Dr. Laura Kathryn Vricella, MD

Felt rushed. Questions I had seemed to be brushed off and not answered. Not a very personable doctor at all.

I had been attending the Fetal & Maternal Dept in Mercy St.Louis for the last 3 months to have my unborn child's kidneys & heart monitored due to some complications which caused me to be considered a high risk pregnancy. I was very pleased with my overall experiences until my last prior visit. I had an appointment for another ultrasound to check on my babies kidneys & while I was taken back in the room, I had the lead sonogram tech do my ultrasound this time & while she was looking over things she asked which kidney was drastically swollen & I had told her the right kidney & she said that matched the paper work but she was showing it was his left kidney was the swollen one & not the right. She then told me to sit tight & Dr. Vricella would be in to follow up on the ultrasound to see which kidney was in fact enlarged. My child's kidney is 3 1/2 times the size it should be & 4 is severe. I waited for over 45 minutes to have the same sonogram tech come in & tell me I was dismissed to go… home & I would not see the dr. I asked why and which kidney was in fact swollen & she informed me it was the left kidney & the dr was sick so she didn't want me to get her cuddies. I felt beyond dissapounted & brushed off like I completely did not matter. I didn't understand how she became sick within the last hour & couldn't put a mask on to just come explain what happened. They then made my appointment even further away than what they had been the last 3 months leaving me completely clueless for 5 weeks! I called the hospital & spoke with the director of the Fetal & Maternal Health Dept and he apologized for the misunderstanding and took time out of his busy day to go over my results with me & hope that they can regain my trust. I still have not received an apology from Dr. Laura K Vricella. I refuse to be under her care again as she has not admitted to any faults or explained how she has looked over all 3 ultrasounds and missed that the sonogram had marked the wrong kidney. I lost all faith and trust in the clinic & hope everyone can learn from my experience & ALWAYS get a second opinion on your child. Their health means the world & our children need us to speak up for them as they can not!!