Stephan V Yacoubian, MD

the receptionists are SO RUDE and NEVER SMILE — if you DO NOT LIKE your job — get another one!!! when one comes to a doctor’s office, one is not well — obviously — a smile at the front desk is CRUCIAL — especially when i smile first — to smile and be greeted with a STONE COLD FACE is SO RUDE and BAD and DISGRACEFUL — PLEASE change the girls in the front NOW!!!

Life Changing!
After months of bed-​ridden agony waiting for the VA to decide how to cause me more pain, I finally got a recommendation to Dr. Yacoubian for a Labral Tear in my hip. He listened carefully to my symptoms and took a few x-​rays. Once he saw them, he said we could do the surgery IMMEDIATELY! I had to schedule the surgery for a month later due to immediate commitments, which was easily handled by the competent office staff.
Both Drs. Stephan and Shahan worked on my hip. The surgery was basically outpatient at St Josephs, which is right across the street from their offices. The surgery took about 4 hours, and once the nurse was assured I could walk on crutches, I went home. I had to stay off the leg to allow the muscles and tissues to heal from the surgery, but for the first time in DECADES I was without that burning, snapping, depressing pain! After a few weeks I had the 2 or 3 stitches removed and was cleared to walk unassisted, just avoid hills for another week or two.
A month later I was walking around San Francisco! It’s amazing to finally be pain free after all those years!
I had to pay a portion of the surgery that wasn’t covered by Medicare, but it was well worth it to feel this great. Now a few years after the surgery, I still feel great, just some arthritis that had developed during the time I was injured, but it’s easily managed. No more pain or snapping hip!

Had my surgery with Dr Yacoubian and I was up without crutches in 2 weeks. No pain and walking normally. Highly recommended! Very professional medical office.

I’m updating this review… I don’t know if my shoulder is 100% but it’s close enough…
I was tempted to give five stars (and I’ll tell you why in a second) but the bottom line is that my shoulder is only marginally better… BUT, it’s only been two or three months since the arthroscopic shoulder surgery so when and if it gets 100% I will up it to a five.
But I wanted to address some of the aspects of some of the other reviews. I totally understand the frustrations of dealing with doctor’s offices… front office people that are short, surgery schedulers, doctors that are late to appointments… but (with one small exception), have found none of that here. As a matter of fact, the exact opposite. Life is too short to spend it waiting for doctors who don’t have their shit together. I have left several different orthopedists (at other practices) for just that reason… hours spent waiting for doctors even when you are the first appointment of the day.
I have never waited more than 15 minutes for either Dr. Yacoubian or Dr. Raven and the average wait (over at least 10 visits now) has been about 5 – 7 minutes.
Also, I have had only great experiences with Lisa and she has actually cut through some of the inter office communication issues and got results pretty damn quickly.

I’ve had shoulder problems since 2011 – 2012. I’ve visited a chiropractor and another orthopedic surgeon who, while trying their best, were not able to diagnose the issue properly. Finally, I found Dr. Stephen Yacoubian through my health plan’s recommended doctor listings. I found his office to be quite patient friendly (magazines, TV, free wifi) and his staff are always friendly (shout out to Lupe!). I’ve been to his office a dozen times and I’ve never waited longer than 10 mins past my appointment time. He was able to determine that I hadn’t had a proper MRI and after all my tests, he recommended surgery to resolve my problem. It was done in a timely manner and his staff provided arm slings and other small items at no charge (sometimes it’s the little things). The doctor himself is friendly and no-​nonsense, you can speak to him like you would a friend. He is ever helpful and I couldn’t recommend him more.

Dr. Yacoubian did my total hip replacement 1.5 years ago and it’s at 95%. As a surgeon he is highly qualified. The reason I did not give him 5 stars is because after the surgery he never called me or saw me to ask how I was doing during my 5 day hospital stay instead he left that up to his PA’s & 1 other staff doctor. Also the anesthesiologist was terrible because he was running late and never gave me options for the anesthetic and decided a spinal was a good idea. The problem with a spinal for me was that I was in horrific pain for the first 24 hrs. because after the spinal you are restricted to Percocet or 1 mg. of morphine which is like nothing after major surgery. Did not get any sleep or pain relief till about 30hrs. after surgery. If you have Dr. Youcoubian do your surgery make sure he has the anesthesiologist spend at least 5 minutes with you giving you options. Also Dr. Youcoubian is all business so you won’t find a bedside manner which is fine with me because his expertise is more important.100% honest review.

There seems to be some negative reviews which could be misleading to everyone looking for a good surgeon. For those in pain, it is a critical need to find the right doctor who can fix your problem and hopefully do so in a way where you won’t need repeat fixes down the road.
The main complaint is the waiting room wait? That’s really the reason you’re going to bash one of the best surgeons, and probably a good choice for more people looking for truthful reviews.
I have seen what they are talking about. I also know that every time I was 15 mins early to my appointment (by that I mean actually in the office 15 mins prior, not parking my car) I was first in the queue for my time schedule and I flew through the doctors office out before my appointment was even scheduled to begin. I did this every time and without fail I was through very quickly. One time i was 5 mins after the appointment schedule, for this I waited 30 mins until I was called. Now this is just my experience, but I think it can be apparent to most people who have gone to doctors for appointments, if you chose to be a little bit early, you are going to get through quick. Those worrying about time, about how long it is going to take, are usually the ones arriving 5 mins after and saying it is on time.
Make your appointment for the 8am time slot lazy heads, I guarantee you’ll fly through there.
That being said, my experience with the surgeon and fixing my problems has been excellent. I have had the same surgery 2 times previous, once 5 years ago and another 5 years before that. I can say that this repair feels stronger and I have returned to normal use quicker than either surgery I had before. I was dislocating my shoulder frequently and had torn the labrum across the front of my shoulder. My current experience has been excellent with them and I would highly recommend them for shoulder problems.

