Vail C Reese MD & Felicia Hall MD

Dr. Reese is a real find. He is kind, precise, and explains really clearly so you have no doubt about what is going on. I feel very comfortable in the rooms, and didn’t have to wait long to see him (which I cannot say is true of other doctors I’ve seen in recent times). He attended to the issues I came in for quickly and efficiently, showing great care for my comfort all along. He also made some suggestions and recommendations without being prompted, that are very useful to know.
I’d recommend this practice highly.

Dr. Reese is an exceptionally caring and skilled doctor, but it’s his «bedside manner» that makes him stand out as someone I wanted to be sure to review on Unilocal.Dermatology is often overlooked by insurance companies, which makes it feel more like vanity than health care. But Dr. Reese is so patient and professional, explaining everything so clearly and empathizing so readily.
He really knows how to put his patients at ease and make them feel less self-​conscious for wanting to treat issues that might seem cosmetic, but that he assures are legitimate preventative measures. I’ll choose him again and again, even if my insurance doesn’t cover him, because he has my trust and my respect. Plus, he’s a lovely person who is so friendly and fun to talk to!

I went to see Dr. Hall to have a cyst removed from the outside corner of my eye. I was embarrassingly nervous about the procedure but she was really so kind and gentle. Her assistant had the same demeanor and it helped so much with my anxiety. After some lidocaine injections, she just burned that sucker off in a matter of minutes. Threw a few stitches in and that was that. I never felt a thing after the first lil needle poke.
I have zero insurance and paid entirely out of pocket. The whole shebang cost me $ 380– that included some bandages, ointment, and a follow up visit to get the stitches removed. Not cheap but my face is very beautiful and the thing was interfering with my confidence, so I thought it wasn’t too bad a deal.
The incision healed uneventfully and after a couple months it was undetectable. No scarring, nothing. Nice!

I met with Dr. Reese to have another look at the spots after my last review. The spots are becoming less noticeable, possibly with the help of Tri-​Luma. But with time, I am hoping that they will eventually disappear permanently. This is a long process and not the quick fix that I initially thought.

Dr Reese is the best! I went to see Dr. Reese about 2 months ago, he is super attentive and everything you would want from an excellent dermatologist. I was having issues with adult acne and 2 months later can see the great results. My skin is definitely improving!!! You never feel rushed (like some other doctors) and he really listens to your concerns and makes you feel more at ease with any skin issues you are having. Most importantly he thoroughly explains any procedures and medications so you are empowered to take charge of skin and be well on the way to clear complexion. Another great thing about Dr. Reese is how responsive he is, if you ever have an issue in between appointments, rest assure he will answer your email very promptly. My previous insurance company was not part of his network but I paid out of pocket because THAT’S HOW GOOD HE IS! Don’t delay seeing him, I wish I had seen him earlier. I highly recommend Dr. Reese!

Dr. Reese is the best derm, period. I ve seen 5 dermatologists and one Chinese herbalist before I visited Dr Reese. No one could fix me, no medicine worked. Dr. Reese fixed my skin issue within two visits. Dr. Reese is the very best in town!!!

Dr Hall is truly awesome. Really friendly and down to earth. I immediately felt at ease and comfortable discussing my skin issues with her. She offered a couple suggestions to deal with my skin issues that no other dermatologist I’d gone to previously had. Definitely a doctor I’ll continue to go see.

This is an FYI for chronic eczema suffers especially!
I am coming back to update my review. I am now a former patient of Dr Reese. I have been battling severe eczema for close to a year now. I went to Dr. Reese two years ago to deal with the same issue, smaller scale. I received topical ointment and a cortison shot. Last year it came back and I received the same procedure. Upon more research and extreme illness to the creams and pills prescribed I began seeking intense acupunture and chinese herbs from Dr. Jenny Ou. I am almost 90% cleared, with no drugs.
This isn’t a plug for her as I know this isn’t the route for everyone. I wanted to keep Dr. Reese as my dermatologist for other skin issues. But after two encounters I am less than trusting. In January I emailed his office asking for guidance on my flare up and Dr Reese sent a flippant email saying it must’ve been because of winter weather (I’m talking peeling skin on eyes, mouth and neck, huge welts of hives) AND I was starting to develop an indent in my upper buttock from the cortisone shot. Again, I was told it was nothing to really worry about and I could get filler if I wanted to and it could eventually heal over time. BECAUSE THE MUSCLE AND FAT AT THE INJECTION SITE WAS ATROPHYING. It is a huge cause of alarm but really all I can do it watch it.
I emailed again last week to ask if this is something I should be worried about as it’s gotten deeper and darker. Research on the internet isn’t pretty but as we all know the internet shows the worst of the worst. I haven’t received any response. Health is such a vulnerable situation and skin issues are terrible. Especially chronic ones that need adjusting and different techniques to find the right one. I take the radio silence as a «See ya, you didn’t work out!»
I will be continuing my successful acupunture treatments and seeking out a primary care doctor to help figure this out. But I just kept thinking I need other people to know.

