Richard P Marvel, MD

Dr. Marvel has given me my life back, twice. He treated me from 2009 – 2010 and now I’m currently under his care for a separate issue. Both times, he was the only doctor to correctly diagnose me. Both times, I was doubtful of his diagnosis at first but quickly realized that he was right.
His communication style is direct and to the point; he isn’t the touchy feely type. I understand that can rub some people the wrong way. However, he’s always been respectful to me and answered all of my questions. He takes thorough notes every time I visit (in his computer, so don’t be offput If he types while you talk) and remembers every detail of my medical history, even years later. He also has a pretty firm belief in his diagnosis and courses of treatment, but I’ve brought up holistic approaches that I use in combination with his treatments, and he’s been open to hearing what else works for me.
In order to get the most out of your time with him, I recommend coming prepared: bring notes so you can describe the timeline and details of your symptoms as specifically as possible, write down any questions you have for him, etc. I did this and it helped a lot.
Overall, I want to counter the negative reviews and say that I’ve had 2 separate spans of good diagnosis and treatment from Dr. Marvel. No other doctor was able to help me at all, but he did — twice. Don’t be put off by his direct style of communication; from my experience he does care and he definitely knows what he’s doing.

My experience with Dr. Marvel has been life-​changing and positive. Yes, he’s unconventional, but his unconventional thinking is what finally solved my health issues after years of doctors telling me nothing was wrong, when in fact, something was very wrong. And he figured it out on the first try. If you’re having specialized pain and no one else has helped, I highly recommend giving Dr. Marvel a try. I’m very glad I found him.

Proceed with caution! What I mean by this is, after listening to everything Marvel has to say, please check his advice with your own trusted physician first. Do not let him perform any type of procedure (even minor) on you without getting a second opinion. The exam I received was the most painful in my entire life, and I have had chronic pain issues for years, and have gone to many physicians. Marvel is extremely dogmatic about the narrow range of his diagnostic expertise, and does not consider any problem presented to be anything outside of 3 or 4 diagnoses, even if the symptoms do not fit. My problem turned out to be a gall bladder issue, but Marvel wanted to do a (extremely painful) bladder infusion for interstitial cystitis. He also recommended a hysterectomy, or at the very least, a powerful prostate cancer drug that would stop my menstrual cycle for 6 mos. Fortunately I am educated and experienced enough to know bunk when I hear it, but I would hate for him to get his hands on a trusting patient — he could cause real damage.

I first saw Dr. Marvel 9 years ago following a bladder suspension revision surgery, performed by one of «Baltimore’s Top Docs» which was botched and left me with chronic, permanent, moderately severe, burning pain whenever I sit. The surgeon had allowed my pain to grow for 5 months following the surgery, doing nothing to determine what was wrong, not referring me to anyone else who would take the time to find out what was wrong, simply urging me to be patient. By the time I saw Dr. Marvel I was truly desperate.
Dr. Marvel’s History and Physical was the most complete that I have ever encountered, he provided me with a proper diagnosis on that first visit and started me on a non-​narcotic pain medication which halved my pain level in 2 – 3 weeks. Simply having an accurate diagnosis was an enormous emotional benefit. My condition is such that I will almost certainly never be pain free but he was able to reduce my pain to a tolerable level.
He is somewhat arrogant — is a pioneer, truly an expert in treating these miserable conditions that most other doctors fail at diagnosing and treating properly. He was the first doctor I visited who utilized electronic medical records, so, he types as he listens to you, which eliminates much eye contact, and is difficult for people to get used to. It is the same at my other doctors who have begun using electronic records.
I suspect other negative reviewers may have expected a cure. Very few chronic pain conditions can be cured. Dr. Marvel is abreast of cutting edge technologies for treating chronic pelvic pain which can be a problem for insurance companies who have no problem with you continuing at your current pain level for years while waiting for the new technology to become mainstream. He does also utilize effective mainstream treatments first.
I don’t go to him because I expect him to become my friend. I go to him because he is one of only a dozen doctors in North America who are expert in treating my condition. I go to him because he was honest with me and didn’t try to cover up for the surgeon, someone he knew and had worked with in the past, who caused my injury. I trust him.

After seeing these 2 people’s experiences I wanted to give mine. I have the up most respect for Dr. Marvel. He has always been kind and caring to me and my family. I have been with him for the last 8 years. I have had a few procedures and 1 major surgery with him. He always has been honest with me about everything. He has told me the pros and the cons of each procedure. When I started with him I was in so much pain. All I wanted was to get better quick but he told me that it would take a while and it did, but I finally started to feel better. I go through times when I only have to see him once a year; other years, I have to see him multiple times a year. He is always willing to listen to me. Also, he will always fit me in to his schedule, so he can help me to get better. If he wasn’t my doctor I would not be here today as happy as I am. I cannot express to you how much he has helped me! Doctor Marvel is a WONDERFUL and CARING doctor. I really cannot thank him enough for all of his help.

I’m sure that Dr. Marvel helps his other pelvic pain patients, but he didn’t serve my wife well at all. She has been diagnosed with Interstitial Cystitis and we went to Dr. Marvel thinking that she could get some relief from the chronic, severe pain she suffers on a daily basis.
He started by using a bladder instillation that he said helps most of his IC patients — for my wife, it made the condition worse, causing us to visit the hospital for severe pain twice the following weekend. Instead of stopping the treatments, he wanted her to get them 3 times a week for 6 weeks!
He also prescribed Gabapentin in such a large dose, my wife’s other doctors suggested that she stop it all together. The dose was at or above what is suggested for patients.
We won’t be going back to Dr. Marvel — he caused us to spend a boatload of money with bad results.