Pavithra Venkat, MD, OB/GYN

Dr. Venkat is a great doctor. She has been my OBGYN for a couple of years now. My experience with her has been nothing but wonderful. She makes you feel comfortable. She explains everything she does and gives you a summary print out of everything that was done after your visit. I recently had a major procedure done which scared the living daylights out of me. She was so caring and answered all my questions. She even was able to squeeze me in her busy schedule to do the procedure earlier than what was originally scheduled for. I was having major anxieties and she helped me thru it. The procedure was not as bad as I had anticipated and I think a lot of it was because she was so caring and could see how scared I was. She made this scary experience a lot less painful. Thank you Dr. Venkat! See you on my follow up.

UPDATE February 3, 2016:
Towards the end of my third trimester, my baby continued to turn from vertex to breech back to vertex back to breech… it was stressful and dimmed my hopes for the VBAC i wanted. Dr. Venkat was completely open with me about my options — (1) scheduled C-​section, (2) induce when we knew the baby was vertex with the risk of going into an emergency c-​section, (3) wait to go into labor on my own, hope baby was vertex to have a vaginal delivery or end up with an emergency c-​section if she was breech. There was never ANY pressure from Dr. Venkat on which option i should go with. She continually stressed that she wanted whatever birth *I* wanted, and I really appreciated her caring about my mental and emotional well-​being and MY preferences for the birth of my daughter. She’s awesome. I went back and forth, but ended up deciding on a scheduled c-​section. Dr. Venkat even told me that if, on the day of the scheduled C, I opted to be scanned by ultrasound and the baby was vertex, she was willing to cancel the c-​section and induce me if i preferred. She’s the best and truly puts her patients first unlike other OBs who would happily schedule a c-​section just for their convenience.
On to the day of the c-​section, (actually the day before), Dr. Venkat personally called me around 5pm the evening before the surgery and made sure I was prepared and ok with everything planned for the following day. When the time came for the surgery, she was calm, reassuring, held my hand, and comforted me while I received my anesthesia. She talked to me through the procedure, checking in with me, and she and Dr. Madhavan did a wonderful job! When they were done, Dr. Venkat made sure to speak with me before she left to tell me everything went well. She and the other doctors and nurses did such a great job that I was able to walk around that night with minimal pain. My post-​op recovery has also been incredibly smooth, and even the postpartum nurses noted how well I was physically recovering after surgery.
Other great things to note about Dr. V — throughout my pregnancy, I was able to email her with my questions, and she responded usually within 24 – 48 hours. She even emailed me on her day off because I was alarmed about a test result. She cared enough to sacrifice time on her day off to reassure me! Also, if I called her office, SHE called me back if I requested (otherwise, her medical assistant or back up OB would)!
In a nutshell, Dr. Venkat is the best doctor I have ever had. She cares about you as a person, she knows her stuff, she is responsive, and she is a great surgeon. If you need an OB, I super-​highly recommend her. Her medical care is the best.
PS — Please read my original review for my experience with her during my first and second trimesters…

I love Dr. Venkat. I have seen a lot of Ob/Gyn’s in the last 4 years spent in the Bay Area, and Dr. Venkat is one of the best. She really listens and is never dismissive of my concerns, which I appreciate because I know I can be overly paranoid while pregnant! She also sent me a message through the patient portal at 9pm one night just to tell me the results of a test and what they meant, since I had seen her earlier that day and was worried. I was so shocked to hear back from her so soon! She is so sweet, and I hope she is on call when I go into labor!

