Dr. Volkan B Guzel MD

I was at a Memorial Day party and took a nasty fall down some stairs which unfortunately broke my fibula in two places. Urgent care office suggested UT Physicians Richmond Bone & Joint - Katy. I knew of the location because in 2016 I had carpal tunnel surgery performed by Dr. Teunis. She in fact, went above and beyond to make sure I was recovering with minimal to no pain. She even gave me her personal cell number. The first appointment available was with Dr. Volkan Guzel on Wed. My Mother came with me. Dr. Guzel told me that I need surgery on Monday. I asked about pain management. He said “You broke your leg, you will just have pain.” My Mother kept insisting that I need something to help maintain the pain. He finally prescribed me some Hydrocodone 5 mg, 1-2 every 4-6 hours (which really didn't help). Monday, June 4; was surgery; I had 6 screws and a plate inserted in my fibula and ankle area. (Pictures attached) After my surgery, he went in to talk to my husband and Dr. Guzel ask if there was a history of prescription drug abuse. My husband was shocked and said there was no concern. After two weeks of being bedridden we went back and the x-ray looked good but was still in constant pain. This time he prescribed Tramadol and we went on our merry way. Tramadol was actually making the pain lessen but the side effects were killer. I had nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea but to me, it was worth it since I finally was relieved from the pain after about three weeks. After taking Tramadol for about 5 days I get a call from my OBGYN notifying me that Tramadol along with my Zoloft can cause the Serotonin Syndrome. I filled out tons of paperwork and on every single one, I informed them of my Zoloft prescription. After hearing this, I was furious. I called and left a voicemail for Kelly; first asking if he looked at my chart list of medication and if so, he must have felt that it isn't a concern. I received a call back from another nurse asking for my Pharmacy information. I then asked why I was prescribed this and she said “The zoloft wasn't transferred to the system from my chart.” WHAT?! There was no apology or acknowledgement of wrongdoing...none. Dr. Guzel than prescribed Tylenol #3; 1 every 6 hours; three weeks after surgery again stating that I am expected to be in pain. Well, the pain came right back, my entire foot looks and feels like it has 3rd degree burns. I can hardly touch it, even a feather to my skin makes me moan in pain. When I put a glob of lotion on it, it just melts like butter in a skillet. I couldn’t take it anymore and called Kelly again on June 28. She sounded like she is just waiting for the work day to end or is just annoyed with me. She puts me on hold to go and tell him about my pain. He is now going to prescribe me Lyrica for all of the nerve pain; fine. Well, I received a text from my pharmacy that the prescription was pending with insurance. After 24-48 hours I will find out if it can be filled. On Saturday, June 30; it was denied due to not trying a couple of other medication first. So for about an hour I was on the phone doing all the leg work for my doctor/nurse so I could hopefully start to have relief. Now, it is Saturday but they have an answering service and I left a message for the Dr. Guzel. She informed me about 15 minutes later that Dr. Guzel stated he doesn't prescribe pain medication over the weekend. Ha, I just laughed and hung up. I am now going to be searching for a new orthopedic surgeon that will hopefully listen, care, read charts, and understand his/her patients. I should have done it from the beginning when he essentially accused me of being a drug abuser. Or I should have switched after he could have put me in a coma or killed me with the drug combination of Tramadol and Zoloft oversight. I have never in my 34 years of life been treated like this from a doctor. If I were UT Physicians Richmond Bone & Joint; I would write him up or kick him out of the practice.

I went to see Dr Guzel for a suspected stress fracture in my hip. He spent well under five minutes in the exam room with me. He didn’t ask me my concerns and even walked out of the room as I was asking him a question. He sent me for an MRI but wasn’t in the office for a week and a half after. He refused to give me my results over the phone. His practice would not allow me to see another doctor. Meanwhile, I’m in incredible pain and wasn’t given instructions beyond “just don’t walk”. I told him walking was beyond painful, but there were no suggestions for relieving my pain.

Ebru.