Sivashakthi Maeder, MD

Terrible bedside manner and patient interaction. I went to Dr. Maeder for a long, yet undiagnosed neurological issue, that I finally narrowed down to being triggered visually. I went to her primarily because she is indicated as a neuro-ophthalmologist. I should note that I had to wait 8 months for this appointment. After several preliminary tests I met first with a resident MD (Dr. Montgomery) who was very attentive and listened to the symptoms, triggers, and history and asked pertinent questions. (There was no way Dr Montgomery had time to thoroughly relay the history to Dr. Maeder in the short time between Dr Montgomery leaving and Dr. Maeder coming in. And I don’t hold that against Dr. Montgomery). Finally Dr. Maeder came in. She did not acknowledge the presence of my wife, did not ask how I was doing, nor ask about the history of the issue, nor engage at anything close to a personal level. Needless to say the tests and her findings were negative and I do not question the results… or ultimate lack of a diagnosis. What disurbed me most was the unfeeling, dismissive nature of our interaction. Our brief interaction also indicated a lack of review of my records on her part. She brought up decades old, irrelevant, short-lived issues. Asked who was treating me for such and such thing that I haven't been treated for, literally rolled her eyes when I mentioned an eyepatch I sometimes use to reduce triggering effects - deeming it a placebo effect because there is nothing indicated on the the tests. There was no attempt to delve into potential neurological causes. Basically the interaction was short, dismissive, and uncaring. My wife was in tears. I was just stunned. She ended it by opening the door and saying "this way". That's it. It was not like we were belligerent or even questioned her diagnosis. We were so stunned that we were practically speachless. I've been struggling with this issue for years and there was no "well the tests we did today show nothing definitive, but let's talk a minute about what you next steps could be." It felt more like: I found nothing. Stop wasting my time. Good bye.