I am an RN and I can be neurotic and paranoid and a bit demanding as a patient. No need to be that way with Dr.Venkat. You’ll not regret seeing her. I will also add that I never once had to call her for results because she always beat me to the punch and took time to explain what it all meant.
The following is an email I sent to the department head giving Dr. Venkat accolades:
Hello,
I just wanted to share with you my experience with Dr. Venkat. Initially I had been referred to her group by my primary care physician for a second opinion. I had been seeing a non-​Sutter GYN for 7 years. He recommended an abdominal hysterectomy due to «large fibroids» and other reasons that I won’t bore you with.
From the first visit with Dr. Venkat, I was sold! She was patient, thorough, and very grounded. She gave me options and explained each one. I appreciate that she took the time to make sure I understood. I walked out of her office feeling more armed with information and felt more confident with her opinion than my previous GYN.
I decided on a vaginal hysterectomy and I had an endometrial biopsy prior to surgery. I was so anxious and neurotic and not in a good emotional space. She was sensitive to my fears. She was very prompt in answering my messages on sutterhealth online. I got responses the same day which was impressive. I honestly felt as if I was her favorite patient and that it was HER pleasure having ME as her patient.
My surgery went smoothly and I will be forever grateful for her attentiveness and expert hands. I could really go on and on but overall her health grade is an A+. Never an eye roll or hint of annoyance or rushed conversation or unpleasant experience. My significant other also commented on her attentiveness to him while i was in recovery. She called once I was home to check in on me. Never along the way did I need to remind her of anything. I often find myself reminding my primary care MD of some detail about me that she should remember.
My previous gynecologist told me that my only option was an abdominal hysterectomy and had me convinced that my situation was more grim than it really was. I’m glad that I was referred for a second opinion at a time when I had lost trust in my previous Dr.
This is a very significant event in my life. It could have been a totally different experience had I selected the wrong surgeon. It made all the difference in my world that I chose the perfect one for me.
I have since had all my records transferred to Dr. Venkat and want to make sure her good work is recognized. Thanks for taking the time to hear about my experience.
Gratefully,
Sharise C.
Sent from Yahoo Mail on Android

Dr. Venkat has been so helpful and reassuring while helping me address issues with a prolapsed uterus and heavy bleeding. Very through, never seems rushed, and never assumes I am anything but knowledgable with my body. She answers my every panicked question with grace, shares with me the latest research, and is very pleasant. I am very relieved to have found her, and looking forward to having her help see me through the next few years!

I had a great experience with Dr. Venkat, and would recommend her highly. She was very patient and thoughtful, and has a conservative attitude about medicine which I appreciated. Ultimately I did decide to have (laparoscopic) surgery and she did an amazing job! The whole procedure was about as painless as it could have been, fast recovery, and quickly fading scars.

I’m glad that other Unilocalers had wonderful experiences with Dr. Venkat, but my experience with her was frustrating, disappointing and ultimately the care that I didn’t receive from her posed a serious threat to my health.
I waited 7 months to post this review, because I hate giving poor reviews to nice people. But I wanted to help anyone else who may be facing a similar issue and are seeking a healthcare provider who will listen and really work with you to address your health concerns
She’s pleasant enough, but I felt that I was not heard, dismissed and there was zero follow-​up (when follow-​up was necessary and promised) and 7 months later, I still have the same issue.
I went to Dr. Venkat at the beginning of my pregnancy for an ultrasound and initial check-​up — though I knew I was going to work with a midwife for my pregnancy. I was new to the East Bay area and really just needed a Gynecologist.
I returned to Dr. Venkat 3 months after my DD was born with horrible pain and inflammation in my breast. I had been suffering in silence for 3 months and really needed help when I went to her.
When I saw her, I got the feeling that she didn’t want to help me (possibly because I had worked with a midwife instead of her during my pregnancy)… That’s probably not the case, but I can’t think of any other reason for her to be so unhelpful.
During the visit I had to suggest possible reasons for the inflammation as she seemed very unconcerned and dismissive (thrush? mastitis? bad latch?! help me please!?)
In the end, she said it would probably go away on its own and left.
7 months later (that’s 10 straight months of pain), I still have pain and inflammation. Because of my experience with her, I’m now very apprehensive about seeking help from another western medicine practitioner.
I’m sure she’s very nice, but I would not return to her office.

This is my 2^nd pregnancy and new to Dr. Venkat. She’s been great so far and very responsive to all my questions and concerns. There was some long waits the first couple of times I saw her but these last few times she’s been pretty on time. She’s patient and always has a smile on her face.

Dr. Venkat is the most amazing doctor of any specialty I have met in a long time. She listens, is patient, gives well rounded options, makes time to discuss those options. Her kindness and compassion are both rare qualities in doctors out there today. She was a fantastic surgeon as well. I can not say enough great things about her skill set. A rare gem.

She’s awesome!

My regular OB-​GYN is pretty booked this pregnancy, so I’ve seen Dr. Venkat a few times instead for routine check-​ups and she is lovely! She’s quite easy to schedule with (maybe because she’s relatively new to the practice), and is the only doctor in the practice who provides me with a printed-​out after-​visit summary containing my test results, instructions, and a summary of any questions we discussed. She’s laid-​back and sweet, and gives a lot of positive reinforcement about good outcomes like normal test results and appropriate weight gain. Now I’m kind of hoping she’s on call when I give birth!