James Anthony, MD

Dr. Anthony comes highly recommended by 2 other highly recommended physicians. (Special shout out to Dr. Christopher Cox — orthopedic surgeon extraordinaire) And the most important recommendation? From «that woman» from my barre class — who seems to have her finger on the pulse of all the «bests» in San Francisco. She worked for a plastic surgeon for many years — and knows the inside scoop on who is who/​what is what. This woman is everyone’s go to person — and she certainly knew what she was talking about when she recommended this very fine physician.
I recently had enough «work“done with Dr A to comment broadly on the range of his skills. In fact, he pretty much had carte blanche to do what he felt was necessary for this middle aged, scar tissue ridden body. I guess he could have taken full advantage — as $ wasn’t an obstacle. He didn’t. He’s not a surgery happy doctor. He is a thoughtful, contemplative artist. His «art» is evident in his photo books (at a minimum, book an appointment and look through his photos). Sure, doctors will showcase their best work. However, there is a theme with his work — understated class and elegance. And I’m happy to say that his «art» is now manifesting on my body. I could not be more pleased with the outcome (or, more accurately, outcomes.)
His bedside manner is unparalleled — a gifted listener who «hears» not only your words — but seems to zero in on one’s body language. I have never felt so comprehensively listened to/​heard by a physician. He is humble, patient and never lets you forget that YOU are the customer. His practice offers patients an option to recover in his surgery center — which is at the Marriott hotel, directly next to his office building. I was taken care of for 24 hours there post-​op, with a single nurse devoted to my recovery. (Shout out to Sosan, my nurse. Thank you for the exceptional TLC!) I was worried about pain I might feel — getting moved to the Marriott. Thanks to his technique (I leave the details for him to explain), I felt nothing — and very little pain at all the first 3 days (when one expects pain levels to be the worst). Another shout out to Amy — his receptionist. Patient, kind, discreet… and on top of it.
Without blowing the confidentiality of my loved ones, Dr. Anthony will have some new patients on his calendar this year — friends of mine. I understand folks’ reluctance to share the fact that they’ve had «work» done — but this Doctor is too good to go unheralded.

I have had a couple services with Dr Anthony and I came back after years because I knew he is an expert, he does great work and he teaches. I am happy with his services and he is reasonably priced. Of course as with any surgery I run some risks but I’ve been a willing participant in my choices. Grateful for my choices today!

I had a great experience with Dr. Anthony and his staff. The atmosphere in the office is very serene and calming and the staff were very professional and supportive which really took the edge off any anxiety I had about having surgery. During my consultation, Dr. Anthony spent a good amount of time with me and made sure that he understood the type of results I wanted to achieve with plastic surgery. He thoroughly reviewed my options and carefully explained the procedures.
I had eye lid surgery (Blepharoplasty) and a brow lift. The results could not look more natural. No one can tell that I had surgery — not even my own mother. I just get complimented all of the time about how good I look.

He is without a doubt the BEST around. I can’t emphasize enough about how pleased I was with his results. He’s honest, good natured, great at what he does and stands by his work 100pct. Highly recommend him.

Dr. Anthony’s office is amazing! From the moment you enter, the staff greets you so warmly. Ann and Amy make you feel at ease and are so patient at answering all of your questions. Dr. Anthony is a skilled artist and is genuinely a kind person. He truly cares about his patients. He’s been voted as one of «America’s Top Surgeons» and teaches at UCSF, so you know he is very knowledge and an expert at his craft. If you are looking for a plastic surgeon, look no further. I cannot recommend him highly enough!

I had a terrible experience with this doctor. I didn’t heal well from my initial surgery with him (not his fault or mine) and had to have a scar revision surgery. The surgery center attached to his office (Vista Surgery)
charged me over $ 12,000 for the scar revision surgery and sent me to collections when I refused to pay them this insane amount. Dr. Anthony stopped responding to my emails and phone calls and completely disappeared. He wouldn’t even respond to the lawyer I hired. In the end I settled with the collection agency and it cost me $ 9000. $ 9000 ON TOP of the cost of the original surgery! Plus I had to pay for an attorney! Terrible, terrible experience. I wouldn’t ever recommend him to anyone.

I just would like to say that my experience with Dr. Anthony has been an absolute pleasure. I can’t thank him enough for the amazing work he did as well as his patience guiding me through the procedure. He took the time to really listen to the results that I wanted to achieve with the surgery and was an excellent communicator. Trust me, this is the doctor if you want someone who is not only a gifted surgeon but also has remarkable bedside manner. Thank you Dr. Anthony!

