Veterinary Referral Associates

Reviews

• LH

  Laura Hopper

  2 days ago
  5.0
  We have seen multiple departments here (emergency, opthomology, internal medicine, and neurology). They have all been excellent! Our internal medicine and neurology doctors deserve special mention. Dr. Manoharan in internal medicine sees all four of our cats. She is always very thorough and proactive in their care plans, and she and her techs always know our cats and their history when they come in the room. They know them all as individuals too - so much so that they even have favorites and will share memories from visits that happened months or years ago! We look forward to our routine follow ups and getting to chat with the team! Dr. Kaiman in neurology has truly gone above and beyond for our hydrocephalus cat, Salad. He spent easily two hours talking to me about options and prognosis between the phone and in person when Salad was diagnosed. He has worked incredibly hard to find a shunt that would work for Salad’s lifestyle (idk what it is about that cat but he has no respect for medical devices and bangs his head on everything), and has done three high risk surgeries on him with zero complications. The neuro techs all adore Salad and have been so great with him and us, I always know he is in the best hands when we drop him off for procedures and imaging. It really feels like we drop him off with friends who love him as much as we do! Dr. Kaiman and Dr. Manoharan have worked closely together to manage Salad’s complex medical conditions, and it shows - he is thriving! At least two of our four cat patients would not be here without VRA. The care is truly top notch, I cannot recommend them enough. It is expensive, but it is worth it and everyone has been very understanding and willing to discuss what we can do within budgets and what the priorities are.
• PT

  Peter T

  5 days ago
  5.0
  Thanks VRA for saving my cat’s life. My cat Calmi came in with urinary blockage at 2AM after not being able to have catheter pass through at another emergency vet and Dr Wadsworth was the doctor on call. She was great and was able to pass the catheter through and kept us updated. Her optimism was super helpful because Calmi’s kidney was deteriorating very quickly. We cannot thank her enough for successfully unblocking him. Same with Dr Bartling the next day for helping ensure the catheter stayed in as it came out. Calmi had PU surgery with Dr Bonaventure a couple days later and it was successful and he recovered really well. While emergency vets are expensive, I am thankful Calmi is back healthy and that’s most important. Thank you VRA vets for saving Calmi’s life!
• VA

  Vicky Ames

  Nov 9, 2025
  5.0
  Dr. Ganjei, his surgical staff, and everyone at VRA did an amazing job with Bree! She had a mass on her left adrenal gland and he took the time to diagnose the issue, provide me with options and walk me through everything. Her surgery went very well and he was able to remove the cancerous mass laparoscopically which reduced trauma to her and enabled a speedier recovery. He even took the time to call me during the procedure when a surprise occurred and discussed all options with me for the next steps. I highly recommend Dr. Ganjei and his team as well as all the fine staff at VRA!
• JT

  J T

  Nov 9, 2025
  1.0
  We had to say goodbye to our beloved cat while waiting for results of numerous pricy diagnostic tests, some of questionable necessity, ordered by their outpatient internist Manoharan. We were also waiting for an oncology consult. Weeks of waiting was too much for a rapidly declining cat. We wish her immediate needs were better prioritized or at least suggested option of hospitalization for better monitoring, given the internist characterized her labs as "serious" and "critically low." Instead we were sent home to wait yet another week. We could not pick up subtle signs of decline as we are not medically trained. We took her to an emergency clinic after noticing obvious signs of decline, which was too late. This other clinic also scheduled an oncology consult within hours. Had we known to go to this emergency clinic to begin with, instead of the waiting game with VRAs outpatient specialists, we could have started treatment sooner rather than waiting helplessly while our cat wasted away. At the very least we could have mitigated the extent of her suffering.
• JL

  Joanna Lopez

  Nov 4, 2025
  2.0
  I’ve been to VRA twice this year under emergency circumstances for my 10 year old boxer/pit. I can’t say anything negative things about the vets that helped my dog. The staff was friendly and responsive and ultimately I appreciated their help during a stressful and emotional time. However, my 2 star rating is related to the pricing. I understand that emergency/ 24 hour hospitals will be more expensive than going to your primary care vet However, the quotes I received from VRA were just plain outrageous. For my first visit, my dog needed surgery, a splenectomy. They quoted me 10-14k to perform the surgery. Luckily I was able to get my dog to her primary vet and they quoted me 5-7k, half of what VRA was charging. For my second visit, they said my dog needed an ultra sound. To call the ultrasound technician it was $500, $300 to do the ultrasound and $200 to interpret the ultrasound. All these separate charges are absolutely ridiculous. Especially bc I was able to get an ultrasound at my primary vet for only $300. Why do they need to charge extra for interpretation and calling someone in? I saw the ultrasound performed and it’s literally a 5 min exam. Given they are the only emergency hospital open 24/7 in Gaithersburg, they think it’s OK to charge these prices and take advantage of people in pain and distress. Both times I walked out spending $3k and still having to go to my primary care for follow up bc I just didn’t trust that I wasn’t being ripped off. It sucks and I hope they realize that charging extra for services puts people at a disadvantage and makes them think they can’t afford to keep their pet alive, which is a terrible feeling. I wish they would do better on their prices.

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