Ronald N. Gaster's Online Review Report Card

Everything went great from start to finish. The staff was extremely friendly and helpful. Doctor was informative in every step and luckily for me there was little to no pain through the entire process. Hope your procedure goes just as well!

Dr Gaster is simply the best doctor for cross linking. I was hesitant to do the procedure so I did a ton of research trying to find the best specialist in the country. Dr Gaster was a part of the original FDA trails and is currently a leading expert in cross linking. His bedside manner is kind, professional, patient, and caring. He makes you feel comfortable and confident before, during and after the procedure. I’m currently writing this after my six month follow up appointment and I’m happy to report that my vision has significantly improved!! I wasn’t expecting that, but I’m overjoyed to not need glasses anymore. I highly recommend Dr Gaster. Five stars.

Doctor Gaster is wonderful. No one could have a better doctor

I had corneal transplant surgery 5 years ago in Atlanta, GA. Dr. Gaster took over my care when I moved to Santa Monica. He carefully removed my stitches over the course of 6 months to more finely shape my cornea. I am seeing better in that eye than I have in years! I highly recommend Dr. Gaster for your eye care.

I went in for a SMILE op a year ago, and I’m very happy with the results now. I can see 20/20 in both eyes and the dryness that comes normally with these operations is minimal at this point. I’ve gone in for regular check ups (which are included in the price you pay) and had punctal plugs inserted to help with the dry eye, which have been working to further decrease the dryness. I’d recommend Dr. Gaster to any friends or family that are considering corrective surgery.

Dr. Gaster is a very thorough doctor and spent time going over my charts and talking to me at length regarding my eyes. He was honest and professional. I had been going to another doctor for many years and switched after my doctor retired. I am very pleased with Dr. Gaster.

I have had two laser cataract removal surgeries with Dr. Gaster, in Nov. of 2019 and again in August 2020 (one for each eye). I’m very satisfied with the results of both surgeries (20/20 vision again!) and Dr. Gaster and his team were very professional and provided excellent care before and after each procedure. I highly recommend him and his office staff.

My son was referred to Dr. Gaster after progressively loosing his eye sight. From the very first visit we knew we made the right choice. Dr. Gaster was always willing to answer our many questions as this was all new to us. Their staff just as patient with my many questions and numerous phone calls. My son has epi-off cross-linking surgery on his right eye. Surgery went very smoothly and Dr. Gaster explained every step to my son who was 21 at the time. From the very beginning we were advised that there was a possibility of needing a transplant on his left eye that he has not been able to see out of for almost 5 years if not longer. In March of 2020, my son had a cornea transplant on the left eye. Dr. Gaster explained the process and the procedure in detail. The staff worked with our insurance carrier and handled everything for us. That process was also went smoothly. We had surgery on a Thursday. Everyone at the surgery center were great! Dr. Gaster came out and explained everything to us. We went home so he could begin his recovery. We had an appointment the next day and his eye looked great. Saturday morning my son's eye felt like something was itchng. So I called Dr. Gaster and he met us in his office Saturday morning. A stitch had come loose and he took that stitch out. We came back on Monday and the patch was removed. We have followed up with weekly then monthly visits. My son is doing fabulous! Thanks to Dr. Gaster my son is doing WONDERFUL! We are so very thankful and grateful for the new life Dr. Gaster has given to my son. I would and do recommend Dr. Gaster to anyone that has any issue with their eye!

I wanted to find the best surgeon to operate on my eyes and my research led me to Dr. Gaster. If accolades and awards interest you, he has plenty, but I was more interested in how he would treat me as his patient and answer my questions and concerns. First impression was that he is as knowledgeable as he is experienced in the field of vision correction and understanding of any concerns a person intersted in vision correction like myself would have. He took the time to answer any and all of the questions I had, giving the answers with confidence and in an easy to understand language and made sure I understood everything he said before moving on. We decided that SMILE would be the best operation for me to correct my vision and decided on a timeline leading up to surgery day.Once surgery day came, everything went without a hitch, a quick 10-15 minute procedure just like we had discussed in his office. During the short surgery he explained what he was doing and what was happening to calm my nerves and to make sure I wouldn’t be surprised by anything. I went home and had a post-op visit the next day where he checked up on my eyes and cofirmed that everything was healing as predicted and explained to me the medications that I will be taking and in what frequency.I just came home from my one-week post-op visit and have 20/20 vision now with no complications, and my vision is expected to continue to get better from here. I would recommend Dr. Gaster to anyone who is looking for a knowledgeable and trusthworthy surgeon to work on their eyes.

They never spoke to me clearly during consultation about their mission of getting a new machine approved by FDA and making your eye subject for their goal. They emailed me bunch of consent forms and paperwork a week before the procedure among which was a 20 page consent form that says option to volunteer. I showed up the day of surgery and informed them that I like to opt out of this volunteer choice and like to get my eye treated with the machine that was already FDA approved after waiting many years. At which point they said that they were not prepared for that procedure. They said that if I didn’t want to be a subject of their study I should have called them and told them in advance which means putting all the fault onto me. So please be warned about their mission and letting them know in advance whether or not you like your eyes to be a subject of a new machine that they are trying to get FDA approved. Secondly, I am a healthcare professional people either get paid or don’t pay for volunteer options for doctors to get their machine approved by FDA.I just hope in the future this office is more open verbally to people about their options during consultation and don’t waste people’s time that don’t like to opt in to this study. And I hope that the office is always prepared for people that don’t explore this volunteer study option on the day of surgery.