Dr. Stefan J. Friedrichsdorf, MD

Very patronizing and derisive in interactions. Misdiagnosed my child, which prolonged our wait for appropriate care.

Dr.F as I will refer to him..was delightful and very informative. My 11 year old was diagnosed with CRPS and was frustrated with the lack of knowledge from other doctors we have seen. Dr. F and his team came in and immediately made us feel welcomed and comfortable. He does his whole exam with a kind heart and a great sense of humor which puts the kids at ease. He came up with a great plan and was honest about how to go about it. Would highly recommend him!!! If I could give him 5 stars I would.

My daughter had been having chronic pain for almost a year before we were referred to Dr. Friedrichsdorf. We arrived at the first visit and went into a room with multiple doctors who fired questions at my daughter; this made her uncomfortable. After a check-up with the psychologist, physical therapist, and Dr. Friedrichsdorf, the team decided her pain could be cured with physical therapy, regular psychologist visits, hypnotherapy, and various other homeopathic remedies. Dr. Friedrichsdorf told my daughter she needed to lose weight, which made her feel horrible about herself and was the last thing a doctor should have said when dealing with chronic pain. We left the doctor's office unsure what to do. This clinic is said to be one of the best pain clinics in the country, but it did not feel that way. I asked my daughter if she thought the plan the team came up with was something that would help her and she told me she would not be returning to that office. A couple months later, we… had gone to a different doctor, who upon a very quick check-up found that my daughter had a birth defect that was causing excruciating pain. We were so relieved that someone found it and it could be fixed. Dr. Friedrichsdorf should have found this issue, but really never gave my daughter the time of day. He made her feel horrible about herself and unsure whether she could trust doctors anymore. Although he had told her her pain was real, his tone said otherwise. Overall, this man was terrible to my daughter and I am furious with the way he treated her. I will never recommend him to anyone.

When we were referred to this clinic for my 11 year old's chronic pain issues, there was a wait to get into the clinic for a full evaluation of 2 months. However, we were able to begin seeing a psychologist in the meantime before we met with the entire pain clinic team. The psychologist was WONDERFUL. I cannot speak highly enough of her or the staff. She helped us through such a difficult time and helped my son learn to manage his pain so that he was able to attend school again and regain a normal life. Dr. Friedrichsdorf worked with my son, did a complete physical, explained how his pain WAS "real" even though it could not be seen or gaged by a temperature or by nausea or vomiting. It was so comforting to finally have a doctor and staff understand and acknowledge his pain and that it wasn't just something he had to "deal with". With physical therapy, hypnotherapy, and psychology appointments, my son is back to himself after a 3 year struggle of chronic pain.