The Hemorrhoid Institute

The first impression was a shabby office with a display of shoes for sale in the reception area. His nurse/​assistant was sullen and unfriendly. She took me to a tiny, shabby, poorly lit examination room. The exam table had to be folded up because the room was so small. Heilprin arrived and spoke as though he assumed I was going to have the procedure although I hadn’t said so yet. They didn’t take my BP or ask about my current meds. When I asked him to compare his procedure to an alternate his flippant answer was incorrect, meaning either he was lying or hasn’t kept up with his field. I was almost at the point of bolting, but went ahead with the exam, after which he reached for the infrared probe to start the treatment. At that point I said that I hadn’t made up my mind to do it. He pulled the privacy blanket off me and then threw it at me, then threw the probe at the machine and stomped out of the room screaming «I can’t help you,» leaving the door wide open and exposing me.