Dr. Mariann Mcelwain, MD

Dr. Mcelwain was very courteous to me throughout my ENT consultation. I felt satisfied with her observation, plan of care and diagnosis. The staff was efficient, however, I think staff shortage made for some undesirable discomfort while there. Additionally, I am permanently disabled at the age of 43. I suffer from debilitating diseases including Multiple Sclerosis, Occipital Neuralgia and several others. I was asked what I did for a living? I was shocked at first by the question but then quickly realized (she) was trying to determine if maybe my symptoms were environmental related. I answered that I was “disabled”. Dr. Mcelwain asked me why I was disabled. This is where I’m going to give you my very personal opinion; why I’m disabled and having to explain my disability to people that should know best how difficult and debilitating these chronic diseases can and ultimately are should not be your concern. I should not have to answer to or unnecessarily explain this to a licensed medical professional. Just because I came in walking today, doesn’t mean a week ago I wasn’t bed bound. Please, for future purposes and to raise awareness, I would highly recommend to treat us ALL with the common courtesy as people that have illness/disease that you can visually see. This was my personal experience. As I said, it was a courteous experience, however, I left feeling judged. I recommend Dr. Mcelwain and her practice. They are very knowledgeable and efficient. However, I would suggest that they take my recommendations into consideration for future disabled patients. What people tend to forget is that it is not an “easy” process to be determined “permanently disabled”. So, think about that the next time you see someone “disabled” that may not look disabled to you. We fight battles you may never know or experience.

I've been having major tinnitus issues with my right ear since Oct 2020. My doc office referred me to Dr. Mcelwain. So I went to see her. I had no issues with the office staff. The ladies were friendly & nice. My issue is with the doctor. I waited almost an hour in the exam room to see the doctor (mind you they didn't seem too busy with other patients). Finally she came in & quickly looked in my ears, had me sit up & down on the table then sent me in for a hearing test. Long story short she said theres no cure for tinnitus & my ears were too clean, keep the Q tips out. I was so upset because I felt my problem wasn't resolved. So I went & got a second opinion at Pittsburgh Ear Assoc & turns out I have major scar tissue inside my right ear & I have muscular tinnitus. That doctor knew his stuff & actually helped me. So I'm now in the process of getting to the bottom of my ear problem. So why didn't Dr Mcelwain see the scar issue when she looked in my ear? I felt that I was just a quick paycheck to her & she didn't care the way Pittsburgh Ear Assoc did. So my advice: go to Pittsburgh Ear Assoc! They actually care!

Very unprofessional and misdiagnosed problem. I appealed all costs and was reimbursed.

Dr. McElwain may have been a great doctor in her earlier years; but I have never experienced a visit and exam as bizarre. She took less than 5 minutes with me and sent me for testing to the audiologist without any explanation or introduction, just telling me to move and sit in the hallway. I felt that I didn't receive any information other than telling me there is no cure for the tinnitus I went in for, and due to age I had typical hearing impairment. I was to come back to discuss hearing aids with the audiologist. At that appointment a day or two later, I discussed my disdain with the audiologist and she wanted me to talk to Dr. McElwain. When the Dr. came into the room, she immediately announced in a loud, rude voice that there is no cure. She proceeded to tell me I should have an MRI because I could have a brain tumor and then suggested that I needed a sleep apnea test. I felt so overwhelmed I told her I wanted some time to think about it and she told me to sit on the chair for 15 minutes and she would be back for my decision. I got up to leave and check out with the receptionist and she started rattling off where I could go for an MRI and asked where she should schedule me. I told her I didn't want an MRI and left, never to return again. She is the rudest, nastiest professional person I have ever met. I felt like she must get a kick-back on hearing aid sales as well as referrals to other doctors for testing. I will certainly seek a second opinion from a real "professional" who knows how to talk to people.

I will never see Dr Mcelwain because of the awful experiences I had with the office phone staff. So short, so rude. Were these people ever trained and reviewed on how to speak on the phone? They treated me, a new patient, with impatience and distain. Very unprofessional, and unfortunate.

I will never see Dr Mcelwain because of the awful experiences I had with the office phone staff. So short, so rude. Were these people ever trained and reviewed on how to speak on the phone? They treated me, a new patient, with impatience and distain. Very unprofessional, and unfortunate.

I can breathe!!! I highly recommend Dr. McElwain.

