Dr. Grayson Hubbard Wheatley III, MD

More "accurate" reviews about Dr. Wheatley can be found at "healthgrades.com". Respectfully, Larry Bailey

The negative reviews posted about Dr. Wheatley MUST be about some 'other' Dr. Wheatley. They do NOT reflect the Dr. Wheatley I know! I am nobody special and there was no reason for Dr. Wheatley to treat me as such. Therefore, I have no reason to believe he would treat anyone else differently than he treated me. My review follows: Ref: Dr. Grayson Wheatley In 2007 I was rushed to a local hospital here in Tucson, AZ and was diagnosed with an “Ascending Aortic Dissection”, the same condition that caused the death of actor John Ritter (Three’s Company). An emergency operation was performed and I survived the operation just fine. I was told at the time that I would probably experience further complications with my aorta in the future. The ‘future’ came in 2013 when it was discovered that my aorta was experiencing further ‘dissection’. I was told this condition is largely hereditary. In any case, I sought out the advice of local vascular surgeons here in Tucson, the most prominent… of whom advised that I would need what is called a “de-branching” of my aortic arch. He also advised that such an operation was/is “tricky business” and that the successful outcome would require the skill and knowledge of the absolute best vascular surgeon possible. Although he was/is a vascular surgeon himself, he declined performing the operation and mentioned that there were basically five doctors “in the world” that he felt comfortable recommending to perform this delicate and complex procedure. He further elaborated that, fortunately for me, one of them was in Phoenix. That surgeon is Dr. Grayson Wheatley. I won’t bore you details of my past experiences with doctors in general, and cardio vascular surgeons in particular. Suffice it to say I have had some “less than favorable” experiences with several. My “preconception” was that Dr. Wheatley, being a surgeon so highly respected by his “peers”, would be the, so often, typically “elitist” doctor, would be somewhat aloof and very covetous of his valuable time. My wife shared in my preconceived notion of what we were about to experience. A few days later we made the two hour drive to Phoenix. WOW, were we surprised!! Dr. Wheatley is a VERY “down to earth” type of person and treated us like we were part of his family. Totally absent is the air of “conceit” we have experienced with so many other “specialists”. He TOOK HIS TIME with us and at no time did we feel ‘rushed’. I believe he would have spent all day with us if we so desired. He carefully, and clearly, explained exactly what was going on with my aorta and what needed to be done to save it, and ME. He was also VERY reassuring that he had done this type of operation many times and that, to his knowledge, they were all still walking around. Needless to say, that was a GREAT relief to us. Prior to this we had been thinking in terms of, “It’s all over now, just a matter of a short time and I’ll be pushing up daises”! To say the operation was a success would be a huge understatement. My recovery was quick and to this day, if I didn’t know what I had been through, I wouldn’t even know what had happened. We were very sad when Dr. Wheatley relocated to Philadelphia. Further testimony to his work are the facts that, in follow up CT scans over the past several years, OTHER vascular surgeons have commented on the excellent surgery performed by Dr. Wheatley, evident in the scans. Alas, and probably not entirely surprising, a further aneurysm has been discovered in my aorta near my renal arteries. Given the diagnosis and “possible” treatment options, we once again sought out Dr. Wheatley. He now resides, and practices, in Nashville, TN. GOOD NEWS, he is that much closer to Tucson! Will we make the trip to Nashville to be under his care? You betcha! If he relocated to China, would we make the trip to be under his care? YOU BETCHA! We have once again contacted Dr. Wheatley and, true to character, he has treated us like family, again. Despite the distance and his, no doubt, very busy schedule, he has agreed to review my recent CT scans, not only via email, he has also called us on the phone to discuss the issue(s) with my aorta. WOW! It is hard enough to get a ‘local’ doctor to return a phone call! Needless to say, I HIGHLY recommend Dr. Wheatley for any cardio vascular, cardio thoracic, aortic issues. While I might concede it is possible that, somewhere, there ‘may’ be a vascular surgeon as good as Dr. Wheatley, there are NONE better. Respectfully, Larry Bailey Sahuarita, AZ PS: It is 2019 and at age 73 I am still going strong!

Mis-diagnosed.. unresponsive since surgery.. surgery failed having to be redone by Vanderbilt.. never see this doctor

Dr Wheatly is no longer at centennial medical Carcinogenesis surgery or centennial medical center due to high morbidity and mortality rates. My family members surgery was botched so bad he was transferred to another hospital mid surgery and subsequently died because of this inept doctor who did not not have properly working vital machines in the OR! And his grossly negligent medical care .His smug comments to this patients family were a slap n the face to his family members and zero follow upon he or his staff! Please never let this man I operate on anyone you know or yourself!

He did wonders to help my Aorta issue. My lower rating was due to the hospital being poor at best to help with secondary issues

I live some distance from the Hospital. During the initial visit everything was fine, but He hasn't returned one of my phone calls yet, and it appears he missed diagnosed!

Dr. Wheatley is one of the greatest doctors I have seen. He is caring, compassionate and an excellent surgeon. The office staff, however, leaves something to be desired. The Arizona Heart Institute is a large corporation and he has no control over the workings of the office staff, so the long waits are not his fault and should not reflect against him.

Dr. Wheatley is a wonderful person as well as a wonderful doctor....no qualities that I dislike and I would recommend him to anyone and every one!!

would recomend him to anyone.