Dr Reese is awesome. Gets results. Good listener. Tells all your options, possibilities, clears doubts. Go to him, get fixed :)

Dr. Reese is simply the BEST! I’ve been seeing him for years and finally said to myself, I should let other folks know and post something on Unilocal!
He is super nice and explains everything very well. I’ve been seeing him mostly for acne issues (my skin has never looked better since I started seeing him), but occasionally I might get freaked out about a freckle or mole and he is always there to check me out and put me at ease in the most kind way.
I recently got a small burn on my face (stupid hot pizza!) and got really freaked out about the chance for scarring. I called and got in to see him the SAME DAY and once again, he immediately put me at ease, gave me a topical prescription and let me know everything will be ok. I trust Dr. Reese and am so happy that I found him! Best. Dermatologist. Ever!

After my recent visit to Dr Reese, I wanted to update my Unilocal review. I’m not sure how I can exceed my previous two 5 star reviews other than reiterate what an exceptional dermatologist Dr Reese is.
I have been seeing Dr Reese for five years & he has continued to be an exceptional doctor. He is a genuine, patient, concerned & incredibly helpful dermatologist. He continues to return my calls & emails when I have questions that don’t require an appointment. I have never experienced a doctor who treated each patient with such care.
I am so lucky to have Dr Reese taking care of my skin ailments! He really knows how to relieve my itch ;) I am confident he is the BEST dermatologist in San Francisco.

Dr. Hall is sweet, professional and is sensitive to what the insurance companies cover. She calls to follow up and makes herself available for followup consultations.
Absolutely recommended.

Dr. Reese is the greatest and runs an incredibly efficient operation. I’ve always been seen within 10 minutes of my scheduled appointment time by a cheerful Dr. Reese. He’s never made my skin concerns seem menial even when they were purely cosmetic. When it’s a medical concern, he has always fixed (cured?) what I came in for. My insurance is incredibly stingy about pharmaceutical coverage and he even tides me over with samples while we wait for my insurance to suck less.
Also, I don’t know why patients associate «bedside manner» with long-​winded, drawn-​out appointments. This isn’t a psychiatrist. He’s busy, I’m busy, I just want to get my skin problems resolved by a nice, attentive and efficient doctor and get back to my day.

This is my first time writing a review EVER! I usually don’t take time to write reviews because there are so many other things I’d rather be doing. Funny thing is, a paragraph into my review and my iPad shuts off! Really!?? But I am so impressed with Dr. Resse that I am going to rewrite it all over again.
Dr. Reese is definitely the BEST doctor I’ve ever seen. Simply because of his bedside manners and easygoing but professional personality. This was my first time seeing a dermatologist and he put me right at ease as soon as he walked in the door. He’s funny and is very informative. He is able to get a lot of information out in a timely manner and I truly appreciate that. I just started using the topical gel for my acne and Im excited to see how it goes. I did a light and cream treatment and my skin already feels smoother.
Thank you dr, Reese for helping me with my skin and also for making me feel so comfortable and for making me feel like you had all the time in the world for me even when you don’t:) you are a gem and that kind of treatment is so rare to find in doctors nowadays! You and your practice make a huge difference!
–Amy

BEWARE!!! Update — It has been a year and a half since my cheek was left with a bright red scar as a result of Dr. Reese’s unfortunate mistake. I have had 6 laser treatments to try to repair my scar, which began as a large blister. My scar is still quite visible.
I do not recommend Dr. Reese for any dermatological work.

I scheduled a routine mole check with Dr. Reese, who was very nice and kept me calm even though a couple spots had to come off for biopsies. He ultimately wanted to remove one spot completely, and Dr. Hall performed that surgery. She was also very nice and approachable, and she kept me feeling totally calm. She did a great job with the surgery. The recovery was very easy, and I can already tell the scar is healing great.
She even gave me her cell phone number to call in case of bleeding or questions; I called her with a question, got her voicemail, and she called back while I was still leaving her a message. Talk about being super available and helpful!
I cannot recommend them highly enough, in terms of their bedside manner, their availability to answer questions, and their skills as doctors (specifically, Dr. Hall’s surgical skills). The office staff were also all very friendly.

I’ve been seeing both Dr. Hall & Dr. Reese for a few years now, and I cannot say enough good things about their care & practice. I feel like we covered everything under the sun since I started seeing them … acne, eczema, bacterial infection, fungal infection — you name it, and they’ve fixed it! I’ve been seeing Dr. Reese more lately (schedule purposes), and he is incredibly nice, VERY knowledgeable, and really takes his time to talk with you. Dr. Hall is also very friendly, highly intelligent, and patient. I would recommend both Dr. Hall & Reese to anyone who needs an excellent dermatologist.
I’ve never had to wait more than a couple minutes to see Dr. Hall or Reese. …and just to vent a personal opinion … people should not rate their Dr. on how long they had to wait. That has absolutely nothing to do with the care you receive.