I went to Dr. Anthony for a post-​babies breast augmentation and mini tummy tuck. I had already have two friends have the exact same work with him and they were happy with their results. My friend even showed me her breast and stomach and it all looked incredible. I was sold. Dr. A, has a great bed-​side manner — very gentle, kind, down to earth. He treated me like and equal, not the haggard mother of three I felt like. After my surgery, most everything went fine, however my stomach had some issues and didn’t look right. I do NOT blame him for this — I feel surgery is half the doctor and half our body and how it deals with the trauma we put it through. I took a risk, I went to a great doctor and sometimes things don’t go like we’d hoped. What’s great about this story is Dr. Anthony offered to fix it at his cost. This spoke volumes to me. I got a second opinion anyway and that surgeon said that Dr. Anthony would be able to take care of this and that «these things happen to even the best of surgeons». I went back under, and the results were incredible the second time around. I highly recommend Dr. Anthony’s office!

Disfigurement was what i suffered after surgery with this doctor. Terrified to allow him to «fix» my collapsed nose and lumpy breasts, i have now had a second, painful and extremely costly surgery with another surgeon to try to regain some semblance of looking normal. DO NOT GO TO THIS DOCTOR!

Plastic surgery is not for sissies. It hurts and it takes a long time to heal.
Dr. Anthony did a tummy tuck, liposuction and a breast lift. It has been 6 weeks since my surgery and so far I am very pleased with Dr Anthony’s work.
As can happen with any surgery — some minor complications occurred. Dr. Anthony was very quick to react. I was nervous and anxious throughout the first couple of weeks of my recovery and Dr. Anthony was very responsive. If I called late at night — he called right back. He answered my emails and when needed, agreed to see me right away and acted quickly to ensure I got the best care possible.
I like this guy and I like the results.

Dr. Anthony has great bed-​side manner, is extremely patient and clearly knows what he is doing.
Highly recommend.

I selected Dr. Anthony after 6 months of painstaking research and time consuming consultations and could not be more pleased. I met with 5+ doctors in the SF bay area and all were great but he is absolutely THE BEST. Specifically, I had a mini abdominalplasty to correct an unbilical hernia and diastis recti both conditions are a result of having two children. I am realatively fit and did not have an liposuction.
During my decision making process I was very concerned about the scar placement and whether I would actually be able to still wear a string bikin after the surgery. Most of the doctors I met with drew very large scars on my stomach and some even had mulitple scar plans. When I met with Dr. Anthony he had a very different approach for me specifically give the condition of my skin. He was able to accomplish the entire proceedure with a very small scar. Not one other doctor ever considered this. He took the time to really approach the surgery in the best way given my body not just the standard routine way. I attribute this not only to his thoroughness and detail oriented nature but also to the fact that he is just good at what he does and he knows his stuff.
He is absolutely fantastic and I would highly recommend him. Ann and Sophia in his office are fantastic as well and patients are well taken care of.

I chose Dr. Anthony for a tummy tuck after meeting with three different surgeons, reading reviews and speaking to prior patients. I am so glad I went with my gut and trusted the vast majority of positive references about Dr. Anthony!
Everything about working with him was fabulous from start to finish. His answers about optimal timing of surgery after delivery of my twins, strategy for the operation and recovery guidelines were consistently more nuanced (and sensible, in my opinion) than answers I got from the other physicians. He is extremely flexible in his consultations to get the patient’s needs met, and very accessible for follow up questions. He personally called me to answer follow up questions, and I had his cell number for emergencies. He has met with me twice — free of charge and without delay — to resolve a minor issue regarding some discomfort I had at the site of drainage tube removal, so I am feeling great. And he voluntarily offered to follow me long term to make any necessary corrections in case I am not fully satisfied with my results (which I already am, by the way). I know I am in good hands and he will continue to take care of me over the long term to ensure optimal results from my surgery.
Now: RESULTS! Fabulous. My stomach was a complete disaster, with stretch marks covering the size of a dinner plate, a permanently inverted and distorted belly button, and huge separation of the abdominal muscles. Just 4 weeks after surgery, I could confidently wear a bikini to the beach! My belly button is reconstructed beautifully and doesn’t look like a donut, my incision is pristine, and the shape of my entire torso is youthfully tight.
Beyond the fabulous cosmetic outcome, I just can’t describe how amazing it FEELS to have my core abdominal strength restored. My pelvis and back feel like they are in better alignment, and I am once again moving more confidently and more athletically. Bonus (for the postpartum ladies) — I just ran for the first time today exactly 4 weeks after surgery, and my post-​baby urinary incontinence is GONE! I specifically asked him before surgery if this might be possible due to better pelvic alignment and better support of the bladder; he gave me his honest answer which is that none of his patients had reported this benefit, and no medical literature regarding this, but he hadn’t specifically been asking his patients. In short, he wanted to honestly represent what the science said was possible from this surgery, and not over-​sell. But here I am — running, and not leaking! I hope he asks his future patients or someone does a study on this.
Yes, the doctor and his office are quite polished. In Dr. Anthony’s case, the exterior you see is a reflection of the fact that he strives for perfection in everything he does, top to bottom, inside and out. HIGHLY recommended.
And by the way — his quote was just in the middle of the other two quotes I got, so you are NOT paying a premium for this premium service!

