Lee R. Katzman's Online Review Report Card

I met with three other eye surgeons before Dr. Katzman. Most of their attitudes were arrogant . Dr Katzman has top level skills; I did research on his background and reviews. My left eye was done by another Sharp surgeon and I ended up with a lot of fluid on my macular and had to go to a Scripps Macular surgeon and have an injection my eye ball! We usually get 3 estimates on some repair on our house; I think my vision is more important than my bathroom repair so I got three estimates and more importantly, met with all of them. Dr Katzman, listens, has a sense of humor and is completely up on laser and everything to do with the eye. My eye pressure was up before the surgery so he put in a temporary drain during surgery and opened it the day after (so easy) and all this water ran out of my eye. My regular eye doctor at Scripps said that is what the first surgeon should have done to avoid all the problems I had after his surgery. Dr Katzman is just the Best.

I was so afraid to have my right eye done after a Sharp surgeon left me with problems in that eye after surgery. I waited and interviewed different doctors for about 2 years. I had to have a macular surgeon at Scripps give me a shot into my eye because I had fluid on my macular due to the first surgeon. I met with him this year after passing the 3 year mark from my first surgery and he said I probably should not wait much longer to have the right eye done. I went to a doctor at Scripps and at UCSD, all came with excellent references, however when I met with them, their "bedside" manner was just arrogant and rude, dismissing me and not giving me enough information. They do not like questions! I read about Dr Katzman and found him to be, not only way more skilled and up to date on lasers and new techniques of eye surgery, but a very nice person and good communicator. Because my left eye does not have the perfect vision I thought I would get, he suggested and explained why removing my astigmatism would help me see better now and in the future to compensate for the left eye. I really did not understand prior to this what and how an astigmatism worked in the eye. After listening to him and doing reading on line, I realized how right he was and opted for the cataract surgery and the reshaping of my cornea with a laser. I think the other doctors did not suggest this because they do not have skills with lasers and they are , in my opinion ,an assembly line situation; get as many patients in and scheduled for surgery during a day a possible. Dr Katzman takes his time and never got annoyed when I know I repeated my questions because some of the information was new to me. He has a lovely sense of humor and after 2 meetings, I felt he was so easy to communicate with and I felt completely relaxed in his office and before the surgery when he came to talk to me. No fear going in and that is an unusual feeling for an anxious person like me. Don't trust your vision to any doctor with out at least seeing Dr Katzman! People often say how easy cataract surgery is; since mine did not go well I have met so many other people who have had problems; some worse than mine. Just don't immediately go to who ever your doctor suggests. Bad move. That was my mistake.

After having cataract surgery, followed up by Yag Laser in left eye, I'm extremely happy with results from Dr. Katzman.

If my review only included rating Dr Katzman I would be giving him a 5* review but it has to take into consideration his staff and they have failed miserably. A few months ago I was having a lot of discharge in my eye which really concerned me. I was prescribed an antibiotic for my eye. When I picked up the prescription, the pharmacy tech alerted me it was going to cost me $200. I am a disabled widow, on a fixed budget so I called Dr. Katzman's office to see if he might be able to prescribe an antibiotic that was more reasonable. Neither I or the pharmacist could get a hold of them. Because I was so concerned about my eye I went ahead and paid for the prescription but continued to call the office because the doctor wanted me to be on this antibiotic for three months at $200 dollars a month. It took over two weeks of calling and finally speaking with the office manager to get this very simple request resolved. She told me that should I ever experience a problem again to ask for her directly. Fast forward a few months I'm experiencing the same problem. I am in need of a refill on a prescription for my eye. I called two times within a 5 hour period only to find out there was no record of my request. So I did what I was told and asked for the office manager, no reply. There is no excuse for the office staffs ineptness. I will be asking for a referral when I return. My story has a happy ending though... I was very clear with Dr Katzman's staff that I was leaving the country and needed to get this no later than Tuesday, no reply. So I called my MD, Dr Lund and got this situation resolved within the hour. That's customer service. Happy Holiday all!!

I had written a complaint about this office and to my surprise the dr actually read it and addressed my concerns. Sara from their office called me. I appreciated the phone call.

I suggest that Dr. Katzman try to speak with one of his schedulers about cost and scheduling and see how it goes for him.

