Benjamin Eye Institute

I’ve been coming here since I’ve lived in LA and I couldn’t be happier. I always get great service from Dr. Benjamin and his staff. I also like that the office isn’t your typical-​looking, bland office. I would recommend this place to anyone and will continue coming here.

Dr. Benjamin was referred to me by my optometrist, Dr Cheng, for LASIK. I’ve been scared and put this whole thing off for many years. I finally set an appointment for a consult.
As soon as I got there I knew why Dr C thought so highly of dr B and his staff. From beginning to end Dr B and his staff were welcoming, helpful, and comforting.
The day of surgery I was slightly stressed but I felt like everyone there took such amazing care of me and made sure I knew what was going on and what to expect. Right down to dr b counting down the laser time for me. (Believe it or not that helped ALOT.)
That night I experienced some discomfort and had my mom call dr b — he IMMEDIATELY returned her call (she was so impressed too) and gave me a quick fix of more eye drops. It was smooth sailing ever since.
If you need LASIK I wouldn’t consider anyone else.
PS — suck it up and pay for the buildings valet. Parking tickets are expensive and parking can be annoying.

I’ve been a patient of Dr Benjamin’s for several years now. There are many things about his practice that I like: his office, which I think is actually the bridge of a spaceship from the year 2025 (welcome aboard the USS Eyeball!); his front-​desk folks, who are friendly and efficient and always greet me with a smile; and his medical staff, who are the most helpful and nice Russian supermodels I’ve ever met.
But most of all, I like Dr. B. He’s a gregarious, friendly, super-​knowledgeable doctor who has a great sense of humor, and perhaps most importantly: he’s patient. He explains everything fully and clearly and answers all of my questions without making me feel rushed or unimportant. In my experience that’s mighty unusual with most doctors… !!
So here are three quick stories about my visits to Benjamin Eye Institute.
1. Generally speaking, I like so much that Dr Benjamin embraces technology. His office is all tricked out and you sign consent forms on iPads. All the recordkeeping is electronic. They have an online patient portal that I can log into for appointments and to access my files. When I had an issue with my eye, as soon as the doctor figured out what was going on, he turned to the computer right there in the exam room and punched up a video that helped me understand what was going on– and then he also emailed me the video so I could watch it again at home. (Cool!) The doctor himself has invited me to email him directly. All of this is great, and tells me that this is a professional who is interested in the latest technology and equipment to deliver great care.
2. A couple of months ago my eyeball pressure was a little above normal, which could be an early indicator of glaucoma (scary!). The doctor said he wanted to re-​check my eyeball pressure using this crazy high-​tech machine that measures eye pressure by watching your brain waves and reading your thoughts. (Or something like that. Check out the photo below… it’s pretty wild, the sensors were on the back of my head and on my forehead and under my eyes, and it really did measure my brain waves. Normally for this sort of setup I have to go to Scientology and they want to charge me extra for thetan removal, but I digress.)
I was pleased to find out that Dr Benjamin is one of the few doctors in L.A. to have this special (and apparently very new) machine. It’s super reassuring to know that my eye doctor is using the latest-​latest technology– it’s because of this new machine that we could accurately measure my eye pressure and learn that everything is okay, it doesn’t look like glaucoma and I should be fine. PHEW, THANK GOD!!! And I think: if I had been a patient of another doctor that didn’t have this fancy new machine, would I still be wondering today if my eyes will be okay?
3. Finally, this morning I woke up with something weird going on inside my eyelid… it was scratchy and unpleasant and I was concerned that it could be messing around with my eyeball. (Hey, I only have a couple of ‘em so I’m very protective!) I called the office at 8:30am and explained the situation and they said they could get me in right away for the doctor to see me… yay for being flexible and allowing me to come in for an emergency visit. As always, Dr B was able to treat the situation and helped put me at ease.
Bottom line, I think Dr Benjamin is one of the best eye doctors in Los Angeles, certainly with the most up-​to-​date equipment, and the whole team in the office is universally terrific. I feel like my vision is in good hands with him and wouldn’t hesitate to recommend him to others.

Once you hit 40 some frustrating things start to happen to your body. One of those things is my ²⁰⁄₂₀ vision I’ve always enjoyed started to fade away. I had noticed some straining of my eyes when looking at my phone or reading menus at restaurants. So I decided it was time to get my eyes checked.
I read some good reviews on Unilocal about this place, and since it was in the same building as my regular doctor I decided to give it a try. I was so pleased with my experience.
I told the nurse I had never seen an eye doctor before and she made the whole experience very easy for me. She explained everything she was doing and why she was doing it. One thing I really appreciated was how clean this office and all the exam rooms were. Before the nurse touched anything or had me put my face or eyes on anything she made sure to clean it. This is a small detail that made me feel confident and at ease. Also, all the equipment used on me was new and seemed to be very sophisticated. I felt confident I was getting the best care possible.
Once I met the Doctor he was also very friendly and easy to talk to. Luckily he said my vision loss was very minor and normal for my age. He just told me to go to the drug store and get some low prescription readers for now and to come back for another checkup in a year. I was so pleased there was no pressure to buy anything or get actual glasses or contacts. I feel he really had my best interest in mind.
Such a nice experience. I would highly recommend this eye doctor to anyone around the West side looking for a great eye doctor.

