Patient
I have hesitated so many times to write this review. Dr. Naaman Abdullah as the vascular surgeon for my artificial disc replacement surgery with Dr. Cuellar. My doubts about his professionalism started even before meeting him--when his secretary called to schedule my consultation and, out of nowhere, exclaimed, "Wow, you don't sound fat!" That was my first red flag. Feeling uneasy, I decided to look him up online, only to find his public Facebook page filled with photos of him eating sushi off a naked woman and partying. He's since deleted them but I took screen shots. More concerning were negative reviews about scarring and asymmetrical work on the health grades website. This worried me enough that I called my primary surgeon, who reassured me that Dr. Abdullah was the best and that I had nothing to worry about. I had already travelled to Florida so I didn't want to cancel and tried to brush off my trepidation. Fast forward to the day of my surgery--I arrived on time, Dr. Cuellar arrived on time, but Dr. Abdullah showed up 2.5 hours late. By that time, I was already heavily medicated and in distress, crying and questioning whether I should even go through with it. The anesthesiologist and nurses had to calm me down and convince me to stay. When he finally arrived, there was no ability to have a proper pre-surgery consult because I was nearly unconscious from the medication. He introduced himself briefly, and by the time I woke up from surgery, he was already gone and I never heard from him again. Because of his lateness, the outpatient surgical center was closing as I was coming out of anesthesia, which meant I was rushed out of recovery before I was fully ready. But the worst part? The sloppy job he did on my incision. No stitches were used, and the bottom opened up, leading to an infection that required antibiotics. Now, I'm left with a surgical scar that looks like an exclamation point because of the part that reopened. My actual disc replacement by Cuellar was fantastic and since my surgery I've been able to return to my active lifestyle and even backpack regularly again. It's been life changing. I just wish he would use a different vascular surgeon so his patients have options. If you have any other option, take it. Dr. Abdullah overbooks himself, is unprofessional, and doesn't seem to care about his patients' well-being. I regret not listening to my instincts.