Dr. Heidi Louise Close, MD

I took my son to see Dr. Close for a growth in his nose. We were told that it would be less expensive to schedule an outpatient surgery in a "surgical center" rather than at the hospital. After authorizing the procedure with my insurance, I was told that I would have an out of pocket expense of $332 that would need to be paid before the surgery. A month later I started receiving insurance EOB's and bills from multiple entities; the surgical center, another hospital, anesthesiologist, and a lab, the additional out of pocket expenses that I was not informed of were more than $700! I tried to contact the office several times about these additional charges and my calls were NEVER returned! Warning; if they schedule any procedures, make sure that you ask about any additional billing from other offices. I was not prepared for a slew of medical bills that were more than $1000! On another note, Dr. Close doesn't have a great bed side manner, she's a little cold and doesn't seem to give… a lot of options other than surgery! I would not recommend this doctor to anyone.

After noticing a cyst like bump on my 5 year old's neck, our Pediatrician referred us to Dr. Close. We set up an appointment over the phone and were told that our son would need to have his throat scoped. I explained over the phone that it was an exterior cyst and I didn't think it was necessary. They suggested it anyway (They're the experts) So we prepared our son by explaining what was going to happen, that it may be uncomfortable but we would get him ice-cream afterward. Needless to say - he was scared to death. When we arrived in the room, the nurse came in and acted very confused - asking multiple times why we were there again. She exited and sent Dr. Close in - who then asked again why we were there. We showed her my sons throat which she examined all of 2 minutes and said - we need to do surgery, we need you guys to go get an ultrasound. We asked about the throat scope - no need. (duh) All the while she didn't interact with my son once - other then to poke around on his bump. I… asked if we could have the ultrasound the same day, she looked at me like I was dumb and said - no this isn't an emergency. (I had the day off and it would have been super convenient - I realized it wasn't an emergency) We set the ultrasound up for the following week - then I was instructed that I needed to call our doctor to schedule a follow up visit - in which I did for the then following week. On our return back to the office - Dr. Close informed us that the ultrasound images she received were of the wrong side of the neck. (the cyst is right in the middle and we watched the tech take several pictures of both sides of his neck and right on the cyst as well) She then said she still wasn't sure if it was a cyst or gland but that he needed surgery. She told us that it might be a simply surgery - or she might have to remove some of his throat bone depending on what she found when she got in there. (WHOA! He's 5! Isn't this the point of having the ultrasound? Shouldn't we biopsy it? Or maybe look into it a little further? I'm not a doctor - in fact I graduated from Art School - but it seems to me that there are logical steps that could be taken before exploratory surgery on a 5 year olds throat!) She had told my son when she walked in that if he was a good boy she would give him skittles. After she spoke openly about cutting his throat open and removing some bone in front of him - he said - Mom, I don't really want my throat cut open. I told him to hang tight - he then asked Dr. Close if he could have the skittles she offered him. She looked at him and said - "Do you think you were a good boy?" He looked at me - She then said to him "What do you say?" before he was even given an opportunity to say please. It was like a bad scene in a horror film. I couldn't wait to get out of there. Needless to say - we will be going somewhere else.

The office staff was nice and we had an appointment within 2 weeks of contacting this office. Dr. Close did not listen to me and what the issues were, she did not take accurate history, and she diagnosed me with something (TMJ) that both a dentist and another ENT doctor have verified that I didn't have. I was very unhappy and not satisfied. I was so upset I filed a complaint with the hospital before leaving the building. When I was called by the Iowa ENT office in West Des Moines they read back to me the patient history Dr. Close had entered and it was not correct in regards to time or actual events. Will NOT be going back.

Granted, my experience with ENT's is limited, but I cannot imagine my experience with Dr. Close was "normal" (God help us if it is).I had an initial visit and a follow-up visit, with the main intention of which was to find a way to deal with a certain sinus issue without pumping medications into my body. On the first trip, Dr. Close did not listen to what I was saying and insisted a medication was mild ("we give this to 2 year-olds, so it is fine"). I thought, "Ok, I can't imagine this will be any better than the scores of others I've tried, but I'll give it a go"...it was no better.So, upon my return, I told the nurse about the issue with medicine, and she must have gone out and verbally told Dr. Close the scenario (normally, good, right?). Close came into the room and said immediately (verbatim): "I can't imagine this medicine had those side effects, we give it to two year olds." (Again with the 2 year olds!) I told her that this kind of medication sensitivity (which is pretty… common, the more research I do into it) is something BOTH my parents dealt with, and she said "This isn't something that would run in the family." (give her a break, she's not a geneticist) I told her that being a man at my age, I know what the side effects are when I put something in my body (why should I justify why I don't want to take ineffective medication?!!). It was like having a conversation with a drug pusher on the corner (which would be less uncomfortable than this conversation). Anyway, I told her again I did not want drugs for this, but to look at other options - dietary, surgery, whatever. At that point, she said I should see an allergist and sent me on my way.Furthering the awkwardness - the person who makes the allergist appointments is in the same office, and when I walked by Dr. Close again, she didn't acknowledge me when she saw me nod. What a weird situation. The only thing I can think of is that she has been practicing medicine in such a way (drugs=the only solution) for so long that she doesn't know how to problem solve otherwise. For all I know, her knowledge of the drugs is spot-on, but I can't recommend a doctor who won't listen to her patients and treats them as I was treated.Moral of the story is that if you're looking for a ticket to drug town, you're all set with Dr. Close! But if you're looking for ACTUAL solutions, having a mature discussion about the options you have, and building a relationship with your Doctor, she is not the person to see.