by Mike G. on May 5th, 2016

Dr. Spivak was excellent. He spent a lot of time with my daughter and was incredibly comforting with her and extremely thorough. He spent over an hour with us and wanted to know everything that ailed my daughter. I would recommend him to anyone. Also, his staff - Heather and Stella are fantastic and very accommodating.

 

 

 

by B. K. on Mar 1st, 2016 on doctor.com

I have been treated by Dr. Spivak since I was 10 years old and now, almost 14 years later, I take my son to him. He is very knowledgeable and detail oriented. He gave me instructions to help my son with reflux issues. We don't need to see Dr. Spivak anymore because my son's all better.

 

 

 

by Katie S. on Jan 21st, 2013

I highly recommend Dr. Spivak, my story is interesting because my son is older (17) and it's a great testimony to his ability to treat all children (not just the little ones). My son had been complaining of severe pain after swallowing any kind of food or drink that just got progressively worse over the Christmas/New Year's holidays (when a lot of doctors are on vacation). I ended up taking him to Stamford Hospital (CT) E.R. where they did a barium swallow, told me he doesn't have cancer and sent him home with Percoset. I finally found Dr. Spivak and got an appointment immediately. We walked in and 30 seconds into my son's explanation of his symptoms, Dr. Spivak asked if he was on any medication for his skin (he was). Then he said "Here's what happened" and proceeded to diagnose (correctly) the problem (severe esophageal ulcers which were confirmed with an endoscopy performed by Dr. Spivak three days later). He put my son on medication (Carafate and Nexium) and we just had our two week follow up and he's doing fine (will re-scope him next month). Dr. Spivak said it was one of the worst he's ever seen and my son was very lucky that it did not perforate the esophagus. We were very lucky we found Dr. Spivak. It pays to go to the best. I would not hesitate to recommend him to anyone.
http://www.vitals.com/doctors/Dr_William_Spivak/reviews#ixzz4EOmXOcdy

 



by Anonymous on Mar 1st, 2016 on doctor.com

We have seen Dr. Spivak for both our children from 2 months until they were 5 months. He was always kind to our babies and correctly diagnosed and treated them both for gastro issues. He is very direct and clear in his instructions, which might be off putting to some people, but I appreciated his forthrightness. His office is very kid friendly as well.

 

 

 

by a Current Patient on Dec 8th, 2015

Dr. Spivak saved my life. I was misdiagnosed by a previous doctor and Dr. Spivak correctly diagnosed me and treated me successfully. He is one of the finest people I know and has amazing bedside manner. He is a kind, warm-hearted person and a incredibly knowledgeable doctor. He's always available for an urgent call and it's easy to make appointments.

 

 

 

The Baby Whisperer
by Lucia R. on Feb 24th, 2013

When we visited Dr. Spivak, we were at our wits' end about our 7-week-old son, who had been projectile vomiting and crying inconsolably for about three weeks. At that point, we had collected advice from everyone (friends, family members, a couple of pediatricians) to no avail -- our son remained miserable. After a single visit with Dr. Spivak -- during which he conducted an extremely comprehensive assessment of our son's health history and eating habits, including watching him nurse -- we were able to implement a number of small protocol changes that, to our surprise, made an almost immediate difference in our son's health and well-being. A month later, he is like a different baby, and our entire family is considerably happier. A must-see, from our perspective, for any kind of GI- or nutrition-related issues.
http://www.vitals.com/doctors/Dr_William_Spivak/reviews#ixzz4EOmEeI3T

 

 

Greatest GI Doctor

by  L R. on Dec 30th, 2014

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 €œgraduated 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.
http://www.vitals.com/doctors/Dr_William_Spivak/reviews#ixzz4EOlmuvEN

 

 

by Stephen A. Jul 31st, 2012

I agree with all the previous posters. Dr. Spivak is by far one of the best doctors in NYC and all his awards and recognition are well deserved!!! And who doesn't want the very best for their child??He is an expert in Colic and virtually performed a miracle in his office in the first 10 minutes of our appointment on our infant son who was miserable and crying constantly for the first 9 weeks of life and hollaring in the office when we arrived. After following all of Dr. Spivak's guidance (which is "sleep-deprived-parent" proof), our son is now a VERY, VERY, VERY happy, healthy and, most importantly, comfortable 12 weeks...I just wish I had known to go to Dr. Spivak at 4 weeks when things started to get bad and our son was clearly in pain. My Husband and I may have enjoyed those early weeks a bit more if we had known Dr. Spivak then...next time. Bottom Line - I highly highly highly recommend him to any family needing a top notch doctor for their child.

 


Dr. Spivak is a Pro! (Apr 24th, 2012)


I cannot say enough good things about Dr. Spivak. He is more than just a capable doctor. He's thorough and thoughtful and doesn't rush to diagnose. He spent over an hour with us on our first visit (a rare practice among NYC doctors). By the end of the hour, it was clear he understood our specific situation and the challenges we were facing with our newborn daughter. While our daughter was diagnosed with a likely milk protein allergy and reflux -- something Dr. Spivak probably sees a dozen times a day -- he never once made us feel like our concerns weren't legitimate. He changed her formula and carefully calculated the proper Zantac dose and we saw an improvement in her feedings almost immediately. Besides being an excellent doctor, Dr. Spivak has a remarkable bedside manner -- he's calm, warm, caring and sensitive to the needs of his young patients (and their exhausted parents). I could not recommend him more highly.