I am happy to say that Dr. Benjamin personally addressed my concerns in a prompt and thoughtful manner, to my complete satisfaction, so I returned to his office for my annual eye exam. I believe that he genuinely wants his patients to have the best experience possible and I am pleased to be able to update this review.

If I could give Dr. Benjamin, Mayka and the test of the Benjamin Eye Institute staff 6 stars, I would! In less than 30 min, I had lasik surgery on both of my eyes. Smoothest medical experience ever (and totally painless). Before and after, the (super kind) staff went above and beyond to explain, educate and prepare me for the surgery and the after-​surgery care. I highly recommend the Benjamin Eye Institute!

The staff is efficient and kind! They got me in the same day. I had surgery performed for a stye and now you could never even tell it was there. So grateful, this doc is awesome!

I just had LASIK eye surgery yesterday and it was the best decision I have ever made! After over ten years I can finally throw away my eye glasses! The doctor and his staff are caring and very attentive. I would recommend this doctor to anyone interested in LASIK.

I came to Dr. Benjamin after six months of a recurring eye infection. My boyfriend had been to him with a major eye issue and said he was the best. He was right! Dr. Benjamin immediately diagnosed my issue, solved it, and explained exactly what was happening. I just got Lasik with Dr. Benjamin as well and had an amazing experience. His staff is SO NICE, very knowledgeable and patient. During the surgery, I knew I was in excellent hands. If my friends or family decide to get Lasik I’m sending them here for sure. Thanks Dr. Benjamin!

The staff is very friendly and accommodating! I had a special situation that required extra testing before LASIK to ensure it was safe. Dr. Benjamin took every precaution to make sure the procedure was safe for me. He and the staff are very thorough and personable. LASIK was a dream come true! I did have to wait 45 minutes for my first consultation appointment, but it was just a really busy day. Otherwise I was seen right away for all of my other appointments. I would definitely recommend Benjamin Eye Institute. P. S. Parking in the garage can run $ 18+ for an hour so try to park on the side streets or east of the building on Sunset if possible.

The best doctor in the world, fixed my eyes in 20 min, amazing team, always pleasant to visit. Don’t waist your time or use contacts-​lenses with glasses any more, visit Dr. Benjamin eye institute and talk to him about your new vision !

Dr. Benjamin is fantastic! Everything went perfectly and he is very easy to talk to, which is a big deal if you’re at all nervous about the procedure.

I’m been going to Benjamin Eye Institute for a few years now. So I decided to finally write a review. This place is so so cool. Once you walk in the very modern sleek inviting office you are greeted by a very sweet staff. They are all so welcoming. Dr. Benjamin is so nice. He has always been running on time. (I hate going to other doctors and waiting) I have referred so many friends to Dr. Benjamin and they are all happy. When you make your appointment, tell him that Mike Sent you. lol

I just wanted to share this story so that other people will not experience what we had experienced with this eye facility. In my opinion, the way they treat the patient is very UNPROFESSIONAL and very UNRESPONSIVE to customers’ need. In summary, they billed us more $ what they informed us PRIOR TO the treatment. And once we disputed this case to them and Cigna, they claimed to us and Cigna that we do not want to pay our deductibles.
In November 2014, my daughter had a bump in her upper left of eyelid. On November 19, 2014, she came to your medical office, provided her insurance information (which was Cigna at that time), and was told by the front office personnel that your practice was in-​network with Cigna, her eligibility and insurance benefits had been verified, and my daughter’s responsibility was for copay of $ 60.
During consultation and examination of my daughter’s eye problem, she was also informed by the front office personnel that in order to avoid future relapse of the bump, certain medication was recommended to be injected into the bump. Since Cigna would not pay for such medication, my daughter was informed to pay additional $ 100 for the injection (in addition to copay of $ 60) and she was told that the rests should be paid by Cigna. Before any medical procedures were performed (while my daughter was at your medical office), my daughter called my wife and reiterated that $ 60+$ 100 (=$ 160) was the total amount for out of pocket payment. Hence we decided to go ahead with the medical treatment for my daughter.
Two days later, my wife called their office and spoke with the medical biller, Milla The purpose of my call was to provide more information about our insurance and to ask her the name of medication that was injected to my daughter’s eye. Her answer was simply «I don’t know, is this a medical conference ?». My wife also noticed that Milla did not make any effort to help answer the questions. Then she asked her the NDC number of the medication. The answer was that she di not know what NDC number was.
Early January 2015, I was very surprised when I received the billing statement with outstanding amount of $ 505.08. I discussed with Cigna on this matter and was advised to dispute this case.
While the case was on dispute via Cigna, we mailed the check of $ 160 for the agreed $ amount to the doctor office in February 2015 and had made several attempts to call the office (as well as left voice mails twice on 3÷10÷15 and 3÷31÷15) to further discuss with Dr. Benjamin himself and unfortunately we never had any return calls from the doctor himself and nor their office staff.
In April 2015, we received a letter from Cigna indicating that we did not want to pay our deductible and requested to waive the deductible. Let me be clear that our daughter was NEVER fully informed prior to the treatment and we always pay our bill on time to other doctors. We disputed their bill because my daughter and I have never been informed up front prior to the treatment and we were trying to call them to follow up and NEVER got any responses (even after leaving few voice mails).

