Blazejewski, Stanley, DVM - Veterinary Referral Ctr

This review is for Dr. B (veterinary dental specialist) and Dr. Schelling (Board Certified Veterinary Radiologist) over at VRC only. I absolutely love Dr. B and want everyone to know what a caring man he is. I thoroughly value and trust his opinion regarding my dog's dental health and completely trust him for her care. Having been in the human dental field for many years, I somewhat understand the importance of good dental care... especially for our canine friends. It's very important to their overall health and I wish more people would understand this. Without good dental health, your best friend could develop heart disease, diabetes, and all sorts of other issues. I would not trust my dog to anyone else! Recently, we went over for a routine prophy, exam and xrays. Pixel's pre-anesthesia blood work indicated that there was something going on with her liver. Instead of a prophy, Dr. B ended up ordering a bile acid test and ultrasound. Dr. Schelling did her ultrasound. He was pleasant and professional to work with. He was pretty sure he would find a shunt, but to our surprise, he did not! After 8 weeks of several different meds, her blood work returned as perfect! Pixel had no symptoms whatsoever. If I had not had this pre-anesthesia blood work completed, we would have not know and her liver infection could have turned into something life threatening or chronic. I'm so glad we've been proactive with her care. Although I agree with some that the fees charged are high, I do believe they are fair considering the level of expertise that these two docs have there and I am very pleased with their service. (I also have to give kudos to Dr. B's receptionists, Patricia and Rachel. Yes, the amount of staff at the front desk can be overwhelming at first and sometimes they can seem very disorganized when you walk in there. But now that I know who to go to, my experience have been nothing but pleasant! Thanks Patricia and Rachel!) more

Great staff, great diagnostics, great surgery, excellent aftercare! more

Called after hours emergency and was told to come in immediately . My 13 year old in tact pug had a prolonged erection. His penis appeared swollen .I `m no expert on this so I jumped in the car and took him in . Long story short after over 2 hours of waiting - listening to my pug barking every 2 seconds from another room . I was told by Dr Garg he needed an ultrasound to determine what was going on. My dog in not a candidate for surgery due to his age and breed . The $488 ultrasound would determine what surgery Dr Garg felt was necessary . I declined and said I wasn`t comfortable doing anything without talking to my vet . He wouldn`t let up to the point of threatening me that if I brought my dog home he could face amputation. \r Finally after I was brought to tears because he felt it could be cancer of the prostate or a tumor and the thought of amputation -I said I want my dog . They never had to treat him because his penis was easily able to go back in the shaft . $ 188 . I called my more

Run don't walk away from this place. My dog died because they were unable to diagnose he had meningitis. They had him in their ER for 4 days and all they wanted to talk about was wobblers syndrome, which by the way could not be the cause of the 105 degree fever. They sent him home after they got the fever down and never determinded what was causing his illness. In fact were snotty about my regular vets request to run a lepto test. He was admitted on a Thursday Evening, and no vet called me back to discuss his condition until 2:00 pm the next day, that was cruel. The vets are terrible about taking calls, in fact they will not accept a call about an animal in their care before 11:00 am. My dog suddenly became aggressive (something he never would have done) and seriously injured someone two days after his discharged his nacropsey showed he had meningitis. This place in my oppion killed my dog, and charged me over $5,000 to do it. Get this they sent me a customer satisfaction survey and ra more

My dog died at the hands of Dietrich Franczuszki because he was not given antibiotics when discharged after surgery. He died a horrific death from pneumonia 2 days after leaving VRC. Keep your dogs away from this man! more

We took our beloved little Bichon Frise "Precious" to Veterinary Referral Center after she developed complications from kidney stones removal at another vet clinic. We brought her in on a Sunday morning and the great staff did a wonderful job of caring for our prized posession. We were worried sick that she migh not make it but our thanks to Dr.Norris and ALL the wonderful staff who watched over our gal while she underwent life saving surgery and recuperation. I cannot say enough how appreciative we are of the care we received at VRC. My sincre thanks again to everyone there that took care of "Precious". I would recommend them highly. more

