Dr. Lewis Rhodes Townsend, MD

Given the glowing reviews for Dr. Townsend, I was expecting a highly competent, professional encounter for our first meeting to talk about the Mona Lisa procedure. Instead, Dr. T first asked me what kind of hormone treatment I was on as a post-menopausal woman. When I said none, he said that he considers it 'medical malpractice' for menopausal women to NOT be on HST (patch, at least). I was floored. I wasn't there for HRT, I was there to learn about Mona Lisa. He continued to push the HRT throughout our short (20 min) meeting, even though I did not express interest in HRT. When I mentioned some of the known risk factors (such as history of stroke in my family), he waved them off as "lies" or inaccuracies, saying that the risk factor is only during the first year for women under 60. He then continued, with no encouragement from me, to tell me all the things that were wrong with me as a post menopausal woman, from vaginal problems to "brain fog," to bone deterioration. All this without… reviewing my history or a conversation. In addition, and this was really weird, he mispronounced and misused several different words several different times. By the end of our appointment, I found myself trying not to laugh, since he started to remind me of a carnival barker trying to sell me another three balls. It was surreal.

Dr. Townsend delivered our child 18 years ago and continues to be my favorite GYN. I trust his skills and decisions. Most important, he listens to what I have to say about my body and my life.

Dr. Townsend is excellent! I highly recommend him and his practice.

Ive been seeing Dr. Townsend for over 10 years now..and of course he's an Execellent Doctor. !!!!!!!

I have been seeing Dr. Townsend for years and absolutely love him. He has always treated me with respect and spends time listening to me and my concerns. He offers various solutions for me to think about and try and has never been condescending to me. He is warm and friendly and I find it easy to make appointments with him, plus, he is always prompt. I highly recommend him. I, however, do feel his reception staff and Dr. Kleinerman, who is another Doctor in the practice need some work on patient relationships for many reasons that I choose not to disclose in this review.

This doctor was rude and condescending. I had several questions for him and he was not happy about explaining his responses. He made sure to let me know that he squeezed me in for the appointment, which lasted 15 minutes (I did not have an exam, it was just a conversation). I would never go back to see this doctor again and would not recommend him to anyone.

Ive had to change doctors many times over the years due to relocations. Even though he is out of my way I will keep him. He is great with me and I would highly reommend him to others. Nothing but great experiences. I'll keep him

Dr. Townsend did not communicate with me about the procedures he was doing. I was sent home in tears after a procedure was done that I had not expected. I did not feel treated with respect. He did not follow up after the procedure at all.Additionally, the billing department had a collections agency call me before I had received a bill. They later removed the extra charges, but the entire process was time consuming and irritating.

I would agree with other reviews about Dr. Townsend's caring and positive attitude. But a great doctor? I've heard about surgeons who will advise surgery not because it is the best thing to do but because they like to cut and it pays the bills. This doctor recommended a hysterectomy! I got two other second opinions - both doctors said they wouldn't recommend this because I had only 2 fibroids, both "the size of a Tylenol pill". They both thought this doctor was crazy to want to do surgery, especially because I was so close to menopause and the fibroids were so very tiny. So I switched to a different doctor (this was about three years ago), and since then, the one fibroid has disappeared on its own and the other almost gone. After switching doctors, I also found out that the years on birth control pills, which he recommended to stay on to help prevent osteoporosis, actually was not helping at all. I found out that keeping women on synthetic estrogen, such as birth control, as an… osteoporosis preventative is "old school" thinking and not effective. Synthetic estrogen made my body stop producing natural estrogen, which was the worse thing I could do for my bones. So be careful because while his bedside manner is great, he doesn't give good advice and obviously listens to the pharmaceutical propaganda rather than does his own research for the best patient care.

I love Dr. Townsend's positive attitude. He is very professional, but always sensitive and caring. He is always ready for you when you arrive for your appointment. He is a great doctor!