Dr. Paul Philip Koonings, MD

I was very happy with Dr. Koonings. He listened to my concerns, was very empathetic and understanding. I would certainly recommend his.

What a pro! An excellent surgeon! Great bedside manner! I was afraid and l trusted him! Thanks Dr. Paul Koonings. Well done!

I can only assume that Dr. Koonings knows his speciality since he is also a UCSD professor. He did tell me, after I asked, that a Fellow and a Resident would be doing my surgery under his supervision. I did meet the Resident, I never met the Fellow. He has a quirky bedside manner - during the consultation, he asked me questions and when I answered, he would finish my sentences for me - already knowing the answer. Maybe that's the teacher in him. My main complaint is post-op pain management. My husband had to wait 3 extra hours to see me in the recovery room because I was in too much pain. He was finally allowed in, if he promised not to wake me up. During my hospital stay, I had a pain pump with Dilaudid - which was giving me mild hallucinations. Rather than switching to a different narcotic, the pump was removed and I was given Norco. Norco is for toothaches or sprained ankles, not major surgery. When I complained about the continuing pain, Dr. Koonings actually asked me,… "Did you think it wasn't going to hurt?" Somehow, I was able to answer him civilly and I did get the pain meds upped to Perocet. Hopefully, Dr. Koonings' students will be a bit more sensitive to their patients' comfort.

I feel Dr. Koonings is charming yet deceptive. He dictated things in my chart that I never said to him, and further more dictated in my chart that he discussed medical concerns with me which he never discuss with me. Most likely to cover his butt. He said I would Not have a resident do my surgery, but found out later after going to medical records and getting copies of my operative report that in fact a Resident did do my surgery, which explained why I was left with a botched scar on me from a practice sloppy surgery which caused me an incredible amount of pain, as I was the ginny pig for the Resident to learn. When I told him I still had pain he blew me off, and sent me back to work way to early. I will never go back to him again.

Dr. Koonings is a wonderful Doctor. His bed side manner was the best. He listened to me and explained things to me in a way i would understand. He and his team saved my life and changed it for the better. I can finally start living and doing things i could not do before my surgery. I would strongly recommend him to anyone. He is a true Angel and the best doctor i have ever had.

Would not recommend

Attentive, personable, careful, brilliant surgeon, kind, and great followup care. I saw him regularly for three years and cannot scratch up even one small criticism.

Cocky and arrogant are two words that come to mind. I have been a patient for 18 months and have been unable to fully trust or relate to him. Koonings answers my questions with a cryptic one or two word response, and "the look" seems to challenge me to pursue the matter further when the initial answer isn't understood. Like another critic, I too have been pawned off on residents who lack the authority or experience to act quickly when time is of the essence. Avoid this one unless you have no other choice.

best care i have ever received

Although I told Dr. Koonings several times that I was not doing any better after surgery and was in great pain he ignored me. Finally after 5 weeks an infection was found and I had to have a second surgery. If only he would have listened. I only saw him for minutes during 5 months of treatment. I DID see 3 rotating residents. I strongly believe in alowing student doctors to be involved with a case. But Dr. Koonings was not very involved in my care. I would not go to Dr. Koonings again.