Dr. Lealani Mae Yanez Acosta, MD

I had a lumbar puncture this morning that was done by Dr. Bell. He was amazing, I was pretty nervous and he totally put me at ease. The procedure itself wasn't bad at all, I've had several in the past and this was probably the most comfortable I've had done.

Dr Acosta was very kind, truthful and gave me very good advice for moving forward. She's very smart. I feel fortunate that my team of doctors at Vanderbilt are so supportive and smart.

Dr. Acosta has superb knowledge extremely beneficial to us who have Alzheimer's and to the Caregiver. She prepares beforehand, having already refreshed her memories about the medicines we take, the many tests we've had, their results and asks clear and focused questions, Not using medical language, but common language that people like us can understand; she listens intentsy, and then makes suggestions. When she lays out the suggestions, she also clearly lays out alternatives and the risks. She is a phenomenal jewel in Vanderbilts crown. We've had many excellent caregivers from Vanderbilt, but she is absolutely one of the best.

Good

Excellent, caring doctor. She explained appointment and exam prior to starting. Explained each procedure and set me at ease.

My mother has dementia. She was diagnosed from another neurologist but when her insurance changed we were referred to Dr. Acosta. Dr. Acosta insisted on putting my mother through tests to rediagnose her dementia. A neurologist who specializes in dementia should have a way of talking to someone who has dementia. For example, getting to the point quickly in easy to understand language. Noticing verbal clues from the one suffering from dementia. Speaking slowly and calmly. Leaving room to have the patient and/or patient caregivers to ask questions. Dr. Acosta did none of that. She literally pulled up my mothers results and began talking for at least 1 1/2 hours about her brain. Not in layman’s terms but as if she were in a medical conference. My mother immediately shut down and you could visibly see that she was upset and not understanding. I tried to call attention to that and asked if she could just speak plainly. She literally said, “I’m not there yet to answer your question”. No, she… wasn’t “there yet” and never got there. She wanted to be the smartest in the room. Needless to say, we never went back to her. My mother was so traumatized she now won’t see any neurologist because she is afraid that they will treat her like Dr. Acosta. Vanderbilt has good doctors but you can’t look at any reviews of doctors on the Vanderbilt website because the reviews are only 5 star reviews.