is a fantastic doctor and I would highly recommend him to my family and friends. I am so glad I went to him for a second opinion.

The whole team is amazing. Dr Patel is smart and caring and gives you your best options

I am the mother of 4 small children and my husband and I are both doctors. The several months of really difficult pain that I had prior to having surgery with Dr. Patel were not easy on me or my family. It is hard to explain to a 4 year old why you can't play with her, etc. Despite recommendations for much more aggressive surgery elsewhere, we travelled from out of state to see Dr. Patel who recommended a much less invasive procedure with less recovery time. He was honest and let me know that this might not solve the problem 100%, but that he had a back-up plan if it didn't. Well, it idid solve the problem 100% and I am pain free at the 5 month post-op mark. Dr. Patel ordered the correct tests, prescribed the correct surgery without "overdoing it" and performed that surgery with expertise. He is also a real gentleman and just a "good guy". Thank You Dr. Patel!

Very compassionate and spends time explaining in detail.