JUVA Skin & Laser Center

Zero stars!
They sent us to collections even though we had paid for services and communicated to them on numerous occasions that we did pay and provided proof. The collections agency is agreement with us.
I can’t believe that they would send us to collections even though we had already paid AND communicated with proof that payment was made AND went straight to collections with additional «financial fees».

Do not go here! If I could give them zero stars I would.
I cannot even fully describe the pain and disappointment I have in the team at Juva.
I came to see Dr. Katz for a yearly mole check and he biopsied two moles. I have had many biopsies in my life and each time the whole mole was removed for testing. However Dr. Katz only removed a portion of these moles. I voiced my concern but was assured this was his normal practice. I got a call after testing that one on my chest had mild dysplasia and would require excision. I scheduled an appointment with Dr. Cangello (no longer with the practice) and at my appointment he said that he does NOT excise mild dysplastic moles and suggested that we just shave the rest off the surface and watch it. So that’s when he did.
THEN they biopsied that second shave (read: I paid for twice the labwork) and was told that the second shave was SEVERE DYSPLASIA. You can imagine my surprise, worry and anger that A) I had to pay for two lab tests B) I had to have it shaved, bleed, and heal twice instead of once and C) most importantly this could have easily been missed if they had not shaved the second half of the mole.
I then had to book a second appointment with Dr. Cangello but at that time he had already left the practice so I was scheduled with Dr. Ha. He didn’t seem competent and frankly a little shaky. He looked at the site on my chest and then questioned many times to the assistant «which mole is it??» even though it was clearly marked on my chart and also i had the scar from the shaving. I went along with him reluctantly because of being intimidated by the prospect of skin cancer and having already booked the appointment. Of course, I wish now I had just gotten up and left the office and found another doctor.
I was not given any printed handout on post-​op care, and out of my own concern for scarring I picked up some silicone anti scar sheets that I started using after the wound closed as the directions stated.
Fast forward to a few weeks later my scar was throbbing, growing two distinct bumps, scar tissue and I booked an appointment to see both Dr. Ha and Dr. Katz. Their response? They said that I was keloiding and chastised me for not telling them that I have keloid reactions. I’ve never had any surgery so there was obviously no way i would know this. Dr. Ha even said that I probably was having so much scar tissue because of the excessive trauma of having it shaved twice and then excised. WOW. Dr. Katz’s response? That it was normal but I could spend $ 300 a pop for laser treatments to fix it. DOUBLE WOW. At my last follow up appointment I waited 1 hour and 10 minutes to be seen, and was given less than 3 minutes of the doctor’s time and my concerns were not proper attention and brushed off.
Fast forward to 7 months later, my scar is still throbbing at least once a day, it is still raised with two large bumps, and sadly I now wear only crew neck shirts because it is on my chest and is so embarrassing and hideous I cry when I look at it.
Their incompetence has turned me from a confidence 27 year old women to being too embarrassed to show the beautiful skin I once loved. Please, do not go here and let them do the same thing to you.

Great, friendly service. I barely had to wait at all, and during my consultation Dr. Katz was very professional and efficient. I felt taken care of and that all my concerns were addressed. Highly recommend!

I don’t normally write reviews, but felt this was needed to be shared to future patients who are looking to go here.
I decided to come here for my first time to get a procedure done that wasn’t near where I live which is a 3 hour drive from my house. (Not including the 2 extra hours I drove each way that I was stuck in traffic.) I had been emailing Morgan back and forth since choosing to go to there and she mentioned that there was a 50% discount on the procedure I was interested on getting, I was thrilled to hear that as a young mother I am, and picked a day that my fiancé was able to drive me there and took the day off from work to do so.
My appointment was at 12:45 and I wasn’t seen until almost 2. This was extremely stressful to wait that long after the long drive getting there and not been seen until then.
After finally being seen, I was about to get the procedure done until the women Who was consulting me told me I had to pay 3 times more then what Morgan had told me. I told her I was told that that wasn’t the price that I was given and had it in email on my phone to show her for proof. She smiled and said «sorry about the misunderstanding on your half but we aren’t able to give you that discount today, and Morgan isn’t in today.»
My misunderstanding?!?
I asked if monthly payments were an option since I simply couldn’t afford to pay more then what I was told I had to pay for that day and I was given the answer no.
I couldn’t have been more pissed off after driving that far to be told a complete lie, and them not giving me any options for the amount I supposably had to pay.
So after spending 60 $ on parking, gas money to get there back and forth, hours stuck in traffic, I was only there to be lied to and let down because of there mistake.
Do not go here!!!

