David W. Barnett, MD

My Doctor recommended Dr Barnett for issues I’m having with my back. I don’t downplay the fact that I’ve had to cancel and reschedule 2 times and for this I apologize, however we all have lives to live and things come up, especially when you are in my line of work. The second time I had to cancel I called the office and they had no problem rescheduling, however shortly after this I received a call back from Dr. Barnett’s office saying they are so sorry, but Dr Barnett will not allow me to reschedule and therefore I cannot be one of his patients. I guess if he had good ratings I would be more upset, however this is not the case. Good luck in all that you do Dr Barnett and thank you! Had I seen your ratings before I made the initial appointment, I wouldn’t have chosen YOU!

We had a bilateral fusion with Dr. Barnett. The surgery was a disaster. Massive internal bleeding, a giant hematoma formed which caused further complications, and then the scar became infected. Afterwards we visited Dr. Barnett with some questions and he as a complete ass. He was insulted we dared to ask him follow up questions about an MRI. Before surgery he was really nice, and he did tell us the surgery may not cure all of my wife’s problems. We were willing to accept that. However, for the surgery to be such a disaster, and for the incredibly dismissive and rude treatment on follow up I can not recommend Dr. Barnett or Baylor for surgery. Don’t go, as soon as they are done billing your insurance company they are done with you.

January 2006
Dr. Barnett was listed as a Chiari Specialist on the WACMA (World Arnold Chiari Malformation Association) Doctor’s List for Texas. What a JOKE. At first I was going to nickname him «Mr.D» since he was featured a couple of times in D Magazine as one of the best doctors in Dallas… but then within a month or so, I figured out that the D really stood for «Dumbass»
At first, the appointment was going well. He really made me feel better when he looked at the Excel Spreadsheet I had brought that listed all of the medications that I have been on since August. He looked at the list, looked at me, looked back at the list and said point blank, «How in the world are you functioning?» To which I replied «Not very well.» It was then he referred me to Dr. Herzog and Dr. El-​Feky
He sent me for my 4^th set of MRIs in as many months. Once those MRI films came back, I went in for a follow up appointment… and this is when my perspective of Dr. Barnett took a 180 degree turn and a was caught in a downward spiral straight to Hell. He literally told me to «Go See A Shrink.»
The problem is when you have a rare medical condition… there are many doctors who do not know anything about it. Instead of admitting it, they make you feel stupid. Dr. Barnett claimed my 8 mm herniation was not big Cerebral Tonsil Ectopia. Apparently he never heard that the Experts at The Chiari Institute in New York proved that the length of the herniation was not a reliable criteria for diagnosis and even a 1 mm herniation could benefit from a posterior fossa decompression.
White Coat God Syndrome FAIL