Dr. Joshua Pogorelec, DO, MHA, FACS

I had two great experiences with the surgical center, so I think that needs to be said first. Which makes how my last procedure all the more disappointing.nnThe afternoon of my sedated manometry procedure on 06/30/2020 everything felt like it was going fine during the pre-op and I went back into the procedure room. I realized then that this was not going to go down exactly as I thought. I thought I was going to be completely sedated and that the tube would be placed with endoscopic visualization. I realized that what was about to happen was that I was going to be sedated to a more pliable state and then the procedure as normally performed would be conducted. I should have stopped the procedure at that point. I was given some sort of sedation and honestly do not remember much after that. However, I do remember waking up back in the observation room.nnMy chest and throat were absolutely on fire as I drifted in and out of consciousness. My wife told me that the doctor had stopped by already and that they had failed to get the tube in place due to my gag reflex. My wife said the doctor told her I threw up multiple times during the procedure and that ultimately, they had to stop when blood was noted in my throat. I was back in the procedure room for a little over 40 minutes. It only took them about 30 seconds to wheel me from observation to the procedure room and another 3-5 min max to get me sedated. My best guess is that they spent a minimum of 30min trying to get this tube down my throat. I was placed on a clear liquids only diet for the rest of the day I assume to let my bludgeoned esophagus heal.nnBack at home my chest and throat were absolutely on fire and the taste of blood would burp back up into my mouth frequently. I was nauseated and started to cough up clear/whitish phlegm as the night progressed. I emailed my boss to give him a heads up that I did not think I would be in for work the next day and tried my best to get some rest. I was unable to fall asleep until roughly 3AM.nnIn the morning as I stood out of bed the fire in my chest and throat had not relented much and I was still nauseated and was hacking up little bits of clear/whitish phlegm. I checked my work schedule quick and saw that my shift had been filled, I went back to bed and slept until 1pm.nnWhen I woke up the pain in my throat and chest had improved a bit and it felt as though I was on the down-slope of recovering from strep throat. It was painful to swallow but I would have called that an improvement from the previous day. I called into the doctor’s office to get a work release and the nurse took down my symptoms and said the release would be emailed to me once she spoke with the doctor.nnTo add insult to injury a little while later I received a call from the office indicating to me that they would not be providing a work release because the procedure was not that bad. I could not understand how multiple nurses and the doctor in that office can tell me how bad or not bad that procedure was. I tried my best to relay the severity of my symptoms from the previous afternoon, night, ==and early morning but it seemed to all fall on deaf and/or uncaring ears. It was only after I said I felt that I may have aspirated a little considering that I did vomit multiple times under sedation and that I was still hacking up little bits of clear/whitish phlegm did the doctor via a nurse ultimately tell me that if I was that concerned about my symptoms that I should go be evaluated at the ED. Another 200 dollars to add to the cost of the procedure which has ultimately left me with no additional answers, injury and no faith in this office.nnI'll never know for sure what happened in that procedure room and I wouldn't trust any report I got from them at this point anyways. All I know is I will never set foot in that part of the hospital again and I would caution anyone thinking about taking that sort of plunge. Take the time to look around for other options, there almost certainly must be better options out there.

This doctor is one of the best I hope he never leave this area.