Central Texas Spine Institute

Following many months of painful walking and standing, numerous and various chiropractic treatments (including spinal decompression), and physical therapy; I researched and chose Dr. Dryer to diagnose the problem. Following a CAT scan and Myelagram, it was obvious that surgery was needed due to L4-​L5 dislocation. Following surgery I can walk, bend and stand without pain (including a stint to Sea World). It;s like old times again. As the recovery progresses I can do more and more activities with the grandkids, less and less of the «i cant do that». Such a joy to be able to play more with the kids.
Appointments are prompt, the office staff are professional and courteous. The doctors and staff at the ARISE medical center where the surgery occurred were quite informative, courteous, and provided individual surgical recovery care tailored to my needs and comforts.
The very fine results of this experience leads me to provide this very positive review of Dr. Dryer and his staff.

These guys are nothing but just a big FRAUD company (Yes, i said company). They are just here to collect money and nothing else. I visited the clinic 3 months ago and i was told to make the payment upfront even though i was fully covered with my insurance. They told me that since i have not met my deductible, i have to pay right now. They took the amount and told me that this is the negotiated rate with my insurance. At that time, I had no option but to pay them. Later when i received EOB, i saw that i was supposed to pay only half of what i paid. I called this FRAUD company back and they told me that i will get the money back within a week. Its been more than 2 months now and i am still waiting to get the refund
Their new reason is that they are going though big transition and thats why there is a delay. She told me that most of the doctors are leaving this group (rightly so) and staff has also left, so they dont know how to process refund. I am sure doctors are leaving because they don’t want to be associated with these FRAUDSTERS.
When i told them that i will let insurance know that you are not giving my money back, she replied” DO WHAT YOU HAVE TO DO“
This is a perfect example how even good doctors get bad names due to staff/​management

I was referred to Dr Smith by my father, who has been a patient of his now for a little while. Dr Smith himself was great, but his nurse needs to learn customer service 101. Though I don’t remember her name, she was a taller, older, skinny woman, of whom I could not believe would speak to her patients in the manner she spoke to me. I scheduled an appointment due my sciatic nerve being pinched. When Dr Smith’s nurse called me to the back, she promptly asked if I had any x-​Rays on me of the injured area. I kindly said no, that while my chiropractor performed an x-​Ray, I was not given copies of it. She said something along the lines of «Ugh! Well it would’ve been REAL HELPFUL (rudely) if you would’ve brought them. Dr. Smith would probably like them (yea no, he even told me that they wouldn’t give him that much insight).» Well lady, I’m so sorry i inconvenienced you SO much by not bringing something that wasn’t even requested of me initially. Her poor customer service has made me decide to go elsewhere to further my treatment. Sadly, it’s not Dr. Smith’s fault, but due to his nurse’s chip on her shoulder for whatever reason, I have chosen not to return. Hope Dr. Smith reanalyzes some of his staff… his nurse is serving as a very poor reflection of his work. If you’re having a bad day, go outside and take a breath. If you needed a midol, you could’ve asked. But no, you decided to just be outright rude and uninviting!

I was very displeased with this doctors office! I read about the doctors online and decided to go with Dr. Dryer… lets just say I wish I would of read the reviews first! He was in the room for a max of 7 minutes, that was after I waited an hour past my appointment time! He said there was nothing wrong and proscribed me medicine that was over $ 400! Seriously thats ridiculous! I felt that he didn’t believe me that anything was wrong with my neck and only wanted to proscribe me medicine to get me out of his way. NOT WHAT I HAD EXPECTED FROM THIS PLACE AT ALL!!! Not worth the time nor money spent!

I am very impressed with CTSI. If you are having back problems I would recommend seeing Dr. Onan.

