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Megan B.
Via
Yelp
- San Francisco
1 year ago
Good doctors. Staff are terrible. Repeatedly I have had appointments scheduled for months out and then appointments are cancelled and I am NOT notified. I have showed up at the SF office repeatedly and have been told my appointment was cancelled but I was NOT called or notified. Terrible customer service by staff. This happened again today. I have had an appointment scheduled for over 2 months for June 9. Thankfully I called the office today at 4pm and was told the appointment had been cancelled. NO ONE CALLED ME! I work fulltime and have to notifiy my boss of time needed for doctor appointments. If I had not called today I would have left work early on June 9 and arrived at the office to hear that my appointment had been cancelled with NO notification to me. LONG office wait time also. FRUSTRATING!!!
Danielle Benson
Via
Google My Business
- Dr. Emily Sarah Charlson
1 year ago
After a referral and reading many reviews of Dr. Charlson and her clinic, I was thrilled to have the blepharoplasty surgery with her. Little did I know I was signing up for a myriad of issues with this practice.The pre-operative experience was pleasant, but the inter-operative and post-operative care was nothing shy of terrifying. From the unsterile procedure room where the Doctor's long hair hung in my incisions during the procedure. To the rude front desk staff and unorganized financial team who overcharged me, then when I pushed back they kicked me out of the practice without honoring my follow-up appointments. Additionally, 2 weeks post-procedure, I acquired a post-operative eyelid infection, which was painful and unsightly and I had no way of holding the office accountable because they would not return my calls, emails, or online appointment requests. I would highly encourage people/patients to exit this practice and for considering patients to look elsewhere.
Carla Swanson
Via
Google My Business
- San Francisco
2 years ago
Unfortunately I would not recommend this eye practice. I had an appointment and waited for over one hour to be seen. I asked one of the assistants when I would be seen after waiting 30 minutes and he told me I was next to see the doctor. After another 30 minutes I asked another assistance who told me there was still 3 people ahead of me. I had to leave because I couldn't wait an hour and half, so I paid for nothing. It is clear that this business does not respect their clients' time. I will not be back and quite upset that I gave this business $60 for absolutely nothing and wasted an hour and a half of my time.
Laurie F.
Via
Yelp
- San Francisco
2 years ago
It has been four months today since my 11/5/21 Ptosis surgery on (referred to as drooping eyelid) and upper and lower Blepharoplasty surgery performed by Dr. Emily Charlson at Pacific Eye Associates. The Ptosis condition that affected my upper left eyelid was due to a natural weakening of the levator muscle.Both full upper lids displayed no heavy, excessive crepey skin that sagged or pulled down the upper eyelid. My field of vision has never been obstructed with either eye. Surgically tightening the levator muscle to increase the eyelid height should have solved this issue. I still have Ptosis in my left eye today. Unbeknownst to me, the surgical procedure used was Canthoplasty. This should have been discussed with me in August. I would never have agreed to any procedure that would also alter the overall shape of my eye(s).I agreed at our August meeting that the 'puff' or fat beneath the lower lids should be addressed with Lower Blephoraplasty, i.e., surgical removal or repositioning of the fat under the eyes and removal or tightening of any redundant lower eyelid skin. This incision is made on the inside of the lower eyelid which means the scarring should be completely invisible after the process is completed. Today, there is pronounced crepey wrinkling of the fragile skin below both eyes with just the slightest facial expression. I have concluded she neglected to remove or tighten any of the redundant lower eyelid skin and attach the remaining skin to healthy connective tissue. Prior to surgery, I paid $8500 + $1400 for anethesia and surgery center.Dr. Charlson explained to me (by pointing to a blown up picture of my eyes) that by performing an Upper Blepharoplasty, only 'small amount' of fat in the upper lid on each side of my nose or directly up from the tear gland would be removed. Today, my lids look heavy, wrinkled and tired with far more pronounced 'crowsfeet'. The right eyelid shows a bumpy visible scar outside of the eyelid crease. Eye shadow makes it worse. I told Dr. Charlson on the morning of surgery that I didn't want to proceed with the Upper Blepharoplasty... 