Dr. Anthony performed my breast reduction and did a fantastic job. If you’ve ever looked into this, you know that the many of the results posted on the web are a little disappointing (smaller, but saggy and weird). When you look through his before and after pics, you can see that when it comes to this surgery, he is truly an artist. I could have saved money by going to an in-​network surgeon, but couldn’t find anyone who had the same quality as per their before/​after pics. I love my new look and found his bedside manner to be very warm and supportive.
My only complaint would be that his office does not deal at all with insurance and the paperwork they gave me was unacceptable for my insurance company. Asking for more specific documentation was like pulling teeth

I chose Dr. Anthony over others for the wrong reason. I knew him indirectly.
I went to him to have an eye lift and some cosmetic work which was not a full or overneeded facelift.
He was very professional, but evasive about the work he would be doing and performing.
Due to the fact that I had not had surgery of this kind before and knowing of him through a third party, I trusted him and felt he was a surgeon that I would use for this procedure.
The net result is that it was very painful, I had side affects that after two years still persist.
I have gone back to him first and subsequently sought other plastic surgeons advise (3) and they all feel they are not sure what he did or why the results were not favorable. Neither of them will take on the re-​do as they do not understand what he did.
I went back to Dr. Anthony and explained what transpired. He was his typical nice (acting professional) self and said that he felt he would need to go back in and find out what and why the results were not as good as expected.
It has been 10 days since he said he would have his assistant follow up. There has been no follow up and seriously, I could tell from that day that his money was in hand and he was not going to make good on the promise.
Be sure to get a written agreement from him and a statement of work he intends to perform and improve.
Lesson learned.

