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Center For Dermatology - Cosmetic and Laser Surgery
Rating Details »
Category: Dermatologists [Edit]
2557 Mowry AveSte 34
(between Paseo Padre Pky & Stivers St)
Fremont, CA 94538
(510) 797-4111
- Hours:
Mon-Fri. 8:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.
- By Appointment Only:
- Yes
9 reviews for Center For Dermatology - Cosmetic and Laser Surgery
Thanks to Yelp, I've been seeing Dr. Anna McNay for the last 5 months for dermatology and she has left a distinct positive impression upon me.
First, she LISTENS to her patients concerns. Next, she is very up to date on the latest and most effective treatments for the skin maladies for which I've been afflicted. For instance, she let me know that studies have shown that a very expensive medication I was using, named Imiquimod, was ineffective in treating a skin condition and stopped my usage of it immediately.
For the moluscum contasium on my neck, she recommended a three step program: 1) freeze the pearl-like growths on my neck 2) THEN currette them off my neck and 3) STOP shaving until all signs of the virus are gone (the occasional trim is fine). Guess what? It WORKED. There was a LOT less pain associated with the freezing and cutting process, too. Five months later, and the problem is non-existent.
Next, she recommended a Ketoconozole treatment for my tinea versacolor. I've taken pills and creams before to no avail, but she told me to take the pill before working out for at least an hour because the drug had to come through the sweat glands and onto the skin to really be effective. That worked, too! Furthermore, she explained that the bacteria is naturally occuring on everyone's skin, the balance just varies from person to person depending on their activity level, for instance.
She's always busy and often behind in her scheduling, but I can see why as I never feel rushed and she is very thorough in explaining nearly every aspect of the skin conditions in which I've presented her. The staff is always very friendly and helpful as well. There was some odd insurance issue in the beginning, but I believe that's all been resolved. It usually takes a good month to book an appointment with her. I believe Dr. McNay is worth the wait.
It sucks to read such bad reviews of this place and I don't discount them at all because it really does depend on a person by person basis. Fortunately, I had a fairly pain-free experience.
If you want an appointment here, you'll have to wait a couple weeks especially if you are a new patient. If not, it'll still be at least a week. I was a new patient here and the process went by quickly and without problems. They recommend that you come in 15 minutes before your appointment time to fill out forms and as soon as I finished, they called me in to see the doc.
Dr. Anna McNay was very friendly, informative, and enthusiastic. I felt completely at ease around her and asking her questions. I've had Kaiser for about 95% of my life and even though Dr. McNay's info was slightly different from that of my previous dermatologist, I still found it very helpful. It's always good to get second opinions.
I'm surprised my whole experience went by so quickly considering how packed the office was. Good thing there are plenty of recent magazines for you. The only thing that's confusing is that Dr. McNay & Dr. Roth sometimes switch offices so you don't know if they're in suite 25 or 35 that day.
I am am new to the corporate world...and new to experiencing health insurance that is NOT under my mom...lol! I have always had Kaiser. So now that I have Aetna, with a healthfund insurance plan, I am venturing out and taking advantage of it.
That said, I pay $14 a month, get a $800 a year Visa Debit Card, and am only covered for one preventative care appointment a year (which is used up by my annual OB-GYN visit) and have a $1200 deductable. So I have to be wise about how I spend my Healthfund Savings Account Money.
All of a sudden, I had HORRIBLE dry cracked lips. Like, Freddy Kruger style...almost to the point they were bleeding. They felt RAW. I thought this would be the perfect time to see a dermatologist. I am 27, and I have never been to a dermatologist. So, I found Dr. Elita Jacobs in my Aetna network and decided to make an appointment.
I described my symptoms to the receptionist...and could not get an appointment for another week.
And what happens? The symptoms start going away...of course.
But it was still pretty bad by the time I got there. So I was dissappointed when she didn't even take a look at them under her big microscope thingy. I spent $160 on this visit, thats the least she could of done.
But I decided to make the most of this appointment. Let me tell you, I wear SPF 50 EVERYDAY, for the past 8 years. I wear Oil of Olay and eye creams...I want to prevent aging as much as possible. I have had worrylines on my forehead since I was 5, like, DEEP lines. It REALLY bothers me. Other than that, my skin is pretty nice, thanks to all the effort I put into it.
Because of this, I was very inquisitive about botox, so she gave me info on it. She also gave me some samples of Retin-A, which is supposed to prevent wrinkles. It is $425 for one area of botox...which is not bad. I might do it...I need to think about it.
I gave an extra star because she was quite honest with me and didn't try to sell me on anything. I liked her personality too. OH! And on top of that, she said "If everyone had skin as perfect as yours...I'd be out of business!" Now THAT, is why I am pasty white and stay out of the sun, denying myself golden goodness, for compliments straight from the experts!!!
Oh, and FYI...after my Napolean Dynomite "My lips hurt REALLY bad" experience...some Neosporin Lip Treatment seemed to do the trick.
Overall I haven't had a problem with the Center. I'm one of the lucky ones who has insurance that covers that part of the review.
This is a review specifically for dermatologist Yelena Arledge. If you like straight to the point, no time wasting nonsense medical consultation she's your lady.