'just going to remove a bit of fat, now let me mark them'. I should have run...The aftermath of this surgery was pure hell. My eyes were literally 'stuck shut' for 28 hours. Neighbor helped with antibiotic ointment & ice bags. Couldn't administer artificial tears. It felt like there was crushed glass in my eyes for the first week. Ultimately, I learned the condition was a case of severe Dry Eye syndrome. It's so painful that you cannot sleep or think clearly. Three days later, I took a cab to Emergency. Doctor put a couple of temporary numbing drops in my eyes over the course of 4 hours, but couldn't put more in because it was not good to do so. When I finally spoke with Dr. Charlson, I was given the impression that the most I could do was keep applying the ointment, cold packs and artificial tears. I would see her at the end of the week, 7 days after the surgery. At that time, she gave me corticosteroid drops to apply over the next 2 weeks along with more antibiotic ointment. Nothing relieved the bloodshot eyes. She removed what I thought were the remainder of the sutures that didn't dissolve on their own. It wasn't until 47 days later that I had more sutures removed from both eyes by another doctor. My next appointment with Dr. Charlson was scheduled for February 11, 2022.I arrive to the office of Pacific Eye Associates just before my 1:00 pm app't on February 11, 2022. I have a list of questions that pertain to the procedures used with my surgery and concern re: the condition of my bloodshot eyes. I was escorted to a small exam room by a young assistant who would give me a quick 'wall' eye exam. She asked how I was feeling and I told her that my bloodshot eyes continued to bother me. Before I could see Dr. Charlson, she asked me to sign a 'paper'. Two more employees came to the exam room and asked me sign this 'paper, and I refused. I calmly stated that I was there for my app't/exam with Dr. Charlson and I'm not going to sign anything at this time. The third Pacific Eye employeetold me to leave the office. In shock, I calmly left their office. I can only assume the 'paper' was some sort of hold harmless agreement.. Good medical practice does not exist here. Run!It's finally been determined that the condition I have is called Meibomian Gland Dysfunction (MGD). "The most common etiology of dry eye is the decreased production of the lipid layer by meibomian glands, leading to destabilization and evaporation of the tear film. If it is not treated, the glands may stop working permanently and result in permanent damage to the eyes. It is common to have a combination of MGD, dry eye and blepharitis." The cleansing treatment for this condition is pretty forthright and is accomplished morning and evening to keep it in check. How easy this would have been to detect by an accomplished Opthalmologist in November 2021.
Lillian Q.
Via
Yelp
- San Francisco
2 years ago
The Optical department ranks as the most inefficient, uncaring and downright rudest optical office I've ever encountered. I had a thorough exam with the optometrist who was friendly, professional and highly competent so that wasn't the problem. After my exam I thought I'd just get a new pair of glasses at the optical department in the same office. I was told it'd be about 10 minutes which turned out to be 45 minutes. I'm not too particular about frames, but their selection is very limited for the wider face. I was told the total was over $1300 and with my insurance I'd pay about $300. I wasn't miffed about it then, but I never received an invoice showing how everything tallied up to $1300. I was told it'd take about two weeks and I was given the optician's business card and told the best way to contact him was via email.After two weeks I emailed the optician. I never received a reply. After three weeks I left a voice message asking for an update. I received no follow up call. Four weeks later I went to the office expecting the glasses to be there, but it hadn't shipped. Two days later I received a message it was there. Since no one answers the phone I dropped in a couple of days later.I told the optician at his desk my name and I was there to pick up my glasses. He said he could give me the glasses but there would not be any adjustments! I mean, does "service" mean anything here? His hands weren't tied up! I told him two weeks turned into more than four. He said he had to order the frames and then send it out. But then why tell me it'd take about two weeks?I told him he doesn't reply to emails, but he said he does. This is a poorly managed optical department where "service" is not in their vocabulary. It was disappointing and I'll definitely take my business elsewhere.