The only redeeming quality of this place is April Cannon as you can see from most of these reviews and unfortunately she doesn’t really work here anymore. I’ve been a loyal patient here for years as I LOVE her but with her moving out of state there is little left to be desired. I tried a filler and it resulted in what i could only call a «botched» look leaving me in the office begging to see a doctor to tell me everything was ok. They wouldn’t even send a doctor in to look at me for 5 minutes to reassure me things were settling normally. Instead I heard the staff laughing about me as i waited in the room and then they told me everyone was too busy to see me even though I had an appointment. They offer discounts if you prepay for products/​procedures but then bate and switch and upcharge you telling you you’ve signed releases but never tell you there will be price increases. The customer service is horrendous. I’ve called 3 times over the past week and a half and haven’t gotten a call back to resolve billing issues. I’ve never dealt with another doctors office like it. I’d say it’s not worth it. There are definitely better offices in the city.

The entire office of Dr Katz it completely unprofessional.
Had a 9.30am meeting and by 10:20am the Dr had not pointed himself. So Ieft and didint see the Dr. Meanwhile rash is growing. Thank you Dr.
These people are far too casual with their patient’s time.
Terrible.

Had a 3:30pm appt. on Nov. 24, 2014 and was taken back and put in a room. Then told I had to move and was put in a storage room. Yes, literally a STORAGE ROOM with an old venetian blind in front for a door. The lady said «It’s a recovery room». It’s filled with 3 pieces or more of stored medical equipment, an unplugged lamp, a round red mismatched ottoman, a chair, a stool and boxes of surgical supplies. Staff kept coming in the room to get tissues, gloves, etc. The room was ~8×4. It was their storage room. She put lidocaine on the side of my face and I told her, «I’m not having anything done on my face». «Oh, sorry» she said. Then told me, «I’ll be back in 15 minutes». There was no vent or air in the room and it was unbearably hot. And hour later, I walked out into the hallway ready to pass out from the heat right as another person was saying «I’ve been here 45 minutes sitting in a hot room and no one has seen me.» The staff just shrugged their shoulders and said, «Yeah, we’re backed up». Sticking a patient in a storage room and forgetting about them doesn’t seem like the type of place I’d want to go back to. CATTLE CALL. Way Overbooks. This place is just horrible if you are seeing Dr. Katz. I have no experience with the rest of the staff. They used to make you sign a disclaimer that you wouldn’t review them on Unilocal.I don’t know if they still do that. They must know how many bad review they get. If only I’d read then before going here.

I also reccomended a male coworker to this place (not for acne reasons so we didn’t get the same doctor) and he had a wonderful experience as well! Highly reccomend.

I had an appointment at 5pm, and got there around then.
I was asked to wait in the waiting area and fill out firms. At around 5:20pm I was moved to an exam room.
At around 5:40pm (I remember checking the time on my phone), I asked where he was and was informed I was next. I had to leave at 5:45pm.
I did not get to see Dr. Katz and left at 5:45pm.

