UCSF Vision Correction Center

If I could give zero stars, I would.
I’m having a vision problem. My eye doctor can’t find anything physically wrong. An MRI found nothing, either. I got a referral from a UCSF neurology practice to UCSF neuro-​ophthalmologist Jonathan Horton. My insurance will cover this. So far so good.
I get a call from Horton’s office. It is his scheduler, who will not identify herself by name. She tells me that Horton wants to review my visual field exam results from my optometrist and that after they’ve received them she can schedule me. I tell her I’m driving and need to pull over before I can make a note of the fax number to which the test results need to be sent. I also tell her that I know that the test results showed nothing. She says Horton still wants to review them. I say fine — just wanted to let his practice know. She’s now annoyed that I haven’t yet been able to pull over, so she asks for my optometrist’s number. Same problem. She says «well maybe you can just give me their name and I’ll find them.» I giver her the name. She hangs up.
I find a place to pull over and call my optometrist’s office to tell them to expect the call and to give my consent to send my test results over.
The next day I call Horton’s office. Nothing received. I give it a few more days and call back. The same nameless woman tells me she hasn’t received anything yet. I contact my optometrist’s office. The next day my optometrist emails me confirmation that the results were sent over. It is the weekend, so I wait until the following week to call. Once again, the woman-who-doesn’t-give-her-name tells me she hasn’t received anything yet. I tell her I have written confirmation that the results were faxed over the week before. She says she’ll look into it and call me back.
The next day I still haven’t heard back from Horton’s office, so I call yet again. This time the woman-who-doesn’t-give-her-name tells me she did receive the results, and that she’ll call me the following week, after the doctor has reviewed the results. I point out that she previously told me that she could schedule me once they received the test results. She denies it, and insists that Dr. Horton has to review the results first, then she can schedule me if he tells her to.
If he tells her to??? What if he doesn’t? Then she won’t. Now she tells me, for the first time, that Horton will decide whether or not he even wants to take my case!!! I tell her I’m frustrated, that after 3 weeks of trying to get an appointment this is the first time she has mentioned this. She claims she is «sure» she must have told me this before. I tell her no, that if she had I would have looked into seeing someone else rather than wait 3 weeks to be told that I was now eligible for consideration for an appointment. Then I ask her when, assuming the doctor deigns to see me, is the earliest I could get an appointment. «December.» (It is now mid-​October.) I tell her I want to see a doctor because I’m having vision problems NOW, that two months from now doesn’t help me with the problem I’m having now. She says «if Dr. Horton determines that you are at risk of permanent damage to your vision, he might have me come in sooner.»
The woman-who-doesn’t-give-her-name suggests that there are other doctors I could see sooner. I ask her to schedule me with one of them. She says she can’t that they work out of a different office at UCSF and she doesn’t handle their schedules. I ask her if she knows for a fact that I could see them sooner; no, she tells me, she doesn’t know this. I point out that at this point all she is trying to do is get rid of me.
After this, she just keeps repeating that she only does what she is told. I’m furious. I question the competency of someone who lies about what they have said, withholds important information from prospective patients, and effectively denies them access to health care. She wants to know why I’m insulting her! I tell her I’m not, I’m simply reflecting back everything that has transpired since I first started trying to get an appointment.
She asks if I’d like to speak with her supervisor. I would. So she transfers me to the VM of someone who is on vacation for weeks! I call back the woman-who-doesn’t-give-her-name, who is now also woman-who-doesn’t-answer-her-phone. I leave a VM pointing out that she offered to let me speak to her supervisor, when she a.) knew the supervisor was on vacation; or b.) didn’t know that, in which case I really did question her competency/​truthfulness. I asked her to have her supervisor call me back when she returns from vacation, as I’d like to know which of the two is the issue.
That was 10 days ago. No call to schedule an appointment. No call to tell me that Dr. Horton has declined to take my case. No call from the supervisor. In other words, no interest in actually providing health care to patients.
I’m looking elsewhere. I’d advise you to do the same.

Frustrated by my experience here — had LASIK wavefront done with poor results (²⁰⁄₃₀). Dr Hwang was brusque during the procedure itself and in my follow up dismissive of my concerns. Wait times are a problem here (expect 1+ hour waits)
Would recommend looking elsewhere for such a costly procedure… am a physician myself and will not be recommending UCSF to future patients!

Terrible place one of the assistants Poke my Elderly mother in the eye.