I have been to this dermatology center twice and I have gotten very good service. I never thought that I would ever go to the dermatologist since I have decent skin. I hardly ever get zits, but when I do it's the most insane zit in history. I had one that lasted close to a month. When does a zit ever last for a month?!! Really disgusting, but I was able to endure it by covering with makeup. I made an appointment and the dermatologist placed a tiny shot into the zit and it went down that night. I had a follow up appointment in a week and she used another shot that was a lot smaller and it healed nicely, no scars. She also gave me some cream to take away any discolorations. Hooray! My only regret is not calling them sooner!
The second time I went there was for a mole removal on my arm. Since it was not cancerous and it was cosmetic, they said I may have to pay out of pocket. I really wanted it gone, so I didn't care. They said it might cost about $225, but the good news is that my insurance picked it up and I only paid $35.
I went here when in I lived in Fremont as a UC Santa Cruz student who was on his full time field study Internship in San Francisco.
Like Noel, I too am writing specifically about Yelena Arledge. She was a great doctor who remembered you from visit to visit and who really spoke to you like she cared. Since I still had my UC health insurance at the time she would always make sure to give me plenty of samples because my medication under that health plan was insanely expensive ($98 for Retin-A).
Update 4/10/08: I had to take another star and wish I didn't have to give them one at all. I have now received a bill from this office when they told me everything would be covered by my insurance company.
Update 3/28/08: I still have not received any contact from the office. This is pretty irresponsible behavior from a health care provider. I called and canceled my future appointment and will be going to another doctor to fix the mess that was made of my face.
Update 3/26/08: I had to take a star away because of some poor after care by the reception at this place.
All of the sudden, I had some kind of reaction to the medication ive been taking that was prescribed by Yelena. I had a rash all over my face. I called yesterday and left them a message telling them my concerns and i need to know if this is normal or if i need to stop taking these meds immediately and if i need to come in. a tech calls me in the morning and leaves me a message stating that ill need to call her back and i'll need to answer some questions and see if i need an appt. i call back later and get the receptionist. the receptionist tells me that the tech said she doesnt need to talk to me-she didnt say that and that i just need to make an appt and the next available appt is next week. i told the receptionist that im having some kind of reaction to the medication and need to know now whether i should be doing something. (THIS IS MY HEALTH!) She says my doc doesn't work there today and she'll leave a message with her to call me back.
I have not heard back as of yet. Don't you think that a patient being concerned that they may be having an adverse reaction to medication warrants an immediate phone call? Apparently not at the center for dermatology.
I ended up calling the advice nurse at the county hospital who was able to counsel me.
Is something in the water here?
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INITIAL REVIEW:
I'm pretty happy with this place so far.
I called to get an appt to check out a couple of things on my skin that i didnt feel looked right. To get an appt with Anna or Victoria was going to be like a month. As I was about to hang up, the receptionist mentioned that they have a physician assistant named Yelena Arledge I can meet with as early as the next week. "Cool", I say.
The decor is fine. Its standard for a doctor's office. These are dermatologists... It's not the day spa. I think "Vinay A." is right about the receptionists talking but they are plenty nice. That kind of socializing between employees is the kind of thing that keeps the atmosphere "light". It was all good natured, i thought. They can't help it. They can't close the window and there is so much activity in such a small setting.
Anyway, I thought the place was great. The thing that typically makes me angry is long wait times. I did not wait for more than 5 minutes. Yelena came into the room and we were straight down to business though she was also very thorough and gave me plenty of time to ask any questions. She gave me helpful information about my issues, diagnosed me with herpes, gave me a prescription and off i went!!
Just kidding about the herpes part. :P
I don't know much about the costs as the stuff i was having checked out was covered by insurance completely. Nope, its not cancer. Yay. She did tell me that I was a perfect candidate to get laser done on my broken blood vessels around my nose though. It would only cost a couple of hundred bucks she said.
I have to disagree with the previous review. While their interior decor is really nice and staff members are generally friendly, their prices are definitely not affordable. I don't have any other dermatologist offices to compare with, but when it costs $120 to see the doctor for a grand total of less than 5 minutes, I find that pricing to be a bit extreme.
I came into their office for acne and their doctors basically prescribe the same antibiotics and topicals as any other dermatologist, or even family physician, would. They have an extensive list of items that they can charge you with ...and they will try to squeeze every penny possible. Most insurance companies will not cover "cosmetic" type treatments, so this place can get very expensive.
Their doctors are very knowledgeable, and probably the best in the Bay Area with their esteemed medical backgrounds, so I would only recommend this place if you have a serious medical condition.
When I first walked in, it wasn't as nice looking as I thought it would be, which only means they could use some remodeling or new decor. But the staff here are all very nice! They offer high quality treatments at affordable prices (about average for doctor's offices, but they will work out a payment plan for you, and they offer monthly specials). They made me feel welcome and I trust my doctor's judgment and advice. I see Dr. McNay and she is always full of energy and willing to work with me. She does tend to rush through appointments, however, but what doctor doesn't these days? The only other problem I had is that the receptionists were popping chewing gum and talking loudly about their personal lives... very unprofessional, but it happens. They weren't breaking confidentiality or being rude, which is good. I would recommend this place to anyone! Be sure to check out their website!