Sadly, I agree with these negative reviews!
In 1986, I took my then-​toddler to Dr. Katz who was located on the Upper East Side. Had several very positive experiences. We then moved out of NY.
In 2012, returned to NYC and looked him up – and came to «Juva Skin & Laser Center.»
This practice is like a factory!
Dont expect to see Dr. Katz fore more than 5 minutes — even if you opt for one of his very expensive skin care treatments — that you elected to have despite the fact that you know that your insurance does not cover!
He’s always so rushed that he doesn’t make eye contact with you.
Everyone here, from receptionists to the PA’s to Dr. Katz — seem rushed and overworked.
It’s too bad, because their location is really convenient for me!
I’ll never go back here again.

I had a couple services here that were fine. Then I had the anti-​redness laser twice. The first time, no problem. The second time, the technician put the laser on too high and did not realize quickly enough that she was giving me *crazy* bruising. I looked scary and was embarrassed to be in public for a few days and actually had to miss work because of it. I even went to a makeup artist who was unable to hide the bruising. What bothered me most was that I both called and emailed the office asking for help about how to handle the bruising and no one ever responded to me! Awful client service.
I finally read online about using compresses to reduce bruising and other techniques. When I finally saw another dermatologist, they told me that bruising like that should not happen with the current lasers and that the lasers in Dr. Katz’s office must be old.

I guess I didn’t have the problems that other people had… It was a little bit weird that the receptionists had on matching, rhinestoned shirts, but I guess that’s part of the cosmetic surgery gig.
He was able to take me same day for a problem I was having, which was cool. And was able to take my insurance as well. I was kept in the exam room for maybe fifteen minutes before the doctor saw me. A little long, but not terrible.
During this time, there was a mix of 70s music playing. Stayin’ Alive, Shadow Dancing, etc. But what was funnier is when the doctor saw me, he was looking down, and his arm went to a dial on the wall. He switched it from the number 6 to 5, which changed the music. And it became That’s The Way I Like It.
This was a huge revelation. Does he really have 10 different 70s music stations all playing at the same time? And he switches between them, based on mood? That’s kind of amazing.
Anyway, he was with me for a short amount of time, which I didn’t have a problem with. He told me what was wrong, wrote me a prescription, and then left. The prescription seems correct. If my arm falls off, I’ll update my review.

Very unprofessional office. Scheduled an appointment through Zocdoc and called two days prior to confirm. Knew I wasn’t seeing Dr. Katz through the website which was fine since my concern wasn’t severe and have private insurance (HSA) so wanted inquire what the out of pocket costs were. The person answering the phone was clueless and kept asking who was my insurance provider.
Arrived for the appointment and handed the usual forms. Was surprised when consultation was with Dr. Katz (no one there bothered to inform me or advise otherwise) but the consultation was brief. Dr. Katz was completely professional and accommodating. No issues there. However the back/​front office which seemed really over staffed was unorganized and absent minded. Asked nurse how much the peel would cost with the consultation — $ 900. Bit more than what I planned and decided to just get Rx instead. No instructions on what exactly was being prescribed or how to use? Consult fee was $ 200 more than quoted but was addressed when I pointed this out. The nurse said she would meet me out front with script but never did, was left sitting in waiting room for over 20 minutes. Told the Rx would be sent to some pharmacy so I had to pay them + ($ 10) delivery fee to be picked up next week.
Pharmacy called later to find out my name, DOB, method of payment… everything. I decided to pick up and told them it was already paid in office. Pharmacy had no record of this and they offer same day shipping… gratis. I pay again and the prescription is incorrect. So now will spend more time and energy next week sorting this out. Get it together Juvaderm.

