Sammy E. Perkins, MD

Great surgeon and staff. I was able to do minor wrist surgery right in the office. He used local numbing and I got to watch! Awesome.

I had laparoscopic gallbladder surgery on 11/4. I cannot recommend Dr.Perkins enough! He is an amazing, caring, and talented surgeon. My experience with him and his office staff has been superb. I am truly blessed to have had him perform my procedure!

July of 2019 Dr. Perkins performed laparoscopic gallbladder removal surgery on me. I anticipated a quick recovery based on everything he told me since I followed his instructions to the letter and took the medications as prescribed. Unfortunately, that wasn’t the case. The surgery was on a Friday, and the following Tuesday I had to call EMS to take me to the ER due to the excruciating pain I was in. Once I arrived, they did an ultrasound of the surgical site and a MRI, and Dr. Perkins stopped by briefly. Both he and the ER doctor concluded I was merely CONSTIPATED based on the ultrasound and MRI (despite the fact that I had bowel movement the day before), but they admitted me for observation. Since they diagnosed me as having constipation, I received NOTHING for pain that provided me any comfort. Thankfully, my fiancé ran into my general practitioner that afternoon and he came to my room that evening. He examined me (unlike Dr. Perkins) and immediately said “This is not constipation.” I had been given laxitives and other medications to help with my “constipation”, which was diarrhea by the next day (Wednesday). However, the hospitalist and the OTHER doctor (GI surgical specialist, NOT Dr. Perkins) still were convinced I had constipation, and nothing more. Eventually my general practitioner took over for the hospitalist and ordered a HIDA scan, which found that I had a bile leak. THAT had been my problem all along. From Tuesday until Friday I was given NOTHING to curb the pain for fear the “constipation” grow worse, yet it was a bile leak all along! Upon finding that, my GP rushed to find a doctor at the Downtown hospital to accept me for admittance so that the leak could be corrected. I arrived in Jacksonville at 9 pm, but didn’t have the surgery to correct the bile leak until Sunday. First they tried installing a stent, but found the hole was too large to repair with just a stent. It was going to require open abdominal surgery. So, I went in for open abdominal surgery to have my bile duct repaired. My fiancé told me after a few hours, the surgeon came out and said there was a 3/4” tear in my bile duct, but he was able to repair it and that I should be in recovery shortly. Hours passed and no one came for him. Finally, someone came for him. It seems that after I woke up, and they removed my breathing tube, I was talking to the doctor, but then stopped and turned blue. They had to perform chest compressions, re-intubate me, and determine what was wrong. My left lung had collapsed. So, I left the OR with a chest tube, a NG tube, a biliary drain, a JP drain, a catheter, I was intubated, and they sent me to ICU. They didn’t remove me from life support (yes, that is what they called it) until Monday afternoon. I left ICU late that evening. Over that week, they gradually removed the NG tube, the catheter, the JP tube, but I was left with the biliary drain for well over a month. I was discharged but returned for another eight day stay because I had a pelvic abscess caused by the open abdominal surgery. I was nauseated and unable to eat most of that hospital stay, but the one day I chose to eat a spoonful of grits and some ice chips, THAT was the day they decided to perform the drain installation. They did it with a local, and it was the most horrendous thing I have ever experienced next to the pain I endured with the bile duct damages. I missed two months of work, my hospital bills totaled close to $200,000 (thank GOD I have good insurance), and I am STILL dealing with pain from all of this. EVERY bit of this could have been avoided with a simple “leak check” done by Dr. Perkins after he removed my gallbladder. Why he didn’t do it I don’t know. I DO NOT RECOMMEND HIM. I cannot recoup my lost time, money, wages, ANY OF IT. Had he shown a shred of compassion for me while I was in the hospital when I was in Nassau I may feel differently, but he didn’t. Don’t go to him. Find another surgeon. He almost killed me.

Top notch Surgeon and Staff. Very nice to work with. Caring professionals.