Thomas M. Magardino, MD, Naples FL

This is a summary of my very recent experience with Dr. Magardino.

My GP referred me to Dr. M to clear out a buildup of wax, since my GP felt that this issue just might be the cause of recent vertigo. The GP opined that a specialist should perform such a function.

There was a 20 minute wait to get into his room, then another 15 minutes until he came into the room, while complaining that the previous patient had the same issues as me. Dr. M stated that ear wax is never a cause of vertigo, or hearing loss. He stated that I should not have booked an appointment just to have him do my GP's job, without any other conditions affecting the issue, since I told Dr. M that the day of the appointment I had no symptoms of my off and on vertigo.

He proceeded with his tool to retract the impacted build up of wax. The experience quickly became so very painful in the right ear, as he pressed on to keep within a certain timeframe. When I could no longer stand the extreme pain, he switched to the left ear, and proceeded on that ear. Immediately the pain grew greater, such than I could no longer stand. I felt that he had been compassionless.

He told me to use an over the counter Debrox for two days, then come back to finish the procedure. I was concerned that he had been lecturing needlessly, rude about denigrating my GP's referral, and condescending about unnecessarily taking up his time.

So I cancelled the next appointment and booked with another EN&T doctor. Their practice considers ear wax to be a required function of their patient workload.

The new doctor examined my ears, and told me that both were swollen-one almost closed-bruised, and very (sore) reddish. The new MD said that I have a lifetime's malformed crooked, twisted angel to my ear canal, that discomforts from any solid tools entering. Instead the new MD used soft tools with a compressor, and within 15 minutes succioned/extracted all the wax-painlessly.

That night I slept painlessly for the first time in weeks, as my ears no longer disturb me. Also, I can hear much better now.

Needless to say, I won't return to Dr. M, told my GP about the experience, and congratulated and thanked my new MD. I will revisit my new MD in three months, then again annually to hopefully ensure that I no longer get the frequent ear infections I have suffered for decades.

Disclaimer: All of the following are my personal opinions only — following my recent experience with Dr. Magardino. Nothing herein is a statement of fact about what was going on in his mind as it related to his recent appointment with me. But rather, this review is simply a summary of how I felt during and following my visit to his office.

In sum, Magardino's service and care left me feeling disappointed and worried. It started off well with his pleasant front office staff and easy tablet questionnaire. I didn't have to wait very long either, and got taken right in to his exam room. Unfortunately, after a few minutes reading my chart, looking in and cleaning my ears, he provided a quick potential diagnosis that I personally found vague and unclear. Hoping to understand the root of my problem, I asked for clarification on a few points. When I did so, it seemed to me he was getting annoyed and impatient with my questions. (No patient should ever feel discouraged from asking a doctor questions.) When I asked if I could clarify two remaining concerns that I had, he said no — essentially commenting that he had other patients to get to. If Magardino spent much more than 10 minutes with me I'd be surprised. So I had to get up and leave. He came across in my mind as unapologetic that I, a patient, had unanswered concerns. I personally sensed very little compassion from him about my fear of losing my hearing. I can't read people's minds so I won't comment on his motives other than to say it felt to me like I was just a number in his exam room, and I left that day just as fearful about my hearing loss as when I went in, and to this day my problem still persists. I will never ever go back to his office and without commenting on him specifically, I would strongly caution people to look for a doctor that has great reviews with respect to patience and bedside manner.

Dr. Magardino performed Balloon Sinuplasty on me approx 1 year ago. He is such an amazing Dr. I have referred other friends and co-workers to him for their sinus/ear problems. The proceedure was done with local anesthetic, and albeit slighlty uncomfortable, (not due to anything he did), was a glorious success! For the 1st time in about 10 years, I can actually breath our of my left nostril, and have been able to do so virtually every day since the proceedure. He explained step by step what he was doing while he was doing it, and was pretty spot on about the levels of mild discomfort I would experience and how long it would last.
Prior to this proceedure, I would get approx 4-5 horific sinus infections per year and would miss a week of work each time. Dr. Magardino and this proceedure changed my life infinitely for the better! I hope I don't have to do it again, but if I do, I will and with Dr. Magardino. Additionally his entire staff is so kind, helpful and professional. They made all my visits as easy as could be, and made dealing with my insurance company a breeze! Thank you all so much! You are the BEST! Lynne

Called for an appointment just now for Dr Magardino. The girl at the front desk told me that they did not take my insurance, I asked he how much was an office visit self pay, she said she could not give out even a ball park number and then hung up on me. This sounds really fishy to me. Not taking that appointment ever!

I had balloon sinuplasty done by Dr. Magardino and it was horrific! He did not use general anesthesia and the numbing shots (in the upwards of 20) he injected inside my nose did not work and I had to endure the entire procedure wide awake and in udder pain as he broke the internal cartilage in each sinus and then laser burned the inside of my nose to make it wider. He will tell you he has had no return visitors and no complaints. After returning home, a few day later I had an infection that was sitting in the bottom of the sinus cavity that burned into the top of my mouth. It stung and burned so badly. He finally returned my husband's multiple calls and prescribed antibiotics. I returned to his office in February for a follow up and after the visit the receptionist said I was all set and I left. I called to make an appointment today for yet another sinus infection and the young rude receptionist that answered told me my account was in collections, (I never received any billing or was charged for the follow up visit) and that I couldn't see the Dr. Magardino until the bill (for $64.00) was paid. I offered to pay it when I went in for the appointment but she refused. She then informed me that I couldn't pay in the office because it was now with a collector's company. I disconnected with her and then realized I did not have the collections company information so I called her back at the Doctors office and she then hung up on me 2 times. I never received the collections information. Beware of the office!

Didn’t even make it in to see Dr Magardino! Asked staff twice what my 20% might be and couldn’t get an answer! Also, I do not own a computer and am no longer able to type! Patient information form was impossible for me to fill out! So I just called and canceled my appointment!

Dr. Magardino repaired my broken ear drum with a tympanoplasty, I never had to wait for appointments and his staff is friendly, efficient and helpful.