The staff are the only reason this isn’t getting a single star. They deserve more than two. They were fine, did their jobs, polite, professional.
tl;dr: Scroll down to ****
But Dr. Hall, no. I was a bit concerned after reading reviews here but the good ones were REALLY good so I gave them a try. I had a few issues I wanted looked at, and I told the receptionist that when I made the appointment. She said it was fine to do it all in one appointment.
I got there about 5 minutes early but had to wait almost 20. I really hate that when they tell you you will have to pay $ 75 for a no show because their time matters, but your time? Well, that’s your problem.
The nurse assistant (don’t know her title) was polite, showed me to my room, talked to me a bit. Then I waited. Again. For a fair bit of time for the doctor. I told her I wanted a skin check for cancer, as skin cancer runs in my family and I do this annually, and I wanted to talk about a few other items. She did the check first and missed the two large areas my last two doctors immediately found and noted we should watch. I did not purposefully not point them out as some trick question, I just didn’t think about it until she was done and said it all looked fine. She didn’t even mention the two scars I have from previous biopsies. That didn’t make me feel very safe.
Then we talked about acne. She hardly listened — including to me saying the only thing that has worked in the past is one particular antibiotic — and just told me to use this type of soap that I mentioned made my skin rash up. She didn’t listen at all. She made no mention of antibiotics, or a follow up, or trying a different routine.
I tried to talk to her about a rash on my sides that appear from time to time. They weren’t present for the appointment, of course, wily jerks, but I thought she might at least have insight if it’s a common occurrence with people. She blew it off. Not, «oh when they come back, make an appointment and we’ll look.» More of «I don’t give a rat’s about my patients so I’m not listening to anything. Give me your money and move on.»
But the best part, the crowning moment, was when I asked her if there was anything they could do about my neck. I was referring to a scar from a childhood tragedy that isn’t super visible but it bothers me. She replied, «You mean your chicken neck?» …
**** You mean your chicken neck. ****
I didn’t know I had a chicken neck, but you know what I see in a mirror, to the point of tears, every time I look now? A chicken neck. Worst, it wasn’t like she was trying to get me to feel insecure and have surgery, which is similarly deplorable, but at least there would be an explanation. She went on before I could interrupt to say nothing could be done. «Oh your nasty, ugly body? No, we can’t do anything about your nasty, ugly body! I bet the kids tease you a lot, you nasty, ugly woman.» That’s what I heard. When I flirt with men, I am convinced all they are looking at is my chicken neck. I am now considering talking to a specialist about my chicken neck… and I am not even sure it’s there…
She apologized and said, «I shouldn’t have said it that way.» NOT HELPING. Honestly, what professional at her level would EVER say something like that to another human? Honestly, the bitchiest thing someone has ever said to my face. And I had an ex boyfriend that liked to tell me how fat I was and that no one would ever love me, but even he had more tact about it. Though the two are in a close running. Maybe I should introduce them. They could put each other down happily ever after…
And for all that — poor acne treatment advice, not listening to other issues, missing abnormal moles on a skin check, and calling me names like a damn preschooler, I got to pay a premium.

My experience with Dr. Felicia Hall was for the most part, great — getting an actual appointment took a few weeks, but it wasn’t urgent, filling out new patient forms online was convenient, parking and finding the location was easy, and the appointment was a breeze. Just 20 minutes — she looked me over, froze off one small legion and I was out of there.
UNTIL
I received a bill for $ 533.70! FOR 20 minutes of time! I was DUMBSTRUCK. I had paid my $ 60 deductible, then Cigna paid for some of the visit and now I had another $ 152.59 that I owed.
WAIT A MINUTE! I wasn’t at all apprised of the cost of the visit, I didn’t get to review the potential charges, no one said a thing about prices and now I’m presented with this other bill? I am appalled at this whole thing.
I run my own business and make a point of letting my clients know how much things are going to cost. Everything is agreed upon up front. BEFORE services are rendered. I guess that’s not how things work in the healthcare industry. And I guess it was up to ME to find out all these figures rather than just relying on the Doctor or the office to apprise me.
WORD TO THE WISE: ASK before getting any treatment done here. ASK!!! Learn from my mistake!
I even called the office a few times with no satisfactory resolution. They had no sympathy at all.

Dr Hall is awesome. Friendly, informative and does a great job zapping away those imperfections with the latest high tech laser tools.
Derm work is not cheap, but you get what you pay for. I think they do a great job here.