In Sept 07 I decided to look into having some plastic surgery done. I wanted a tummy tuck, breast reduction, and liposuction on my back and sides. I decided I wanted Dr. James P. Anthony, who was referred to me by a client of mine, to do the surgery. I had two consultations with him. one including my mother. I have a family history of blood clots so I wanted to make it clear to him that I was concerned about the surgery.
Waking up from surgery, within a 12 hour period, an 8×6 piece of my stomach began blistering and was black and blue. Dr. Anthony informed me that there was a possibility that they would have to remove the blistered skin since it was dying due to poor circulation. They continued to watch the tissue while I was in the hospital and it continued to get worse. The Dr. Anthony was hoping that the lower layers would stay healthy but informed me that they may have to remove, everything down to the fascia or muscle layer. I left the hospital after a two night stay and returned home to be cared for by my mother and boyfriend. I was in the most pain I have ever experienced in my life. On my one week check up with Dr. James Anthony he promised me that he would fix everything and would make it all look the way it was supposed to. Two weeks post op I began having a strange uncomfortable feeling when I would breath. I couldn’t get enough air and would be out of breath after getting up to go to the bathroom and I could barely have a conversation. I woke up one morning and started to feel strange like I was going to pass out and had my mom call 911. I was taken by ambulance to the hospital immediately. CT results came back and I had multiple blood clots in both lungs and was severely anemic. I was immediately hit with the fear of dying and not being there for my son. I sobbed hysterically! I ended up staying in the hospital for 4 days and was released only on the condition that I give myself injections twice a day with blood thinners. They started me on a medication called Coumadin (a pill) and once my blood levels were stable I stopped the injections. The only problem with blood thinners is you have to go once a week and have your blood drawn to make sure your blood isn’t too thin or too thick. If your blood becomes too thin you can begin to bleed internally. I have to stay on blood thinning medication for the rest of my life since I am prone to have another one in the future.
After the blood clot incident I had to get a blood transfusion. Being severely anemic makes you tired and weak and for me to feel better faster, doing the transfusion vs. taking iron was the best choice.
After the transfusion Dr. Anthony removed the tissue on my stomach because my body started separating the healthy tissue from the dead tissue on its own. It took two sessions to remove all the dead tissue and on the second visit Dr. Anthony nicked a vein. I didn’t realize it till I got home and stepped out of the car and the bandages were soaked with blood. He said I could drive all the way back to S.F. and he could fix it but I live an Hour and a half away so I went to Kaiser instead. For 4 months I had a gaping wound that oozed and leaked. It had to heal from the inside out. I wore huge bandages held with tape that irritated and peeled off my skin that I had to change two to four times a day. Finally the wound healed but it looks like something from a freak show. It was dented and lumpy and ugly.
After dealing with all of that… my left breast was sore and had a hard lump the size of my fist that would rub on my chest wall. It was pain full and I was concerned and wanted it checked out. I went to Dr. James Anthony to see what he thought it was and he said I should have it biopsied that it could be cancer. WHO THE HELL TELLS SOMEONE THAT… especially since I was cancer free before the surgery!!! So I went through my Kaiser insurance and had the biopsy done. The results came back that the lump was dead fat. It was the exact same thing that happened to my stomach only a smaller version that didn’t include the skin. My insurance covered the surgery to fix my breast. Only the mass they removed was half of my breast tissue. The surgeon at Kaiser had to replace it with a breast implant so I didn’t look deformed. Now I have to maintain a fake boob for the rest of my life. When I confront Dr. Anthony about compensation he became arrogant saying he did nothing wrong and wanted me to let him fix my stomach. I refused because I do not trust him. I am very disappointed in him and his lack of customer service. I have tried on multiple occasions to work something out with him and he hasn’t been willing to speak to me.

I too had my dermatologist suggest Dr. Anthony. And… now she know longer does.
I had a breast reduction and liposuction done 1 ½ years ago. My breast reduction is fine… EXCEPT my right nipple inverts (which I hate). Dr. Anthony also did liposuction on me. I was charged for each and every area of the body. Meaning, lower abdomen, upper abdomen, back of arms, thighs and hips, inside of thighs. I discussed at length the expectation and cost for each area. When arriving to the hospital the orders for the surgery were very non-​specific. Details were left out… such as my upper back and the back of my arms etc. (Though I did pay for each and every area. After the surgery, I was to have a follow up with Dr. Anthony at CPMC. When I arrived he was not there and I was told he had forgotten our appointment. He chose not to go back to the hospital to meet me as was schedued. even though I had taken off of work to meet him I was told to make an appointment for another time at his office downtown, he again did not show up for my appointment. There was a considerable amount of FAT left around my abdomen, back and inner thighs. Dr. Anthony told me what was left was not fat but skin. I will tell you as I told him that I know the difference. Finally after me being very persistent.; Dr Anthony said he would do redo the surgery for nothing if I paid for the anthesesia. Of course, I went forth with that. I will tell you my next follow up he again did not show up at his office. My right nipple from the breast reduction still inverts and my upper abodomen is rippley… NOT from stretched skin, but from the liposuction not being done properly. BE VERY CAREFUL WHO DOES YOUR SURGERY. KNOW OR AT LEAST SEE PATIENTS THEY HAVE BEEN BY THE DOCTOR BEFORE.
Final outcome. after Dr. Anthony re-​did the surgery to remove the fat from my abdomen … he did admit he had removed two pounds from my abdomen at the second surgery. He did nothing to my midrif as he had promised. I am very happy I had the second surgery done otherwise I would have been even more disatisfied.
When I expressed my dissatisfaction Dr. Anthony, he became very arrogant and said maybe my expectation were not realistic. I responed by saying maybe the expectations should have been discussed before the surgery.
I have received two phone calls from Dr. Anthony regarding my posting on Unilocal in the last week and he has threatened me with a law suit if I do not remove some aspects of my posting.
I am now having another doctor correct my surgery.