I had my Lasik correction done at UCSF in November 2011. Unfortunately I am not satisfied with the results.
I chose UCSF because I expected to get the BEST doctors and technicians using the most MODERN equipment and techniques. UCSF prices were about 20% higher than other LASIK centers, but since I expected to get superior service, I was happy to pay the 20% premium.
During my initial evaluation, I requested to have the most modern procedure to be done — Wavefront LASIK. On my surgery day, about one month later, the technician was not able to get the Wavefront reading on my right eye and told me that I would have to have a conventional procedure in my right eye. Although disappointed in the outcome of the pre-​op, I trusted that was in good hands and went through with a Wavefront procedure in my left eye and a conventional procedure in my right eye. The ultimate results I got were ²⁰⁄₁₅ in the left eye but less than ²⁰⁄₂₀ (with some nearsidedness) in my right eye. Having this difference has been quite frustrating, particularly when watching powerpoint presentations and when driving. After I brought this to the attention of Dr. Hwang, he said that my left eye must have had an abnormal shape that wouldn’t allow the readings to be taken. When I asked if this could be corrected, he said that my right eye was too close to ²⁰⁄₂₀ and that an additional procedure would risk overcorrecting my right eye vision.
Since my surgery, I talked with the other centers I researched prior to my operation. I found out that they had taken readings for Wavefront and had had the data available for Wavefront procedures in BOTH of my eyes. Additionally, my regular eye doctor noticed that my right eye flap had not healed as nice as the left eye flap. Based on this evidence, UCSF clearly did NOT have the best technicians and/​or the most modern equipment. Something did not go right. I do not recommend using UCSF for LASIK procedures.

How do you know where to get your eyes corrected? Its not like you can go to another place for your next cup of coffee if you don’t like the first café. I read all the reviews online, talked to people who had been to different places, and did pre-​screen exams at multiple «surgery only» docs, an opthomologist, and here at UCSF with Dr Hwang.
Two blinks for Dr Hwang. Great staff. Easy enough to schedule. Pricing slightly to much better than the surg-​only eye doctors. Explained everything — very current on latest medical issues and results. Considerate of my work schedule — both in what procedure they suggested as well as in the surgery options. All the latest equipment. No pressure — just honest medical advice and let the patient decide what action they want.
Bottom line — this is the place to go for eye surgery in the Bay Area.

Decided to go to UCSF for my PRK laser eye surgery after extensive research and consultations with other potential providers. For anyone who does not know, UCSF is one of the best eye centers in the world. With that said, I found it hard to choose another place when the price was about the same (a little cheaper actually) and included world class surgeons who are the most respected in the industry.
Dr. Hwang at UCSF was friendly, smart and did not pressure me into anything. He often answered my questions using statistics (ie. there is a 5 in 1000 chance of this happening) which I found comforting. Other providers would answer my questions by just saying «you have nothing to worry about».

I really should have gone here sooner! Think of having eye surgery like owning a $ 100,000 sports car– you don’t go one place for your oil change, another to get your alingment done, and yet another for routine engine service. You want to go to one place and see one guy that is an expert and whom you trust. That’s what UCSF is like. One thing to note about UCSF– it’s a very busy place. However, you usually don’t have to wait long, and the doctors are well worth it. Dr. Mcleod is very personable, very smart, and shows an honest exuberance for new patients– by that I mean he loves the new challenges a potential patient brings in. It’s easy to tell Dr. Mcleod loves his this work, and his team (notably Laura, Don, Dr. Finkleman and others) all display similar passion. Dr. Mcleod answered all my questions and addressed all my concerns. I had PRK surgery and am very pleased with the results. I highly recommend this place not only because they are so good with lasik, but because they also are cornea specialists. You never know what a doctor will find, so it’s always best to start with a place that does it all.

Overall, I have been really impressed with Dr. McLeod and staff. I am having the surgery when I return from a trip, but I felt very, very comfortable with Dr. McLeod — seems to have an incredibly strong knowledge of the field.

I got lasik eye surgery there and I have no complaints whatsoever. I went from 750 to ²⁰⁄₂₀ and it was the best thing I have ever done. Dr Hwang is from what I hear, one of the top 5 surgeons in that field and he did a great job. Their whole staff was very friendly and made me feel very comfortable. I would do it again in a heartbeat.

I honestly don’t know whether this deserves 5 stars.
In any case, my right eye (XMAS injury) received a very unpleasant corneal abrasion that took over two weeks to heal and ended up overcorrected. Was it because I accidentally scratched my cornea a few Christmases ago? Was it because my corneas are genetically susceptible to abrasion? Or was it carelessness? The left went perfectly, healed overnight and ended up better than ²⁰⁄₂₀. They told me they used less anasthetic on the left because that can promote abrasions in some patients who have a genetic predisposition. But they used enough that the procedure wasn’t painful.
Be ready for long waits (1+ hours) for follow-​up appointments with the doctor. My surgeon, Dr Hwang was very knowlegable and had authored a paper about this specific condition and course of treatment. So perhaps I was very lucky to have chosen him for treatment. But maybe a private practice would have been more cautious from the outset?
I would do lasik again but I would do more research about a brand-​new all-​laser procedure than doesn’t «cut» your eye the same way. Maybe that would have prevented my problem.