Franco Ramon A Jr, MD

Bottom line: if you want to see one of the world’s best otolaryngologists for a voice issue, it’s worth dealing with some of the hassles.
Pro Tip: Make friends with Nancy, his assistant, and your life will be much smoother.
I’ve been seeing Dr. Franco for 4 years for various vocal cord issues (recurrent bleeding and granulomas, a la Adele and John Mayer). I’ve seen him twice in the past month, once for surgery. I take the bus down from Portland, ME because he is one of the world’s première otolaryngologists. All of the ENTs I’ve seen in Maine act like fanboys, eager to impress «Ramon.» Several of them have spent time under Dr. Franco’s tutelage.
In the last couple years, Dr. Franco has become more of an international superstar – he travels to teach docs in South America, Eastern and Western Europe, and perhaps beyond. When he’s in town, he’s often swarmed by doctors who have travelled from all over the US and the globe to study under him. Being out of town so much does make it harder to get an appointment with Dr. Franco. Sometimes I get really frustrated with waiting for weeks to see him, making a four-​hour round-​trip, and then getting a five or 10-​minute appointment.
But there are a few reasons I keep coming back. 1. There’s a reason he’s so popular. He’s one of the world’s best at what he does. 2. I want to go to a doctor who sees my weird vocal condition and can say, «meh, I’ve seen worse,» because he sees weird vocal cord/​larynx stuff all the time. 3. Being with a teaching doctor means that there are always several people looking at my case. It’s like a built-​in second opinion. 4. He’s shown over the years that I’m not just a case, but that he genuinely cares and remembers me. When I came to see him in March after a 1.5 year break, he said «oh, I was just thinking about you last week and wondering how you’re doing. Remember that I said xxx to you, Dr. So-​and-​So?» And I knew it was true.
Nancy, Dr. Franco’s assistant, can seem grouchy but she has a soft spot. I’ve just learned to be relentlessly friendly and appreciative. As a result, she has bent over backwards for me in several cases. She has a tough job keeping track of Dr. Franco’s ever-​changing busy schedule and frustrated patients who wish they could see him sooner.

I’ve been generally happy with him, and he worked under the best in the city for a while, but getting appointments with him are very difficult, and to be perfectly frank, his receptionists are rude, inflexible and «NASTY» so I stopped going to him for that reason alone. Very poor manners…
One of them actually said to me «go ahead and complain to him he likes me, so it won’t matter»…I kid you not… when I wanted to register a complaint.