 

 

Saved Our Son's Life

Apr 5th, 2012

I don't even know where to begin. Dr. Spivak saved our baby boy's life. When he was a newborn he had a lot of trouble feeding. Every doctor we took him to told us he was just a "fussy eater" and many newborns go through this. They told us he would grow out of it, threw him on Zantac, and dismissed the problem. I knew in my gut that something wasn't right and one of my friends recommended I see Dr. Spivak. When we went to see him it took him all of 5 minutes to detect a heart murmur in my son. He was the only doctor that made me pacify him and hold his hands down while listening to his heart. This is most likely why every other dr. missed this murmur. He referred us to a cardiologist the next day and that's when we found out our son was on the verge of heart failure and needed open heart surgery. For the months leading up to the surgery Dr. Spivak followed us closely and did everything he could to make sure our little guy put on as much weight as possible before the big day. He always took his time with us, returned our calls, and eased our nerves about what we were going through. I truly believe that my son is alive today because of him. There is a difference between a good dr. and a GREAT dr. and this man is GREAT.

 

 

Outstanding Doctor-- Easily Top 1% in Field-- GO TO FOR GI ISSUES
Mar 29th, 2012

Dr. Spivak is a maverick- a brilliant, insightful, thoughtful, unusually competent GI doctor. We saw Dr. Spivak because my 11-year old son was in serious pain after a colonoscopy he had with another GI. The other GI tried to assess the source of the pain using blood tests, x-rays, sonograms, and a ct-scan. When those tests turned out negative, the original GI said it was probably "an emotional reaction causing physical symptoms". Meanwhile my son could not walk post the colonoscopy (he had been a normal 11-year old and played 2 hours of tennis 3 days prior to the procedure). We went to Dr. Spivak for a 2nd opinion. He examined my son physically, read all of his reports and thoughtfully watched him walk. He grasped the seriousness and immediacy of the problem and got us into see one of the top laparascopic surgeons the next morning (the Chief Pediatric Surgeon at LIJ). Dr. Spivak postulated 4 possible causes for the pain, where the other GI had virtually given up on the issue. Dr. Spivak was not afraid to think outside the box to solve our problem. Importantly, Dr. Spivak recognized that the problem required surgery to be repaired. Throughout the process leading up to the surgery one week later, Dr. Spivak, followed us closely, telling us what medications to take and to be careful Not to take (only ibuprofen leading up to surgery for example- no tylenol, advil, aleve-- also to take OTC prilosec to prevent heartburn and potential follow-on issue). He was immediately accessible on the phone at all hours for issues we faced of increasing pain and other questions. During our appointments he always spent enough time to explain and answer the questions I had about our difficult and complex case. He was willing to listen to my postulates. Dr. Spivak's staff is excellent-- willing to waitlist us and follow up with an appointment slot when there was a cancellation. Our wait time at his office was insubstantial. In my view now after having gone through this painful experience, there are doctors who can take care of the routine stuff and who might be highly recommended by other pediatricians because they know how to speak to the other doctors, but then there are the brilliant doctors. The doctors for whom you would trust your child's life in their hands. Dr. William Spivak is one of Those doctors. He is not just any GI, but a highly consummate thinker in the GI field. Able to problem solve and think in an inter-disciplinary fashion to come up with the key solution. He is well-networked, which is important as there was a team of doctors involved in my son's case, including a pulmonologist, infectious disease doctor, orthopedist, pediatrician, GI and the surgeon, several of whom he knew (especially the surgeon!). He was not afraid to consult with colleagues about the unusual features of our case to try to find solutions and possible causes. All in all an excellent doctor, highly deserving of all my praise and of the year after year NY Best Doctors designation for work in his field. Can't say enough.


by Anonymous 

Mar 28th, 2012

Dr. Spivak has been treating our son, who has a chronic illness, for over 2 yrs now. Our son has had a lot of hurdles and is often in an unprecedented situation when it comes to reactions to medications. We feel so fortunate to have been referred to him because we are sure that no other doctor would give the same care, time, attention and thought that Dr. Spivak does. He spends as much time as is needed to gather all the facts and information at every appointment and is never quick in making decisions regarding medication and treatment- a lot of thought is always put into what he feels is the best treatment plan. I would recommend Dr. Spivak to anyone who needs a pediatric GI specialist. Nowadays, having a doctor who is present and attentive is very hard to come by and with Dr. Spivak you can be assured that your child will receive the best medical care available.
http://www.vitals.com/doctors/Dr_William_Spivak/reviews#ixzz4EOnGFqqs


by Anonymous on May 3rd, 2016

We have seen Dr. Spivak for both our children from 2 months until they were 5 months. Dr. Spivak is very knowledgeable about gastro problems for babies. He was always kind to our babies and correctly diagnosed and treated.

 

 

by C G. on Apr 12th, 2016 on doctor.com


Excellent physician. We saw Dr. Spivak for a second opinion - his diagnosis and care were exceptional. He was out of network but we heard good things about him from so many different people that we gave it a shot and he was able to get our underweight baby to feed properly and gain weight.


by Allison L. Excellent Specialist with a Kind Touch 

Apr 7th, 2016 

We and our baby left the office far more comfortable than when they came in, and optimistic about what's to come. Dr. Spivak's kind, soft touch is amazing. They don't make doctors like this anymore! Hands on MD with a great bed-side manner.