The staff here was very accommodating. I was paired with Dr. Dryer upon my visit here @ Central Texas Spine Institute. I have been dealing with serious neck and back issues for going on over a year, now.
I initially had not been taking care of the problem, other than visiting my chiropractor twice a week. Eventually, I began to see a physical therapist along with my chiropractor.
Well the two must have worked because although I am still in pain (especially in my lower back), I can say that the pain has subsided a bit. I was both shocked and relieved when Dr. Dryer told showed my new X-​rays (done by ARA last week) and explained to me that my spine was back to normal. (You would have been as shocked as me, had you seen my X-​rays last November, 2011).
I am surprised by the couple of negative comments about Dr. Dryer. My personal experience was pleasant. I am going to do a follow-​up with him so that he can hopefully re-​evaluate my situation after showing him my previous X-​rays from last year (left them at home) and will follow-​up with another review. He seemed a bit abrupt at first, but he never rushed me and he was sure to answer all of my questions. So far, so good. =)

BEWARE OF DR. DRYER. This guy’s a total hack. BEWARE!
I was having back pain and saw him as my first point of contact. He suggested an MRI and when complete I was diagnosed with a single degenerative disc. Upon being in the room with him for 3 minutes during the review of the MRI he said the S-​word… SURGERY. Wooooahh… wait a minute. I’ve never had any back problems in my life. I’ve been healthy and active my whole life. What about alternatives to surgery? I’ve done research and steroids /​anti-​inflammatory medication /​diet /​physical therapy /​etc. seem to be great options. I don’t want to go straight to surgery.
He looked at me like I was an idiot and preceded to attempted for the next 5 minutes to talk me into going under the knife. When I finally talked him into allowing me to do physical therapy and writing a script for it, he laughed at me and said, «I can write you a prescription, but it’ll never work. You’ll be back here in 2 weeks after your done and we’ll be scheduling surgery.» Literally, with a smug smile and giggles during the sentence. I was so angry I promptly left and scheduled a second opinion with a doctor recommended from a buddy of mine.
Upon getting a second opinion, my new (and current) Dr. said that absolutely he’d like to try every single thing he can think of prior to doing surgery. Surgery should be the last and final step to any injury /​ailment — and I AGREE!
Two weeks of low-​dose oral steroids and a week of physical therapy and I was cured. This was about a year ago. I have been keeping up with the at-​home physical therapy and am doing well — NO PAIN!
So, in closing, be VERY VERY VERY VERY careful with this doctor. He is first and foremost a surgeon and has no concept of therapy other than surgery. Perhaps he’s a good surgeon… but he is tunnel-​minded and clearly only wants to cut you, especially when you flash that shiny Blue Cross card.

Dr Dryer spent 4 of the total 5 minutes with me dictating a letter to my GP. When I let him know that costs were a concern for me his expression was arrogant. This lack of compassion sent me as far away from the Central Texas Spine Center as I could get… left had a mani/​pedi and felt much better!

I’ve seen two doctors here, and they are both awesome. Dr. Blauzvern is surely the best pain specialist ever; he has helped me so much. The office organization is very inefficient — you cannot just call and make an appointment. You can only make an appointment with your doctor’s assistant, and this typically involves a lot of phone tag.

I’ve dealt with back pain most of my adult life (25+yrs) and nothing, I mean NOTHING, helped. The pain got so bad I wanted to give up.
The folks at CTSI are wonderful and my doc, Dr Dyer is brilliant and a miracle worker. I had a total disc replacement last year. I am almost pain free, which considering what I’ve dealt with before, is like having a new life. I was miserable before, now I can do anything that I want.
If you have any back problems, don’t waste any more time or money with other medical professionals, go here and see Dr. Dryer!

The Doctors here are great! They are on the cutting edge and provide excellent care. They are open to giving several options to ensure your care is what you both feel is the right choice for you. The staff is excellent! I would highly recommend them to anyone I know.

I’m in love with these people.
That *may* be because they managed to fix my excruciating pain. They squeezed me in very quickly (within hours) after having my CT scan and had me scheduled for surgery less than two days later. The doctor was very nice and explained what had happened to my poor spine (yikes!) and what they were going to do to fix it. And fix it they did! The surgery was a resounding success and all the nurses, administrative staff, doctors and others I talked to were friendly and helpful.