Dr. Shahan Yacoubian performed a Right Knee Resection for me. He is a no-​nonsense, get the job done with excellent results kind of Doc. Dr. Yacoubian is very impressive from the moment you first meet him. He is an excellent surgeon and I will have him do my left knee replacement when I am ready. Super Doc… You will not be disappointed in him and his performance. Recommend him highly!!!
Don B

Do not go to this doctor or the office if you value your time. They are always backed up unless you’re the first appointment of the day, and even then the doctors are not there on time. Make sure you’ve got a full charge on your phone when you go in because you’ll be playing a lot of games by the time your called.
My wife went in with neck and back pain, and the doctor prescribed an MRI, but it was only for her back. When she noticed the the error on the prescription and called in to have it corrected, they said they had no record of her ever mentioning neck pain and made her go in again for an office visit so they could change it to have the MRI on both.

If you have decent insurance, why go here? They double and triple book appointments and unless you’re the first one through the door, you will be waiting. And waiting. The outer office looks like a cattle car. I did have a problem with one receptionist who seemed bemused when I complained about the wait but the last time I was there they seemed great and were good with follow through.
There is no excuse for this over booking except a greedy doctor. He has lost a patient.

I was referred to Dr. Yacoubian for pain in my shoulder. While I was explaining how my shoulder was injured, I noticed that he was playing with his smart phone! I stopped talking, and when he realized this, he looked embarrassed and put the phone away. I later found out that his son had downloaded a game and he was struggling with it. I did get a prescription for PT, which is all I wanted, but when I received an EOB from insurance, I discovered that he had billed me $ 350 for the office visit and also $ 215 for a cortisone injection, which did not occur! Needless to say, I will not be returning to this doctor, both for his rudeness, but also for the incompetence of his staff in falsely billing my account.

Cant review the doctor yet and this low rating is for the front office. My primary doctor referred Dr Yacoubian and for an entire week I have been trying to take an appointment with him with no success.
Initial phone call got me an irritated secretary Lisa that sounded annoyed by the fact that i needed an appointment. Mentioned something about computers being down and asked me to call later. This went on for 2 more tries, and all i got was being put on eternal hold. Have to get another doctor by now, I give up.
Either they are incompetent or dont need the business.

I already wrote a review for OSS (the clinic Dr. Yacoubian works at), so a more detailed description of my experience can be found here:
In short: I came to see Dr. Yaucobian for knee pain. They took xrays on spot, but wouldn’t let me see the xrays nor would they let me have them so there was no way of verifying what they said. Dr. Yaucobian found out I’d had a previous knee surgery, and when he found out the surgeon wasn’t from OSS, immediately scoffed and told me the reason why I was having knee pain was because the surgery was most likely botched by someone who wasn’t an expert, told me I’d probably need another surgery, ordered an Arthrogram of my knee (which is an invasive MRI), but wouldn’t explain why I needed an invasive arthrogram instead of a regular, noninvasive MRI.
I thought that as a doctor, he spent very little time with me, he didn’t explain himself or any of the procedures he recommended, and he was really rude and tight-​lipped when I tried to ask questions. I definitely do not recommend him or this practice.

If I could give Dr Yacoubian 6 stars, I would.
He is an amazing physician who is very knowledgeable and very caring.
Also the office service is wonderful.
They are very prompt in getting back to you with an answer.

I found Dr. Yacoubian thru my husband. We actually piggybacked our knee appointments and met with him at the same time. He was informative and took his time. After getting my MRI, he recommended I get Synvisc injections. I had already done some research and knew what they were and was ready to go. However, Dr. Yacoubian said we’d have to have approval from my insurance first. Otherwise, if he starts the first of three injections and the insurance doesn’t cover them, it comes out of my pocket, cash. Approx. $ 900!!! Needless to say, I was bummed but appreciative because he was looking out for me. Another challenge we had was that I would have to visit the office three consecutive weeks and I couldn’t take the time off of work. Dr. Yacoubian offered to come in early those days for me so I could get the injections on my way in. The insurance approved the procedure the next week and I had my last injection today. Keeping my fingers crossed that it works so I can get them on my left knee too.
If there is a downside to Dr. Yacoubian’s office, it’s one of the girls at the front. They are so busy and you can tell. She was short with me and wouldn’t make eye contact. There was one girl in the morning that I ran into twice that was really nice. Regardless, it’s not enough to take his overall rating down from a 5. :-)

I heart these doctors. After a run in with a very bad doctor at SCOI I stumbled onto Dr. Yacoubian. The staff in the office are very nice, great about getting you in and out quickly, and very helpful. Dr. Stephen performed arthoscopic surgery on my knee and I have no complaints. He was informative, both realistic and optomistic about my recovery and status. Most importantly, he listened to me as a person, and the needs of my lifestlye as opposed to just getting me in and out of his office to make some dough. I never felt like I was in bad hands and was happy when they remembered who I was without having to look at a chart.
It’s also worth noting how Dr. Stephan worked with the other doctors in the practice. They seem to have a very open collaboration with each other in the way things should be handled, they bounced ideas off of each other a lot about patients and diagnosis. That’s awesome and great that they keep learning with each other.