Dr. Marc Adam Vanefsky, MD

Stay away from him! He does not care about patients at all! Big man without heart!

Dr. Vanefsky is my surgeon and he did a great job. Love him.

I suffered 2 (yes 2) brain aneurysms. I was given a 1% chance of survival. My family was advised to make funeral arrangements. Anyway, I had to be transferred to 3 different hospitals because there really aren't that many Neurosurgeons trained in coiling/clamping aneurysms at the Kaisers in my area. Luckily I was Blessed to be treated by Dr Marc Vanefsky. He had to perform 4 separate surgeries to correct the damage that was done after both aneurysms ruptured. After my surgeries, I had to learn to walk & talk again. Due to my brain trauma I had to spend quite a while in the hospital (mostly in ICU) then I saw Dr Marc weekly for follow-ups & to make sure I was progressing as expected. I constantly thank God every day he became my Neurosurgeon. He always gave me whatever time was needed & had the patience to take excellent care of me. He was completely & totally accurate in all he did to ensure I would return to as 'normal' as possible. He spent quite a lot of time with me & always… answered my questions accurately & with patience. If I still had Kaiser Insurance I would still be going to him for my brain check-ups. Sadly, I have been deteriorating because the only doctors I see now are interns training at County hospitals. They try but are not quite 'there' yet. I am hoping Dr Vanefsky will be available when my insurance kicks in. Thank you Dr. Marc!!!

Our family was introduced to Dr Marc Vanefsky when my father was diagnosed with brain cancer. Our first impression was one of a professional medical doctor. That, however, changed rapidly. When we presented him the MRI scans (which we had to obtain ourselves), he advised that he could not determine the pathology (re: staging or grading) of the brain tumor until he performed a craniotomy on my father. He advised the mass was located in the left frontal lobe but that he would need to do surgery in order to determine whether it was malignant or benign. He also advised that the craniotomy would consist of him removing "as much of the tumor as possible without damaging surrounding brain structures" in order for my dad to stand a chance at the best possible outcome. After a two hour surgery, we received a call that the procedure was complete. After approximately two weeks of recovery, we had a follow-up appt. with Dr Vanefsky to discuss the results of the craniotomy, as well as… the pathology. As he showed us the post-op MRI scans, he advised that what appeared to be tumor was actually where he had removed tumor tissue and that he had removed as much of it as was possible. I asked him directly if the areas he had just pointed out was tumor tissue and he advised it was "just empty space" and that the brain "would fill in on itself". We then had to make a separate appointment several days later to find out whether the tumor was malignant or benign. We waited in the exam room for approximately 30-40 minutes before being seen. As the appointment was made with Dr Vanefsky, we expected to see and discuss our next steps with him. However, he sent his Physician's Assistant in his place to deliver us the news that my father had about nine months to live. That experience was horrible; but to have that kind of news delivered by anyone other than my father's neurosurgeon was disgraceful. We were told he was "busy" with another patient & couldn't make it in to see my dad or our family! The final blow came when we had a second opinion and that doctor advised us that based upon my father's surgical scar and the post-op MRI scans, Dr Vanefsky had only done a biopsy (had not debulked the tumor) and that the "spaces" we were seeing in the scans were actually malignant tumor tissue. Yet another blow to our family as we realized Dr Vanefsky had lied to us on more than one occasion. I would NEVER recommend Dr Marc Vanefsky! His bedside manner was non-existent. He should not be a practicing neurosurgeon as his priorities are obviously elsewhere. I would advise very strongly against placing your trust and/or life in his hands. He is not capable and he showed our family a complete lack of interest in my father's care. Our experience with him was damaging and I would wish this doctor (I use that term very loosely) on no one. His incompetence is based upon the fact that he clearly does not care about his patients. He sees each of them as a number and another dollar on his paycheck. Stay as far away from this doctor as possible.

Dr. Vanefsky is a large man but no doubt a genius so don't let his size intimidte you. I saw him today to find out whether I had brain aneurysms or not. While the tests we had done prior to his visit were all screenings and not a definitive angiogram, he was himself was definitive, concise, helpful, and a great listener. After asking multiple times if he answered all of our questions while in the office, he came back into the office one more time just to make sure we didn't indeed have any more after he stepped out for a while. He also gave us all of the pertinent info and left the ball in our court.His consise answers might be considered within the realms of poor bedside manner by a patient who desires to be coddled; but if you want the facts clearly, all of your questions answered, and to be put in the hands of the best brain surgeon in the county: Dr. Vanefsky is your man.

Ill start by saying if I had to hire a bouncer or security guard from a selection of doctors/surgeons....Vanefsky would clearly be the number one choice. He is an intimidating, no non-sense man who is quick with responses and not very in depth. Understanding your own diagnosis might take some time and extra explanation from his assistants and nurses, but please, don't get me wrong...I would choose this man to be in my corner and recommend him to be in any of my closest family and friends corner every single time. If you are unfortunately given the obstacle of an extremely serious tumor/legion or any neurological situation requiring major and intricate surgery, Dr. Vanefsky should be your first choice! He is the chief of neurosurgery in the Orange County region for a reason...he knows his stuff and performs surgery EXTREMELY well. I had a debilitating tumor growing from my spinal cord a year ago. It was rapidly taking away my ability to walk, making my legs numb and creating… excruciating pain down my whole body. After finally being referred to Vanefsky, his solution was quick and precise and his extreme confidence threw my back a little bit to be honest. Ya know, I use kind of an obscure comparison...but I think it makes sense for Vanefsky...talking PURELY golf sense (not anything outside of the sport itself) Vanefsky reminded me of Tiger Woods in his upmost prime. A supremely focused individual who had no time for games and meant serious business all the time on the clock. I wouldn't want to hang out with either one of them for an extended amount of time maybe, I may not ask them to be my best man at my wedding or anything, but if I had to absolutely KNOW I was going to get the best job done in their specific field, I would feel TOTALLY secure in the hands of Vanefsky, just as I would have been secure in picking Woods to win a major golf tournament. (again, prior major life melt-down...last I checked, in regards to Vanefksy, he doesn't have that problem, so youre still safe with him, i swear hahah) ...Basically, I owe Vanefsky so much for bringing my life back to me. It was one of the most scary and invasive surgery I could think of, and he did it swiftly and without ANY complications. Your neurosurgeon doesn't need to be your best friend or your therapist....he just needs to be somebody you know will get the job done. That's what this big giant of a man is. He is your personal neurological body guard.

No sense of urgency and didnt really seem to care about my issue. Downplayed everthing plus he put in the wrong order and had me ait 4 hrs!

Dr. Vanefsky is my mother's nerosurgeon. She doesn't speak English too well and I went with her one day to translate between her and the doctor. She has two brain aneurysms to consider for surgery. During my visit, the doctor was talking at light speed and really didn't give us a full understanding of her diagnosis and handed us a booklet instead of explaining the situation thoroughly. My mom had been seeing this doctor for many years now and always told me that she didn't understand what he was saying. I thought it was because she didn't understand English too well but when I went with her one day to find out more on her condition and asked the doctor several questions regarding her condition and also surgery, he spoke so fast and so brief that even I, a person whom is very familiar with medical terms, had a real hard time understanding him. He spoke so fast and kept it so brief as if he was in a rush to leave. No bedside manners whatsoever and now I am looking into changing… her neurosurgeon to a different one. He made me feel so uncomfortable for asking questions and speeding through them. How can we possibly make a conscious and comfortable decision to opt for brain surgery with a doctor that cares not and has not made us fully aware and comfortable with making a decision. If anyone else has experienced this please write about your experience with him.