I would give Juva 0 stars if it were an option, but sadly it is not.
I have been going here for over 2 years now and the only reason why I’ve stayed so long is because I didn’t want to have to do a whole round of introductory appointments with a new dermatologist to understand and assess my skin circumstances. I have SEVERE psoriasis which covers about 40% of my body, in large spots and patches. Steroid creams just barely slow down the red flaky spots that cover my body like the plague. I told the PA this on my very first visit, but surprise surprise, he didn’t believe me. For the next 3 visits, he kept prescribing different creams and insisted I wasn’t applying them regularly enough (which he told me to do 3 times a day — a completely unrealistic goal since it’s all over my body and I actually work to make a living; what am I going to do? Strip down in the office bathroom and cover myself with sticky gooey cream?).
Every time I go for an appointment (which by now is somewhere around 8 – 10 times), I’ve waited a minimum of 45 minutes in the waiting room, and then another 30 minutes in the actual examination room. Waiting 75 minutes for 2 minutes with a PA is not acceptable. When I was finally prescribed a medicine that works, it’s been impossible to get the refills on time since their staff is too incompetent to call in the order the the pharmacy. I only take it twice a month, and my insurance won’t allow me to receive more than a month’s supply at a time. Whenever I call to ask Juva to call in my refill, I have to call them repeatedly because the nurses either don’t listen to the voicemails, or don’t care enough to call me back. I don’t know which situation is worse.
Lastly, whenever the PA does finally grace me with his cranky presence, he barely even remembers me and I have to explain my case to him over and over. He doesn’t even remember what dosage of the medicine I am supposed to take. Isn’t that information supposed to be cleanly recorded in the medical file? Him and his nurses also always seem to forget that they have to call in my prescription to a specialty pharmacy, which I have to remind them of every time after they absentmindedly hand me a written prescription which I can’t do anything with.
TERRIBLE. Do yourself a BIG favor and DON’T GO HERE!
P.S All the other negative reviews about the front desk service are spot on — so cold, and get all hissy and annoyed when you call them and ask them to actually do something.

Typical Manhattan doc. Makes you wait forever sees you for five minutes writes a bunch of scripts and kicks you out. Avoid

Rushed service, little explanation, and difficulty with following up with anyone characterize Juva for me. And they seem happy to schedule you for follow-​up appointments, presumably so they can inconvenience you and make more quick money, rather than following up with a quick phone call like some other, more reasonable doctors I’ve seen.
My visits must have averaged 5 minutes of 1-​on-​1 time with a PA or NP. My 2 stars (vs. 1) have more to do with Johanna Petrycki, the competent if rushed PA who saw me for one skin infection issue and helped resolve that reasonably. Of my 3 – 4 visits (for skin issues unrelated to beautification), I saw Dr. Katz once for all of 30 seconds. April Cannon seemed competent too, but also rushed, and she never followed up with my initial test results. Moreover, she put in an ambiguous bloodwork request for me that Quest was unable to decipher, and I’ve now contacted the office twice and have been waiting 4 days to hear back from anyone to get this resolved so I can get my bloodwork. I’m not planning on going back.
Perhaps Juva deserves the second star for the receptionists, who are the friendliest and most accommodating of the people I’ve seen there.

Sure, Dr. Katz is one pithy mofo. He doesn’t wanna chat about the mild winter, or the Republican debate, or anything Kardashian. Moreover, he does not prattle on about how beautiful you are in an effort to sell you a smart lipo, or fat transfer or resty package, that you know deep in your heart you need desperately.
No, if you come to Dr. Katz for a medical issue, he will solve or at least be able to dramatically improve that issue with a five-​minutes-​or-​less meeting. I had tried every cream to treat my dry weather induced facial eczema. It was so severe that to the untrained eye I looked like I had 2 black eyes and a fat lip. After one too many days of applying foundation with a paint roller, I went to Dr. Katz who prescribed a topical cream and recommended I get a humidifier. 3 days later, my face is completely clear and no one at the gym threw holy water at me this morning!
I had previously seen him for another obscure medical dermatological issue that he was able to diagnose and cure within days. He is what a great doctor should be; skilled, concise and effective.