I have seen dr McElwain about a year ago. I had awful dizziness and nausea and was unsure of cause so tried an ENT to rule out inner ear issues. At that visit, they did a hearing test (unsure why because I never said I had trouble hearing & I’m only 39 years old) and that she would order me allergy testing (even though I told her I have been tested already and am allergic to everything so unsure what she felt she would accomplish with that). She also ordered a CT scan of my sinuses although I never mentioned being bothered with sinus congestion or drainage. I made appointments to have tests done trusting her guidance, however had to cancel because of work schedule change. In the meantime, I failed a tilt test at another dr visit (cardiologist) and the said I had postural Orthostatic tachycardia. So I never rescheduled tests with ENT thinking I found my problem. Over time my ears felt full & popped a lot so thought maybe wouldn’t hurt to have sinus test done bc maybe contributing to my dizziness issues. They would not reschedule my CT scan bc too much time had lapsed (which I can understand). I made another appointment & Dr. McElwain was so rude & accusatory as if how dare I cancel those appointments she ordered & basically how there is no need now for me to have them done. Why did she feel it was necessary in first place? Why couldn’t she tell me this over the phone so I could have saved a $40 copay, $40 to have someone watch my kids, & a bill I just received for $28 where she just looked in my ears for 5 seconds & looked in my throat for 1 second. I would never recommend her to anyone I know & if she was somewhat nice instead of making one rude comment after the next, I would not be writing this review.

Dr McElwain is excellent. Always takes the time she needs and is the best ENT out there

I have been a patient of Dr. Mcelwain's for a few years. I initially chose this physician not only due to her MD status but also her many achievements in additional advanced education and board certification. In my initial appt., she and her staff did not disappoint. They were thorough in checking for signs of serious illnesses and very proactive in health management going forward. I have seen another otolaryngologist for an additional opinion and that MD wasn't nearly as thorough and actually complacent. My health remains strong and Dr. Mcelwain will remain my specialist for annual check ups. -----Katherine M.

Dr. McElwain shows an obvious and high level of expertise in the performance of her field. She listened, provided thorough explanations of what my options were. (I was especially impressed that she did not recommend surgery as a first resort, which is not always common among surgeons!)

I unfortunately have to say that I went into this office feeling extremely anxious with a condition called tinnitus. After an exam and a hearing test, I was told that nothing could be done, and upon questioning if I could take maybe a Tylenol PM to get to sleep or any other drugs that might help alleviate the condition, I was told no, that they may make it worse. I asked if there was any natural supplements that may help to which she replied, "There are some things on the market that have been tried but nothing has been proven to help. There's no cure. You just have to live with it." I left feeling very depressed. I sure hope she improves her manner because I felt so much worse when I left than when I went in.

Dr. Mcelwain performed a septoplasty on my teenage daughter. The procedure was successful in the sense that there were no immediate problems, but I dreaded communicating with Mcelwain at each visit. It was as if she was constantly trying to play down the sense of superiority that she felt towards us and it was difficult, especially after my daughter's sinus symptoms reappeared months after the septoplasty, to communicate with her about what could be done. She did NOT seem to care about my daughter's pain nor give it much credence. After our final trip to her office, which did not go well, I noticed that the office chose not to send us the standard UPMC follow-up review of our office visit. Interesting... We ended up getting a second opinion and the second ENT completely disagreed with Mcelwain's opinion that nothing more could be done to alleviate my daughter's extreme sinus pain and headaches. He suggested surgery on her sinus cavities. We plan to get a third opinion just to be sure of our decision for surgery. I will add that I am a former RN, something I never disclosed to Mcelwain ( not that I really had the chance) and have worked with some arrogant doctors in the past. Sometimes arrogance can interfere with a doctor's ability to communicate and be the best doctor possible; as is the case with this doctor.

Dr McElwain is an excellent physician. She spent as much time with me as I needed and explained each procedure step by step.Her office staff is friendly and knowledgable. I would recommend her to anyone who wants an ENT that is cutting edge.

Dr. McElwain's office staff is pleasant enough and I'm sure she is quite capable; however, I would not recommend her as she does not seem to have time to explain anything to her patients. When I first took my son to her and started asking questions she told me to watch the Emmi program to learn more of my son's condition. That should have been a big red flag for anyone, but I gave her the benefit of the doubt. The day of his surgery he was scheduled for 11:45 am with us to arrive 1 hour prior to that time. She was running over an hour late and she blamed the weather conditions. We had about a 45 minuite drive and ran into no problems, so although I don't know where she lives I find it difficult to believe that she had such problems. Now mind you that my 14 month old son was not allowed to eat anything since midnight. He went to sleep around 9:00 pm so he was not a happy camper. Her excuse of the weather being a problem was not sufficient for me. Then when we had the post-op visit I asked her one question to which she replied that her office staff "will go over all of that with you" before promptly leaving the exam room. They did not go over all of that with me by the way, and I do not feel as though my questions were answered (at all) by Dr. McElwain. Her bedside manner is most definitely lacking. So, bottom line, I do not recommed her to anyone who is looking for a caring/compassionate doctor to explain things to you as a concerned parent/patient.