Last Friday 5÷22÷15, we reached out to their billing staff again and finally they returned our calls. We still showed our willingness to resolve this matter, disputed the fact that we were NOT informed up front and discussed if there is any possibility for adjustment to the bill. We were told that they would call us back today 5÷26÷15 and they are indeed calling us today and tell us that they can not give any adjustment. Today we are going to mail the check to pay the balance of $ 345.08.
We would like to share this experience so that other customers will be treated professionally and to have patient’s financial responsibility to be disclosed up front prior to the patient’s treatment.
Irwan Tedja
949 – 9 810 845
ps: Their staff shouted at us and now they claimed that we shouted at them. Please read other NEGATIVE reviews of this facility to better understand what other people complained about (especially the RUDE behavior of their staff) and then you make your own judgement. We stand by our reviews and are willing to let others know that a lot of their comments are NOT based on facts.

Dr. Benjamin has been my ophthalmologist since I was 8 years old! Needless to say, every experience here has been amazing! The staff is always so friendly and accommodating. Also, his office is the nicest office ive ever been to– very modern and chic. Today is my first day post lasik surgery! I am seeing ²⁰⁄₁₅ no complications! The procedure itself was painless and quick! I am so grateful to Dr. Benjamin, Mayka, and the rest of his staff!
I highly recommend the Benjamin Eye Institute.

They’re nice. Everyone. The entire staff was smiling and full of joy. That’s good to see, when you’re about to laser your eyeballs!
They’re thorough. From mapping my eyes several times to testing current prescription vs dilated vision, it was always checks and double checks. Come to find out that my glasses prescription (which seemed great) was an over correction and was normal to see in near-​sighted patients.
They’re good. The surgery was quick and painless. And the next morning I was seeing better than I ever did with glasses. I was hoping that I would see thru walls, but maybe that activates later…

I have had mixed feelings about revisiting this review for an update. On one hand, I absolutely stand by my initial review. Everyone in this office is super kind, the procedure was no biggie and I can see great. In the other hand, my right eye has experienced such extreme and PAINFUL dry eye since the surgery, that I feel like it is my duty to let people know about it. I am not sure if it has anything to do with how or who did the procedure — probably just luck of the draw — but it is terrible. I have been back to Dr Benjamin 3 times since the surgery about the dry eye issue. He tells me that they have «healed perfectly,» but they sure as shit don’t feel like they have. He has placed silicon plugs in my tear ducts all three times. This helps temporarily but either they fall out or the placebo effect wears off after a week or two.
I would say that I spend about 40% of my waking time in discomfort and 20% in pain. I look like I have developed a nervous tick because I am constantly blinking or trying to force a yawn for temporary relief. I am miserable. If I had it to do over again, I would NOT get LASIK. The one star rating is not for Dr Benjamin, per se. I think of it as more of a warning. think really long and hard about the possible repercussions of doing this.

Dr. Benjamin was phenomenal, I went in because I had 3! Chalazion on my left eye.
The staff were very professional, all the nurses top notch and Dr. Benjamin made me feel at ease.
My surgery was not easy as my Chalazion were close together and all on 1 eye but he got all 3 and now, less then a week afterwards you can’t tell I ever had them!

First time here. Spouse came here for a sty on his eye and had it surgically removed. They squeezed us in at last second which was great since we didn’t have an appointment.
Dr Benjamin was very polite and well educated. He took care of my spouse and was walking my spouse through the procedure while doing it. I highly recommend him for your eye doctor. Wonderful and professional staff.

I had read some of the previous bad reviews before my initial visit to Dr. Benjamin, but I decided to go anyways. For the most part, Dr. Benjamin is pretty awesome. Since then, I had gone to him for a while.
His staff is the problem. They are especially rude and lack any sort of decorum. My insurance changed from the previous year. I showed up for my appointment today, and felt like I had gone through a KGB interrogation.
The receptionist notified me that my name did not match my insurance card, which was news to me.
She also stated that it was required that they take my picture, which was a requirement for Obamacare. I complied, but it sounded like hogwash.
After that, they requested my birthday. She wanted to me yell it from where I was sitting. I didn’t feel comfortable because there were other people in the room, so I suggested that I write it down. She then calls someone else and speaks in Russian, and I have no idea what she was saying. Granted, this was not the first time, I had been here. After talking to the person on the other line, she informed me that my birthday didn’t match their records, which struck me as funny because they had no
problem getting paid from my previous insurance company.
After being at the doctor’s office for forty minutes and feeling like I had commited either identity theft or insurance fraud, the receptionist and her co-​worker gave me an insincere apology for it taking so long. At that point, I decided I had enough and left.
I consider mysel a loyal customer and would have continued to go to Dr. Benjamin for years, but I thought today’s visit was beyond bad. I won’t be back-​ever!