Bruce Katz is a highly regarded cosmetic dermatologist — there’s no disagreement there. Walk into his office (the Juva Skin Spa) and you’ll see him plastered on magazine covers and a TV monitor that shows him on The View. Of course, you can’t hear anything (the content) but the important thing there is to show patients he’s so good he gets on TV.
I’m sure he’s good with the fillers, injections, any anything else that’s related to pure cosmetics. But in my experience, if you have a regular skin condition like acne, he’s NOT the doctor for you. A few things bothered me about my appointment with him:
–Barely spent any time with me. I timed it out to about 4 ½ minutes.
–All he did was jot notes down a folder (probably work from another patient). I proceeded to tell him that I just got some cortisone injections last week (from another doctor) for some blemishes. Ten seconds later, he pops his head up and tells his assistant to put X number of cc’s in a syringe. He was about to inject my face w/​cortisone when I say «are you sure it’s safe to get multiple injections in a given week’? He puts the syringe down and says «NO — your skin will get depressions (sink in). When did you get a cortisone injection?» He would have known had he listened to what I was telling him SECONDS before. He should be thankful that I wasn’t talking about any allergic reactions to certain meds or something serious that could have been life threatening.
He gave me a topical Rx which I told him I had at home. So what did he do next? Told me to buy a face wash at the front desk (I stupidly agreed given I went through so much trouble just to get an appt with him) and he said to come back in 3 weeks. No thanks, doc.
His being rated a top dermatologist by New York magazine makes me doubtful of the validity of that entire list. What criteria do they use?
The only good thing about this appointment was the wait — I only had to wait about 20 minutes (and I was expecting to wait much longer).

I came here awhile ago because I had a rash on my arms and back. I heard about Dr. Katz and his ability to do amazing things so I called and made an appointment WITH Dr. Katz.
I get to to the office. Very nice, very sophisticated. I suddenly notice the numerous periodicals and advertisements for Dr. Katz’s accomplishments in plastic surgery. I didn’t think anything of it. The girls in reception gave me papers to fill out, a lot of papers. I’m used to going to a doctor’s office, filling out my address, social, and insurance number.
What I get in addition to this is a very lengthy questionnaire. «Have you ever considered plastic surgery?», «have you ever considered weight reduction?». I couldn’t help but feel annoyed since I was there for a RASH.
I hand in my papers, and the girls politely ask me to take a seat. I had a 12:30 appointment. I got there at 12:00. I wait. and wait. and wait. Finally, at 1:45 my name is called.
I wait in a room for Dr. Katz. Instead some other guy sees me. The best part is, he wasn’t even an MD! He took a look at my rash for 5 minutes. This is NO exaggeration. He writes me out an rx (I guess he is authorized to do this) I pay my copay and out the door I go.
This is so completely ridiculous. If I made an appointment with this doctor, why didn’t I see him? Maybe because my case wasn’t good enough, er, not cost effective in comparison to the other women waiting patiently for botox or whatever body dismorphic issue that costs thousands to correct.
I’m sorry. I was under the assumption I was going to a dermatologist, not a plastic surgeon. And, by the way, the cream did not work.

I love how the «sponsored» result is the ONLY positive result that Juva could get. You should know that Juva may think it can buy perfection, but it doesn’t work!
I am actually waiting in their waiting room RIGHT now for a follow-​up visit after having malignant melanoma removed. Being 30, having malignant cancer, is scary enough, but if anything having to have it tended to by Juva’s blatant neglect has made it worse.
As if that isn’t bad enough, Juva staff seem unwilling/​unable to fax my file to an actually competent oncologist or dermatologist. Nice.
Not to go into details, but Dr Katz claims he called me to tell me the results of my original biopsy but as my google voice number documents each incoming call and shows no record of it, I’m inclined to disbelieve him.
When I came in for my excisional biopsy, scared out of my wits because I had CANCER, the staff on the phone was rude to me and then I didn’t even get to talk to a cancer-​savvy doctor. They sent in the plastic surgeon, who confessed that he couldn’t answer any questions for me because he didn’t know anything about cancer.
Now, here I am, losing money because I’m not working, having waited already 50 minutes for a body scan to make sure I don’t have MORE cancer. Seven people who arrived here AFTER me have already been seen.
I am getting my file whether or not I have to mug them for it today and I hope to never have to come back here again.