Dr. Joanna Yen Jung Woo, DO

This is a long overdue review. Joanna Woo is the absolute worst ob/gyn doctor and human being. As a woman, you would think she would be compassionate towards other women especially during pregnancy or when there's an issue. This is absolutely not the case. She treated me worse than a cow going to slaughter. I was pregnant with my first child. Being 36 at the time, I was offered a genetics blood test. I took the test and awaited my results. Couple days go by and I went in to see Joanna for an unscheduled visit due to bleeding. She saw me and said everything was fine. She then said that she had my test results. She pulled out the paper and said my baby had a high chance of a chromosome disorder and that the baby would have a low chance of survival. She rattled off some data and percentages like a robot. Not once did she offer any compassion. She did not show an ounce of emotion while speaking of the diagnosis. Afterwards, while i was reeling in shock, not only did she not offer any… type of advice of what to do, or any options , she had her assistant hand me a list of abortion clinics. She left the room quickly and did not even offer me any type of condolence or comfort. Her demeanor was sterile, robotic, and outright disturbing. It was absolutely awful and traumatic event as my first pregnancy and Joanna made it even worse. Please do not use Joanna Woo as your doctor. She does not care about her patients and she does not care about women.

If I could give this practice zero stars I would. I was dropped from Dr. Woo at 36 weeks pregnant bc she didn't go over my medical records! She claimed there were too many pages! Guess what Dr. Woo that's part of your job! Her office manager Mercedes was of no help. She was extremely rude and uncaring. Mercedes attempted to hang up on me at least three times during our conversation while I was trying to understand the situation. I simply needed prenantal care from an OB that was covered by my new insurance for labs, ultrasounds, and would be my back OB in case of an emergency (my birth plan was to go through a birthing center). The least Dr. Woo and Mercedes could have done was give me a list of OB's that would be willing to work with me, they provided nothing- even after Mercedes reassured me that Dr. Woo had an extensive list of OB's that could provide me with care. They kept blaming liability insurance which is a lie. Basically if you don't get care through delivery… (where they make all their money from) they will abandoned you no matter how far along you are in your pregnancy. My dad and sister are physician's so I'm very familiar with how a reputable practice is supposed to be ran. When there's good management and amazing doctor's who care about their patients and don't treat them like a number it makes a world of difference. When I told Mercedes this she told me "ask them for a list of OB's". I would have if they didn't practice out of state. If you're willing to put you and your unborn baby through stress I would recommend going here. If not, do yourself a favor, find another OB who isn't going to abandoned you and legitimately cares about their patients. STAY FAR AWAY FROM THIS OFFICE!!!

Part 1/2: As a patient of Dr. Joanna Woo, it was obvious that she did not listen to or care about me. She exploited my genetic predisposition to make money. During our consultation, I told her I tested positive for Lynch Syndrome 8 years ago. It was the only genetic variable with a positive result. She still ordered genetic testing, which is really expensive, for everything. In hindsight she took advantage of my insurance to make money. I did not hear from them until they called because there was a mistake with my results and needed to be see. ASAP. I was so scared. When I went in, Dr. Woo told me I tested positive for Lynch Syndrome, as if it were news to me or her. She would have known that if she listened at the consultation. She said with my condition I could get 3 types of cancer. Her course of treatment included an IUD for endometrial cancer prevention, consideration of a hysterectomy and freezing my eggs if I wanted a child. She said it was necessary to stay… alive. I'm only 28. The news was scary and devastating. I trusted her because I thought she had my best interest in mind. I was on Sklya but she insisted on replacing it with Kyleena, even though it's bigger and has more hormones. I’m very petite. It leaves me questioning if she gets a money kick back from prescribing the newer brand BC. I waited an hour after my appointment because the front desk did not notice when I checked in and were very rude about it. Before I was seen, the staff was unaware of the IUD replacement. I was a scared patient and they handled the entire situation very insensitively. Also, it was covered by my insurance but I had to pay a lot of money upfront. They said they would reimburse me for it. It was very expensive and half a year later, I haven't been reimbursed. In hindsight, this goes back to them taking advantage of my insurance to make money. A month later I felt the negative side effects of the new BC. I felt very depressed and anxious which isn't normal. I gained weight and broke out with terrible, painful acne around my jawline, neck and cheeks. My face was always clear before the BC. Hair grew in random places all over my face it's never grown before. Clearly something was very off. At my follow-up, I let Dr. Woo know I did not like the physical or emotional effects I experienced. She insisted I keep it in to stay alive. It was too soon and I needed to wait because the symptoms would subside. As scared as I was, I trusted her. Big mistake. The symptoms got worse. My entire face was covered with hair, acne and scars. I gained 20 lbs, even though I stay very active and watch what I eat. I felt bloated with terrible headaches all the time. Emotionally, I became very depressed with severe mood swings. I experienced so much anxiety and insecurity which isn’t normal. I used to be very outgoing and bubbly. The physical effects made the emotional effects worse. I hit an all time low when I became suicidal. I did not want to hurt myself but I wished everyday I would get hit by a car. Against her advice, I went in to get it removed. I explained why and how I was feeling, and Dr. Woo tried to make it seem like it was all in my head and something else going on in my life caused all of that. She insisted it wasn’t a result of Kyleena. I could tell she did not care about how I felt. And surprisingly she did not bring up BC concerns, and its necessity to stay alive like she did in the past. She did not suggest a new course of treatment for Lynch Syndrome which left me very skeptical about her motives. She just removed it and sent me on my way. 3 months after the removal, I am still recovering from the aftermath of Kyleena. I still haven’t gotten my period. I’m still breaking out, scarring and growing hair all over my face. The scars make me very insecure. I have to spend a lot of money to get them faded because they’re a reminder of how depressed I was. Now, I have to live with them for the rest of my life. I still get extreme mood swings. I can’t lose weight, even though I eat healthy and workout for 2 hours, 6 days a week. Emotionally, I still feel depressed and anxious. Bottom line, if a doctor, like Dr. Joanna Woo, insists the use of medication against your will because it’s “necessary to stay alive,” always get a 2nd opinion. I fell short of that because I was worried about staying alive and thought I could trust my doctor. This BC ruined me, my body and mind, and my finances. I’ve never felt so low in my life to the point I questioned taking my own life. I’m still recovering months later.