Dr. Carl A. Buccellato

WORST EXPERIENCE OF MY LIFE! I am going to keep this as short as possible and to the point. Dr. Buccellatto was my OBGyn during my pregnancy. I had informed him that when it's time to give birth I wanted to have an Epidural. Five days PAST my due date, I started having contractions in the early morning and was admitted to the hospital around 9 am. I was placed in a room and hooked up to the fetal monitor that measured the frequency and intensity of my contractions. When I was admitted at 9 am my cervix had dilated only 1 cm. The nurse monitored my change every 1-2 hours. During this time I had major contractions every few minutes that lasted 45 seconds to a minute. I was told to walk around the hallway to help my cervix dilate. Around 4pm, Dr. Buccellato walked into the room, examined me to see if there was any change in the cervix and reviewed the contractions chart. The change was small (3 cm) and at that point he made the decision to discharge me and send me home! He told me that I should go home and relax because I am NOT going into labor any time soon (although I was full term and 5 days past my due date)!!! WORST DECISION EVER!!! As I was leaving, the nurses looked at me puzzled. One of them shook her head in disbelief and said: "Something tells me you are going to come back pretty soon". I told her that I am not sure why the doctor decided to discharge us. But foolish me at that point I trusted him! It was my first baby so I thought he knows, I don't. My husband and I drove back home, which was about 30 minutes away from the hospital. The entire way back I had contractions every few minutes and was in a lot of pain. Within minutes after we arrived home, the pain intensified. It became excruciating and then my water bag broke. My husband rushed me back to car to get me to the hospital, but at that point the traffic was really bad because it was 5pm. We tried to get around traffic by honking and running through red lights to get to the hospital. As soon as I arrived at the hospital I had another major contraction on the hall way and by the time they placed me on the bed (couple of minutes later), the baby's head was right there! The nurses were running around like crazy to get everything set up, clearly running out of time. By then there was no time for an epidural or anything else. The pain was unbearable!!! I was screaming my lungs out and crying saying "why did you do this to me? I was here all day". Dr. Buccellato came in and looked at us in disbelief!!! My husband was furious with him for sending us home and the nurse was trying to hold him back not to make a scene. I delivered the baby in a chaotic environment within 20-30 minutes since my arrival – thankfully without any complications (Thank God!). This doctor put my baby, my husband, and myself in danger by sending us home!!! We could have easily gotten into a car accident trying to make it to the hospital. No woman should ever experience such pain and distress. If we had delayed a bit more, I could have delivered the baby in the car. If Dr. Buccellato had kept us in the hospital as he should have, none of this would have happened. Because of this traumatizing experience, I do not want to have another baby :-( I am still trying to get over it. This was the worst experience of my life. Dr. Buccellato never apologized to us nor acknowledged that this was a bad medical decision that put all of us in danger. He kept referring to the clinical protocol saying that if the cervix has not dilated more than 4cm in several hours then that means you are not going into labor. Well Doc, I hope this was a learning experience for you and that next time besides the "protocol" you take into consideration other aspects and contextual factors such as the time point of the labor, how far away from the hospital the woman lives, the hour of the day, whether she is full term or not, and how frequent her contractions are. Better be safe than sorry! And I am sure in this case, although you never acknowledged it, you were truly sorry for your mistake. I hope you learnt your lesson and remember it for the rest of your life so that you don't do it to another woman!

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flag | Submitted December 21, 2018

Best doctor and his entire team. Very calm with a great sense of humor

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flag | Submitted July 26, 2016

Delivered my baby! He was so patient, kind, and caring that it made the experience one of the best. In the end he performed an assisted delivery (forceps), and I felt confident in his ability the entire time. He was very excited about both new baby and his patient. I'm really glad he was there for the most memorable part of my life so far! Thanks, Dr B!

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flag | Submitted June 9, 2016

I love Dr. Buccellato! As others have mentioned he is a bit dry and serious but he knows what he's doing and can make even the most nervous patient feel calm. At first I was weary of seeing a male OBGYN but I found him to be very gentle and caring. Because this is such a large group of obgyns he probably won't deliver my baby, but I'll continue to see him!

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flag | Submitted July 13, 2015

Told me I was definitely not pregnant after a urine sample. When I asked why I had definite pregnancy symptoms (sensitive breasts, fatigue, morning sickness), he said "I don't know -- hormones?" but would NOT do an exam. He was also 20 minutes late to the appointment. I was not impressed and would NOT go back to this doctor.

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flag | Submitted April 23, 2015

Makes you feel comfortable during exams. Very friendly.

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flag | Submitted January 30, 2015

A bit serious of a personality but knows what he's doing! I value his opinion and know that I am receiving the best care.

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flag | Submitted December 24, 2014

Amazing doctor! Builds a very good trust with his patients! I would highly recommend Dr. Buccellato.

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flag | Submitted October 15, 2014

By far the best doctor I have had. Truly cares about his patients and builds a strong trust. I would highly recommend him.

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flag | Submitted October 14, 2014

Very informative and caring. I completely trust him as a doctor. Delivered my baby and after so many hours didn't give up and give me a csection. Excellent doctor!!

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flag | Submitted October 5, 2014