Dr. Mark E Mcdonnell, MD

Both my husband and I have seen Dr. McDonnell for years and we love him. Great bedside manner and great podiatrist!

I’ve had good experiences with drs I’ve chosen in Austin, but Dr. McDonnell and his staff Liz, Joanna, and the billing department are the worst medical office I have ever dealt with. I was steered wrongly and recommended to him by Texas Orthopedics bc they don’t do feet. If you want a doctor who you’re able to communicate with rather than going through his incompetent, unprofessional staff, I urge you to go see a different dr. Numerous times I was told over a period of 2 weeks from Liz & Joanna that Dr. McDonnell would call me to answer my questions. I paid $300 to see him, he charges more than most drs, and all he did was give me a $500 boot that the billing dept said would likely be covered that I never used and was not covered. It was too painful to wear, and did nothing to “heal” my chief complaint—nerve injury and loss of toe function due to a deep cut. Instead of offering treatment options he said, “It’s a hard one. Try the boot. Come back in a few weeks.” I sought a second… opinion bc he didn’t seem sure and surgery would be my last resort. Being a runner and working on my feet all day, it has been very depressing. Dr. McDonnell and his staff made my nightmare injury much worse by not offering any empathy, support, or guidance—basic necessities of patient care. Even after seeing a second podiatrist, I respected Dr. McDonnell, i still wanted his professional opinion bc the other podiatrist recommended such a vastly different treatment plan than just “rest.” The other dr said to shave off the side of my foot bc I had a Tailor’s bunion which Dr. McDonnell made no mention of or did not even notice, and said I’d need surgery to reattach the tendon, Dr. McDonnell didn’t even mention I cut my tendon. He just said I had nerve damage and a bone bruise. I called his office afterwards to talk to him about it and what he thinks is best and to bounce off the other dr’s ideas off of him to reassure myself I was making the best informed decision combining both drs’ expertise, but his staff refused to let me speak with him, and kept on making excuses for him. I understand he’s busy seeing other patients, but 2 weeks is unreasonable. Joanna said, “Well, that’s because he’s a specialist and is in surgery.” I’ve had surgeries in my family, and never once have any of my friends or family members had a physician who did not care enough to follow up and speak with his/her patients. And unlike most doctors nowadays, there’s no way to message him through a portal. After 2 weeks, Joanna told me, only after I called her bc she never called me back as promised, that “Dr. McDonnell says why don’t you ask the other dr you saw?” Unbelievable. Also, I asked for a simple dr’s note so I could wear comfortable open tiw shoes at work, but she couldn’t even do that. She’s been with him for 18 years and can’t honor any simple patient requests like a dr’s note not a call back. She kept in saying I’d have to pay to see him again, even though I already paid $300, and I’d only want to see him if he could recommend a better treatment option and only if his staff wasn’t so terrible to deal with. Do not waste your time and money seeing Dr. McDonnell and dealing with the headache of his uncaring, blasé staff.

I’ve had good experiences with drs I’ve chosen in Austin, but Dr. McDonnell and his staff Liz, Joanna, and the billing department are the worst medical office I have ever dealt with. I was steered wrongly and recommended to him by Texas Orthopedics bc they don’t do feet. If you want a doctor who you’re able to communicate with rather than going through his incompetent, unprofessional staff, I urge you to go see a different dr. Numerous times I was told over a period of 2 weeks from Liz & Joanna that Dr. McDonnell would call me to answer my questions. I paid $300 to see him, he charges more than most drs, and all he did was give me a $500 boot that the billing dept said would likely be covered that I never used and was not covered. It was too painful to wear, and did nothing to “heal” my chief complaint—nerve injury and loss of toe function due to a deep cut. Instead of offering treatment options he said, “It’s a hard one. Try the boot. Come back in a few weeks.” I sought a second… opinion bc he didn’t seem sure and surgery would be my last resort. Being a runner and working on my feet all day, it has been very depressing. Dr. McDonnell and his staff made my nightmare injury much worse by not offering any empathy, support, or guidance—basic necessities of patient care. Even after seeing a second podiatrist, I respected Dr. McDonnell, i still wanted his professional opinion bc the other podiatrist recommended such a vastly different treatment plan than just “rest.” The other dr said to shave off the side of my foot bc I had a Tailor’s bunion which Dr. McDonnell made no mention of or did not even notice, and said I’d need surgery to reattach the tendon, Dr. McDonnell didn’t even mention I cut my tendon. He just said I had nerve damage and a bone bruise. I called his office afterwards to talk to him about it and what he thinks is best and to bounce off the other dr’s ideas off of him to reassure myself I was making the best informed decision combining both drs’ expertise, but his staff refused to let me speak with him, and kept on making excuses for him. I understand he’s busy seeing other patients, but 2 weeks is unreasonable. Joanna said, “Well, that’s because he’s a specialist and is in surgery.” I’ve had surgeries in my family, and never once have any of my friends or family members had a physician who did not care enough to follow up and speak with his/her patients. And unlike most doctors nowadays, there’s no way to message him through a portal. After 2 weeks, Joanna told me, only after I called her bc she never called me back as promised, that “Dr. McDonnell says why don’t you ask the other dr you saw?” Unbelievable. Also, I asked for a simple dr’s note so I could wear comfortable open tiw shoes at work, but she couldn’t even do that. She’s been with him for 18 years and can’t honor any simple patient requests like a dr’s note not a call back. She kept in saying I’d have to pay to see him again, even though I already paid $300, and I’d only want to see him if he could recommend a better treatment option and only if his staff wasn’t so terrible to deal with. Do not waste your time and money seeing Dr. McDonnell and dealing with the headache of his uncaring, blasé staff.

