William Spivak MD – Pediatric Gastroenterology and Nutrition

I was a patient of Dr. Spivak for over 20 years. I began to see Dr. Spivak when I was about six in the late 1980s when I was diagnosed with severe Crohn’s disease. Over twenty years later, I am an attorney and I owe much of my success to Dr. Spivak’s excellent medical care.
Dr. Spivak is a caring and concerned doctor who always takes time with his patients to thoroughly explain possible diagnosis and issues. Dr. Spivak takes he time to speak to his patient and learn about their lives, which helps him think outside the box in ways that other doctors do not. For example, while studying for the bar exam I was suffering from a number of issues. Dr. Spivak inquired about my study schedule over the summer, ran some tests, and learned that many of my issues (such as my achy joints) were related to very low vitamin D levels and only required increased vitamin doses.
I continued to see Dr. Spivak through college, as I had a small bowel recession at 18. Having surgery in the middle of your first semester of college would normally be a traumatic experience; however Dr. Spivak guided me through the process and calmed both me and my family. After my surgery and recovery, Dr. Spivak was genuinely happy about my continued success. He genuinely cares about all of his patients. He returns patient calls very quickly and always squeezes patients in during urgent situations, even if it means he will be late for dinner plans.
I continued to see him as young adult when I presented with issues such as gastritis, ulcers, and later when I was diagnosed with Lupus. Dr. Spivak, gave me tools to be an informed patient, to be informed about my disease, and to be informed about my healthcare. I only recently stopped seeing Dr. Spivak as he «graduated me» to an adult provider given my age and my stabilized Crohn’s disease. I highly recommend Dr. Spivak to any parent or young adult searching out a pediatric gastroenterologist.

Update-​When I first brought my son to Dr. Spivak in Oct 2010 he was 10 years old, down to 68 pounds, not growing. Dr. Spivak diagnosed him with Crohn’s disease even before the colonoscopy confirmed it. Almost four years later, with incredible care and dedication by Dr. Spivak, my son is now 5’8 and 134 pounds. Astonishing! I call this the true measure of a doctor’s competence. Thank you Dr. Spivak for being such a concerned and dedicated doctor. We are very blessed.

I came to Dr Spivak after being referred by my pediatrician. My son was having small but frequent pee accidents and I wanted to make sure it wasn’t something more serious. After a 15 minute «check up», the much lauded doctor gave the laziest diagnosis: ADD. My son just turned 5 and apparently his biggest «symptom» was that he was engrossed in a book while I talked to the doctor. He asked me 3 times if ADD ran in my family (as if he truly doubted the first time I said no). When I asked if my son could grow out of this pee stage, he practically yelled «so you can do nothing, is what you asking?» It was so condescending. I found him so arrogant. Please think twice before taking your child here unless you want a blithely doled out, uninformed diagnosis from a doctor that’s heading up the overuse of the word ADD for young boys.

When I was a senior in college I became really really sick with stomach issues, which was devastating because I was a few months from graduating and having the time of my life. I called my doctor and he immediately referred me to Dr. Spivak without hesitation. From my first visit until now (it’s been almost two years), it has always been an incredible experience. Dr. Spivak took the time to explain all of the possible diagnoses, which could be scary, but he told them to me in such a calm, relaxing way that I wasn’t nervous at all. When it was finally time to go for a procedure to figure it all out, Dr. Spivak held my hand before I went under and told me that it would all be ok. After that I wasn’t nervous at all. Even when he called me to give me my official diagnosis, I wasn’t worried because I knew I was in excellent hands.
Dr. Spivak is a wonderful doctor who I would recommend to anyone who needed a pediatric GI. He has done so much for me over the years that I don’t think I could ever thank him enough. At one point I couldn’t go anywhere without having to stake out bathrooms, but now I don’t worry at all. He has turned my health around 100%, and I would never go to anyone else. Even after I moved to Chicago and saw another doctor there, it just wasn’t the same. I booked a flight home and went straight back to Dr. Spivak.

I was referred to Dr Spivak by our babies’ pediatrician. Upon entrance to his cramped office you find tons of plaques & accolades praising the doctor and naming him as one of nyc’s top doctors year after year.
I came in with my twins. In the examination room, the dr notifies me that he would examine one twin at a time. Fine. He asks: Why is your son here today? My response, «Actually both of my babies are here for the same exact reason…» He yells, back: «i said, ONE baby at a time!» … Really??! Talk about high anxiety… this doc is about to give himself a stroke!
Btw… he barely asked even a third of the questions for my second baby. He must have assumed both babies were similar… therefore contradicting his whole theory of «one baby at a time». If he would have taken the same amount of time with my 2^nd baby, he would have found out that only one of them is lactose intolerant.
At one point of the examination, he questions me: «WHO told you to feed your 9month old babies 8 times a day?!» He might as well have said ‘how could you be so dumb?’ …the question left me feeling attacked and belittled. He said, «I will give you a new schedule that wlll be MUCH better and make sense» and with that he hands me a new schedule and serves it with a big smile on his face. It wasnt until i got home that i realized his schedule had… go ahead and guess… ok fine dont: EIGHT feeds. What?! This is what we paid two grand for out-​of pocket?! Methinks not.