I left my dog in their ER care at 8:00 pm one night and was told that someone would call me and update me the next morning. I never received a call (and after serveral calls to their front desk) until after 2:00 pm the next day. Can you imagine having a very sick pet and never speaking with the vet for 18 hours. The communication never got better. They seemed to be more concerned with getting me to come back after his discharge, they really determining what was making him so sick. Go to Mathew J Ryan instead of here. more

My Brussels Griffon "Charley" means the world to me. After YEARS of failed attempts for treating his severe allergies (vets, meds & $$), I switched from Matthew J. Ryan (Penn) to the Vet Referral Center.\r \r -On just the 1st visit, Dr. Brian Palmeiro put Charley on a new and successful course of treatment. \r \r -Unfortunately, Charley ear's had suffered too much damage over the years & he needed to get a Total Ear Canal Ablation (surgery). Scary as that was, Dr. Ken Sadanaga showed extreme patience and understanding. And most importantly, his skill & experience resulted in a smooth & successful procedure. \r \r - The staff has been an absolute pleasure to deal with. I find them to be very personable (towards me as well as Charley) and to go above & beyond to educate, comfort and process.\r \r - For both specialist & emergency procedures, I feel the prices are reasonable and stay consistent to quote. After spending A LOT of $ over the years w/other vets & hospitals, what I spend at VRC repres more

I agree that this is not worth a rating. The ER side of this practice is great. Dr Garg truly cares about the animal AND the owner and is an excelent diagnostician. However the surgery side of this practice is something to stay away from. They ONLY care about their money and lack the decent follow up. They get their money upfront and wen I was owed a 600 refund on a newly opened credit line for their services, it took 6 weeks to get the refund after which I had to fight to get the finance charges removed. No one in the business office would help. Matt NEVER returned any of my 5 phone calls. And they had an immigrant resident doing surgery here who has admitted having PTSD after being deported to Mexico and had his Visa revoked soon after my dogs's surgery and no one there cared about her recovery. There is actually an article about it where his advisor states he was an emotional mess and yet was allowed to operate unsupervised because"he was finished with the program" The dog is now pa more

My experience was a horror - I was referred because my pup was choking and my vet could not perform an emergency endocopy. When we rushed to the Veterinary Referral Center - they took a few xrays - a repeat of what we had done at our vet. Then,..there was no one on staff that could "read" x rays - what kind of emergency service is that - 40 hours later they finally looked at the xrays - by that time my pups throat was damaged from the object. The bill was almost $400.00 and nothing was done. GET A QUOTE BEFORE THEY TAKE YOUR PET TO THE BACK ROOM......... more

Well, there are two sides to this practice. The specialists are fantastic. Dr Shaley, Dr Sadanaga, really all of them are the very best around except maybe opthalmology, for that I like Dr. Bowersox in Newark, Delaware. But the emergency side is a different story and in fact is under different ownership. The vets are mostly young and fairly inexperienced and rely heavily on batteries of expensive tests ka ching that mostly don't tell you anything. I find they lack clinical judgment and diagnostic skills and this practice is really bad about loading on charges for things you don't need. I heard that the vets get a cut of what they can talk the customers into spending, which apparently is common practice in these all night places. Of course if you need emergency care then you need it. Penn is ridiculous with the unnecessary stuff. VRC is not as arrogant as Old Marple but they don't treat you all that well once they admit your pet and they are really expensive with all the tests they insi more

Our beloved Beagle Milo had many problems in the last few years of his life. Our first experience with VRC was when our dog developed pancreatitis and needed emergency care. He already had diabetes which complicates almost any medical situation. He was close to death during the week long stay but the doctor on call managed to bring him back around. I will say while in the Emergency part of the hospital you do get a staff rotating in and out and doctors change constantly as in any other hospital setting. This can make it difficult to get answers especially if they are really busy with multiple traumas. All I can say is be patient, it's just like an emergecy room at any hospital and they can be managing many cases at one time. We later saw several specialists on the non-emergency side for diabetes/lymphoma Milo developed lymphoma and the love and care the staff showed our guy was amazing. We have spent the last 2 years in constant care at VRC and I can only say that the staff starts to more