I’ve had good experiences with drs I’ve chosen in Austin, but Dr. McDonnell and his staff Liz, Joanna, and the billing department are the worst medical office I have ever dealt with. I was steered wrongly and recommended to him by Texas Orthopedics bc they don’t do feet. If you want a doctor who you’re able to communicate with rather than going through his incompetent, unprofessional staff, I urge you to go see a different dr. Numerous times I was told over a period of 2 weeks from Liz & Joanna that Dr. McDonnell would call me to answer my questions. I paid $300 to see him, he charges more than most drs, and all he did was give me a $500 boot that the billing dept said would likely be covered that I never used and was not covered. It was too painful to wear, and did nothing to “heal” my chief complaint—nerve injury and loss of toe function due to a deep cut. Instead of offering treatment options he said, “It’s a hard one. Try the boot. Come back in a few weeks.” I sought a second… opinion bc he didn’t seem sure and surgery would be my last resort. Being a runner and working on my feet all day, it has been very depressing. Dr. McDonnell and his staff made my nightmare injury much worse by not offering any empathy, support, or guidance—basic necessities of patient care. Even after seeing a second podiatrist, I respected Dr. McDonnell, i still wanted his professional opinion bc the other podiatrist recommended such a vastly different treatment plan than just “rest.” The other dr said to shave off the side of my foot bc I had a Tailor’s bunion which Dr. McDonnell made no mention of or did not even notice, and said I’d need surgery to reattach the tendon, Dr. McDonnell didn’t even mention I cut my tendon. He just said I had nerve damage and a bone bruise. I called his office afterwards to talk to him about it and what he thinks is best and to bounce off the other dr’s ideas off of him to reassure myself I was making the best informed decision combining both drs’ expertise, but his staff refused to let me speak with him, and kept on making excuses for him. I understand he’s busy seeing other patients, but 2 weeks is unreasonable. Joanna said, “Well, that’s because he’s a specialist and is in surgery.” I’ve had surgeries in my family, and never once have any of my friends or family members had a physician who did not care enough to follow up and speak with his/her patients. And unlike most doctors nowadays, there’s no way to message him through a portal. After 2 weeks, Joanna told me, only after I called her bc she never called me back as promised, that “Dr. McDonnell says why don’t you ask the other dr you saw?” Unbelievable. Also, I asked for a simple dr’s note so I could wear comfortable open tiw shoes at work, but she couldn’t even do that. She’s been with him for 18 years and can’t honor any simple patient requests like a dr’s note not a call back. She kept in saying I’d have to pay to see him again, even though I already paid $300, and I’d only want to see him if he could recommend a better treatment option and only if his staff wasn’t so terrible to deal with. Do not waste your time and money seeing Dr. McDonnell and dealing with the headache of his uncaring, blasé staff.

First broken bone, shattered my heel, or calcaneus bone. Dr. McDonnell explained everything before, answered any and all questions I had. Surgery went great, recovering currently and would choose Dr. McDonnell for any future foot issues. Very impressed with Dr. McDonnell

Dr. McDonnell has an engaging personality that makes you trust him. Trusting him is a big mistake. He performed an operation on my foot that should never have been done. After this surgery I complained of pain and swelling and a knot on the foot. Dr. McDonnell kept saying it was just healing. He never even took an x-ray. The physical therapist told me I needed to see another Dr. When I sought another opinion and had an MRI the foot had two fractures and two ruptured tendons (I think Dr. McDonnell cut these) caused by the surgery. It has been over a year, I have more pain than before the surgery amd may always have this. Before I trust anyone again, I will get another opinion before I let anyone cut again.