Dr. Michael Lewis Gilbert, MD

BURNED OUT DOC, racing for money & strange with the new hair implant. Look elsewhere REALLY

My wife had her glaucoma surgery there and all went well. She then was offered laser surgery which she took. From there things went downhill. She started having curtains and floaters as well as coronas. She returned several times and Dr. Gilbert tried several things all of which did not work. It is not that everything works 100% but his attitude after several visits was as though he couldn't be bothered. We took her to another ophthalmologist is the office and the results were no different. We are still going to ophthalmologists in Phoenix and Scottsdale but things have not improved.

Went to see if I had glaucoma (suspected by former PCP). Though his assistants were sweet and helpful, Dr. Gilbert was short, clipped, impatient with my questions and downright rude, tapping his watch, telling me exactly how many minutes he had already spent with me answering questions. In actuality, he spent much of that time telling me about all HIS amazing inventions and talents and how all the employees at the clinic look forward to their $600 special gland treatment. The thing is, he never told me about possible glaucoma, but instead diagnosed some eyelash gland thing that I could do his special, exclusive-to-him treatment for...$600, not covered by my insurance. Also insisted I buy extremely expensive fish-oil sold only by them. Oh, and during intake, he had me do some alternative thing to dilation, exclusive to them, not covered by insurance. They made a lot of money on me that day and I had to call 4 times, over the next 6 weeks to even find out the answer to my original query… about glaucoma.

HAS HORRIBLE GARLIC BREATH ALL THE TIME! Doesn't care what the patients say. Argues with patients even when they try to explain to him that even after all of his expensive treatments and recommendations, they still don't have any better eyesight than when they first went to him. His insurance lady, Rose, incorrectly bills your insurance company, so double check her incompetency! Expect to spend 3-4 hours being shuffled around from tech to tech, waiting room to waiting room, still not getting the care you came for.

I have been going to Dr. Gilbert for over 20 years and have compete faith in his ability and diagnosis. I have extremely dry eyes and he is always so patience with me and finding new options to try. I would recommend him to anyone that wants the best in eye care.

Why didn't I read the reviews before I wasted my time!? ZocDoc gives the place glowing reviews, including wait time! So not accurate! 1 - I should have known there would be problems when I received three reminder calls from 3 different people regarding my appt time, and each time was different from my actual scheduled appt time! 2 - Expect delays! Expect to be there for 2 - 3 hours, I kid you not! Expect rude people, and an arrogant doctor! Really, the only friendly and competent person there is the nice man in optics. 3 - After being told when scheduling the appt that Dr Gilbert would be performing the entire exam including refraction, I was mad when he did not, and I was mad that the staff lied! My glasses are still not the correct rx! And I was told it is my own fault! Note: this is NOT the fault of the nice man in the optic department! Ken is great, and I have the best fitting glasses I have ever had! Just wish I could see! Note to self: go to another… eye doctor, get accurate rx, take to Ken for glasses. I DO recommend him! 4 - Seriously, do yourself a favor and DO NOT schedule an appointment at this facility! Trust me! The wait time is beyond crazy and the doc is so not worth the hassle! I made the mistake of thinking a second appt would work out, and went back because of dry eyes. Nope! Same song and dance, and wish I had not fallen for the snake oil...oops!....fish oil scam as well! I have since found a "real" eye dr who does not peddle fish oil, though he highly recommends taking fish oil and flaxseed oil of MY CHOICE! I have gone back to my old rx until my insurance will pay for new lenses, and I filed a complaint against Dr Gilbert with my insurance company. Bottom line - I will NEVER see Dr Gilbert or any of his techs EVER again. But I will go to Ken for my glasses!

First of all, Dr Gilbert himself is very knowledgeable. However, I am hoping my next appointment goes better or it will be my last. The huge problem is that I, slong with everyone else, do not have all day to dedicate to an eye appointment. Regardless of the time of my appointment, I've been left to wait long after my appointment time. And be aware that Dr Gilbert does not actually do the refraction part of your exam! Admittedly, I have a difficult prescription, but if his techs can't get it right after the 3rd attempt, it really is time for the doctor to step up. Like I said, one more appointment and if the wait time exceeds MY expectations, they are so fired!

I went to see him because after my wife made a comment about my dry eyes during an exam he gave her that "I can cure your husband's dry eyes." This was a false statement. Multiple visits led to nothing by frustration - and a lot of my money moving into his pockets. He is remarkably cold and impersonal - literally never smiled once. Immediately started pushing his expensive fish oil - claiming all other fish oils were inferior - and then managed to get me to make multiple visits, each time prescribing medicines or do-at-home remedies that required a follow up visit. Each visit to his office required a lengthy wait to be seen, appointment times that extended beyond an hour, and actual time with the doc lasting less than 10 minutes. Staff was efficient but disinterested. Receptionists would typically finish conversations or personal cell phone calls before noticing me. The strangest thing was that while I was with him in the exam rooms, he would look around for various ointment… samples provided by pharma sales reps, and when he could not find them he would accuse his staff of stealing the samples. Not sure what random steroidal eye drops are worth on the black market. The staff members would just smile, like you do when your grandfather says something odd. I later started to realize his behavior was likely just signs of dementia/alzheimer's. (I have had two parents show these kinds of signs before passing). I found fish oil at Costco with the exact same ingredients as his expensive personal product, at 25% of the cost. Eventually I managed to get him to put plugs into my tear ducts, which I had read about online, and he agreed that he could give me another set in the future if necessary. Told me to come back in 4 weeks if I still had a problem. When I came back, rather than give me the promised plugs, he instead wanted me to use a new machine for dry eye relief. It would have cost me over $1,000, was not covered by insurance, and online reviews pretty much reveal that this is a snake oil solution. That was my last visit. Good news though, I recently discovered that my eye problem is just a simple case of allergies. My regular MD gave me Azelastine eye drops.

Surgical coordinator Kathy Lemmon, Unprofessional + Rude to patients. Seems to dislike what her job involves, nor does she do any follow up afterwards. All you are to this office is a patient who is giving them money.

Title says it all. If you want a regular eye exam, go elsewhere. He showcases a shoddy selection of old-fashioned, un-trendy eye glasses, anyway. If you end up requiring surgery, put up with him and his clueless, rude staff for the duration of the problem.