We adopted a young adult cat from the Delco SPCA and were told it had a cold, so the vet there gave it an amoxicillin shot before releasing it to us. We took him to our local vet when the ""cold"" didn't clear up, and after 4 week course of antibiotics that was ineffective, the vet suggested it might be a nasopharyngeal polyp that would require specialized surgery. He referred us to Dr. Kenneth Sadanaga, a soft tissue surgeon at the Veterinary Referral Center in Malvern. I want to say at the outset that we have had many cats and dogs over our long lifetime, and certainly have been to see many vets, so that I feel comfortable about evaluating our cat's treatment and the parallel concern shown for us. It was, in a single word, outstanding. Dr. Sadanaga sedated the cat and did an endoscopic exam which revealed not a polyp, but a heavy membrane that had grown across the opening and was severely limiting his ability to breathe. The doctor could not break down the membrane with the endoscope and, with our permission and after explaining the probable cost, had to do a much more elaborate surgical procedure. I won't waste space by going into the details here, but our cat wound up with two tiny catheters running from inside the tip of his nostrils back into the nasopharynx--the idea being that over a month's time scar tissue would heal around the catheters and form a good breathing hole. And that is exactly what happened. In the interim, we had to make a visit for an adjustment to the catheters, had to have medicines switched from oral to dermal, and made a few calls for advice as well, all of which were handled by the staff with alacrity, courtesy and compassion. We felt that the total cost was entirely in line with the time and skills involved. This is a fine medical facility with an excellent staff and I recommend it very highly. more

We adopted a Pug 2 years ago. Shortly afterward, he developed a series of symptoms that our vet felt were caused by allergies. She referred us to Dr. Kevin Shanley, dermatologist on staff at VRC. From the moment we arrived for our first visit, we were so impressed with the cleanliness of the facility and the friendliness of the staff. When we met Dr. Shanley for the first time, we could tell immediately that he has a genuine love for animals. Our Pug sensed this also and is always so excited when we go for his follow up visits. Dr. Shanley did some initial conservative testing and then recommended skin testing for which our Pug had to be anesthetized. He and his staff understood and appreciated our apprehension. One of his nurses even stayed with my dog until he woke up and trimmed his nails because they were long. Our Pug now takes allergy shots and has improved dramatically. Dr. Shanley also did a punch biopsy on my Pug for what could have been a mast cell tumor. As soon as he receiv more

The previous comment was completely inappropriate, written by a person that does not understand the complications that can happen during any surgery. more

My Dog needed a c-section over the weekend and my Veterinarian was out of town and had contacted the this butcher shop ahead of time just to give them all the info that they needed to treat our beloved dog. The Veterinarian on call was cocky and after taking my dog back to surgery, decided upon himself to spay my dog, when I had told him I did not want her spayed due to complications that could occur! The butcher came out an hour later and told me had spayed my dog, because she was too old to breed again and it would save me money. He left; and my dog bled to death before they could call in a qualified surgeon! When they finally found someone to come in and repair the damage he did, it was too late! She lived for a few days and succumbed to the 30 mixed blood transfusions she had to be given. I got a bill for 30 Thousand dollars! (yes, the price of a nice car) And to top it off!! They almost killed my other dog by over anaesthetising her to get blood from her to try to save her sister. more

We were sent her by referral several years ago for our cat.\r She had a cyst growing in her ear and needed surgery to remove it.\r We discussed options and complications of surgery but were never told it may not work!\r They removed the cyst for $800, and then it regrew and was worse (it caused the cat to walk sideways, and to shake her head constantly, and goo would spurt out all over our walls, furniture and carpet). We had the surgery again to the tune of $1500, and still it grew back.\r We were never informed that it may grow back the first time, and the second time we were told they were doing a more in depth procedure.\r What they should have said was they wanted over 2K of our money. more

We took our cat to Veterinary Referral Center for emergency kidney stone removal. The surgeon was very professional, and the staff was kind and accommodating. The staff took good initial care of our cat. Pros: Good initial service and surgery Cons: Dangerously incompetent follow-up more

Wonderful doctor - always available to answer questions. Very caring staff! more

We had to take our cat here on Christmas eve night when he broke his leg. The care and service we received was as if we had come in on a regular business day. They gave Mystic great care and really made sure we understood everything and were comfortable with the necessary steps. I would highly recommend them. more