I'm nearing 80 years old and finally decided it was time to get my eyes checked and remove those darn cataracts and floaters. Prior to, I studied a bit to learn about 3 different lenses that could be added during cataract surgery. I decided if I was going to do ANY surgery, that I'd like new lenses with enhanced vision. Ultimately, I am grateful I made the decision to upgrade my vision (no pain whatsoever for a 30+ minute surgery) and I'm totally grateful to Dr. Katzman & his staff. He's definitely a professional, and has a calming approach and understanding of what many of us "older" folks are very nervous about. I am completely pleased with the work he did and the orderly fashion of getting my visits, and knowledge and surgery handled. I highly recommend Dr. Katzman and his staff!!!!!!!

I just had Cataract Surgery,performed by Dr. Lee R. Katzman. I am a Senior over 70 years and was very nervous about the surgery. From the very first appointment I was made to feel that Dr.Katzman and his staff was going to take care of all my needs and concerns to the best of their abilities. Dr. Katzman was professional, and showed me empathy all the way to both surgeries. The office visits were on time and all staff from the greeting front desk to the eye technician's and the financial advisor were patient and answered all questions. I would recommend Dr. Katzman for any of your eye care needs.

I was recently a patient of Dr. Katzman and I cannot be over the moon by my experience. From the start, Dr. Katzman was very thoughtful and diligent about what was possible about my surgery since I have very poor eye sight (-8.00 and -7.00). I am 36 years old and to think I have been living a life essentially blind is beyond. I think about all the small bits of the routine of having contacts and started to accumulate time (putting in/out contacts), stress (travel and making sure to pack them, working out and sweat in my eyes making it hard to see), and money (I wore dailies). Also I think about having to wake up and make sure to have my glasses by my side God forbid something happens and I need to run out (while still knowing glasses aren't the perfect vision for running out in an emergency). Going to bed and wandering the middle of the night if you have to use the restroom (we put in LED night lights in the hallways so I can generally see/not trip and fall). All those invasive ways of living and factors somehow became part of my normal day to day and I accepted it and never looked back. So like perhaps many others, I put off the surgery due to nerves and frankly didn't think I had the time from work. But finally made the call as I was nearing a certain age in which I knew it was that time. From the start, Dr. Katzman took great care in seeing what type of Lasik surgery I was a candidate for. He wasn't trying to do any short cuts and while I was aiming for Lasik surgery, he came to the conclusion that I wasn't a fit and that I would have to have PRK which has a longer recovery time. While I was deeply disappointed it wasn't the route I wanted to take due the longer recovery, he wasn't trying to give in and do simply I wanted. Rather, he came to this conclusion with my best interest for the most quality outcome and more importantly, my well being. On surgery day, I met with Dr. Katzman ahead of my PRK procedure for a chat. He greeted me with great news that after deeper consultation with other doctors, revisiting my stats and re-looking at what could be possible from a procedural standpoint, I was safe enough to move forward with regular Lasik. This means I would recover faster than PRK which was great news. While this isn't a guarantee change of events for every patient, the point here is that from my first pre-op tests/exam, he made a decision based on what he thought would yield the best result and my well being. He also caveated that my result may not be 20/20 which is what most people desire and expect. Given my level of poor vision, I knew that I would be willing to take anything to make me more functional as Dr. Katzman would say. In my opinion, any improvement would be life changing. One last example would be that because I couldn't see in the morning, I would forego grabbing or finding my glasses and go straight to brush my teeth without sight. And because I couldn't see while brushing my teeth, I would simply close my eyes. I go through the surgery which is unbelievably fast, not because it was rushed at all. If anything it felt fast while feeling like Dr. Katzman was patiently making sure things were perfect. He coached me through it and just like that I was done. It took as standard of time to recover but by my next day eye exam, I was able to see the letter chart 20/20! I do caution the results vary so I don't want to mislead anyone but extremely happy with my results. Sharing my overall experience with my network got an astounding reception even sharing their own experiences: "So happy for you! -8.00 is no joke! I was a -4 and Lasik changed my life 5 years ago. I cried the next morning when I woke up and could see everything out my window" "Yesss! I did Lasik over 20 years ago. One of the best decisions of my life. Enjoy!" "Is it life changing?! Just the thought of waking up and being able to see is unimaginable." Dr. Katzman was amazing! Definitely go to him for all your eye and Lasik needs!!!

I saw Dr. Katsman last year for repair to the cornea of my good eye so I could see clearly again. He took my concerns about the procedure and post surgery pain seriously. My vision has remained clear and I am grateful I got the help I needed. By the end of dealing with insurance and the discount for paying my portion in full, I was out of pocket a lit less than the 4 new shocks and struts in my car.