* Wow. A lot of activity since I originally posted this review. I find it odd that apart from the 1^st reviewer and myself (2^nd), no one else has more than 1 or 2 reviews to their credit. Hmmm…
I’m surprised there aren’t more reviews on this wonderful doctor! My dermatologist recommended Dr. Anthony when I told her I was considering surgery. She said he did fantastic work and I might want to check out his techniques. I already had consults with a couple other doctors and had decided on one. But since my derm is highly regarded in the medical community and she has seen a lot of his work on her own patients, I valued her opinion and thought it was worth consulting with one more doctor. So glad I did.
Dr. Anthony has the most comforting bedside manner. From the initial consultation to the follow-​up visits, Dr. Anthony demonstrated nothing but kindness and compassion. I came prepared with an entire binder full of articles, photographs, and questions (hey, I do my research). He was impressed and took the time to answer my grilling questions thoughtfully. He knew exactly what I wanted and I could tell after that first visit that he was the one. I did ask for a previous patient to call me and discuss her experience. She of course had nothing but glowing praise and couldn’t recommend him enough.
Naturally, I was nervous the day of surgery but confident in Dr. Anthony’s skills. While I was trailing off to la-​la land in the OR, my mom was all jittery in the waiting area. Dr. Anthony helped set aside her fears and explained the procedure. He even showed her some products he was carrying in his doctor’s bag. The recovery process was rather easy for me (God bless Vicodin) and there have been no problems since. I should also emphasize that my surgery wasn’t exactly straightforward. My case was a bit unusual which is why I was even more particular about choosing the most qualified surgeon. Well, Dr. Anthony didn’t disappoint and I would definitely see him again if I needed to.

I know a lot of people have preconceived notions of what a plastic surgeon does. You mostly think of someone who gives Britney Spears a tummy tuck, or you think of the horrors of too much surgery, or you think of the Cat Woman.
For the last 15+ years, I have been plagued with an enormous chest — one that gave me years of back pain, shoulder pain, chest pain, arm pain. You name it. Aside from the physical discomfort, the insecurities that come along with DDD’s are unimaginable. You walk with a hunch. You cross your arms all the time. Your girlfriends audibly gasp when they see you getting changed because the minimizer bra you were wearing unleashed these huge boulders. This is usually followed with a, «OH MY GOD, i cannot believe THAT is how big they are! You hide them well.»
When you speak in public, you can’t really look someone in the eye, because part of the time, they aren’t staring at your face, they are staring at your chest. And they don’t even mean to. I’ve had people apologize when i catch them looking, and I understand… I’d gawk, too. Shirts don’t fit. Ever. You may be a size 8, but you have to get a size 16 shirt.
You get the picture.
So you wake up one day, with your hunch and your physical therapy bills, and you have an epiphany: the puppies have to go. For years, women like myself wake up and say, «God, i just want these gone».
I took the bull by the horns and made a visit to Dr. James Anthony for a breast reduction. He came highly, highly recommended, someone who has helped countless women, someone who is breath of fresh air.
He greeted me with a calming smile. I always thought, «why do people get into plastic surgery?». And honestly, there are a lot of reasons. One of which is to help countless of people get over horrible insecurities and pain, like myself.
So he checked me over, told me I was the perfect candidate. My body was literally hiding behind these things. His two right-​hand ladies, Ann and Andrea, are hilarious and will also help answer questions and set you up with an easy post-​op recovery plan. They even had low interest payment plans, if you are so inclined.
The clincher, for me (besides Dr. Anthony’s demeanor), were the Before/​After shots of past clients. He was an artist. They were perfect representations of what I wanted to have: a small chest that fit my frame and that would not cause me any more pain, emotional or physical.
The surgery itself was a dream. His team was hysterical; they will have you laughing for hours. He answered all my questions. He really gave me all the time I needed to ask and answer questions. Post-​op visits were great and reassuring. He handles scar treatment really well.
I really can’t say enough about Dr. Anthony. My life has totally changed, and when I say a weight has lifted, I really mean it. I have read horror stories about botched breast reductions and I can only shed a happy tear that I chose the doctor I did.
I feel like this is something that I wish I had done years ago, and I know there are some women sitting there thinking they should do it but feel like they can’t. Which is why I am writing this review: Do it.
And if you do, please make James Anthony someone you visit for atleast a consult. You will not be disappointed.
(and please feel free to email me with more specific questions! I can’t gush enough.)