Kaufman Lawrence M MD PHD

I’ve seen Dr. Kaufman since I was 2 (I’m now 22) he’s done 2 surgeries, n probably maybe 100 appointments (i have a lot of eye problems) he’s recommended all my other doctors… and I’ve only disliked one. I was a terrible child when I got drops n pretty much everyone in the building could hear me scream. him, his one receptionist that was wonderful (but retired), n my mom all had to hold me down to get drops (oops, sorry guys), but it’s all good, I got stickers after… I’ve been there so many times that I still come across random eye care stickers from his office, lol. Dr. Kaufman was never «cold» to me, he was always very nice n super supportive and made sure my schools were accommodating to my needs as a VI student, he wasn’t my best friend but I’d be a little freaked out if he would’ve ever tried to have been. He’s a great doctor n my family and I trusted him 100% in all my eye care needs. My advice: if you’re worried about your child’s eye care needs or vision, go to Dr. Kaufman because he’s the best, if you’re looking for someone to coddle the hell out of your child n be their best buddy, find a therapist!

I had a good experience with Dr. Kaufman and his staff. My son had a blocked tear duct that needed to be evaluated and cleared, and although it was a long process (we had to wait for his eye to dilate to be checked, which took a while) I felt like we got really good care. The surgery was quick and effective, and I felt like he was in really good hands the whole time. Every part of the process was explained in detail so I knew what was happening and why, and my little boy doesn’t have a gunky eye anymore!

Let me start by saying that I read all of the reviews here and I was so close to cancelling my appointment. I’m glad I didn’t.
I took my 2 yr old in to see Dr Kaufman by a referral of my pediatrician. She developed a very rare condition in the muscle of one eye due to a virus she had. But I wouldn’t have ever known this because it just appears as if it is simple lazy eye.
We waited less than 10 min in his waiting room before seeing him. We saw Dr Kaufman right away and he DID explain everything he was doing or what he was about to do. He was very gentle to her and kept calling her «sweetie»
Now I did prepare my child for the appointment since she never had her eyes checked before. Even though she is young you could still talk to your kids and make them understand that doctors are there to help them and to not hurt them. It is never the Dr’s obligation to entertain our kids or to do our job as parents anyway.
When he diagnosed that it wasn’t lazy eye, he was very concerned that it was caused by an illness and PERSONALLY called a neurologist and had us go straight from his office to UIC’s ER. What doctor does that anymore?! Well, Dr Kaufman does. After our visit to the ER (the same day) the office made a follow up call to check on us! He answered all of our questions and he reassured us.
All the ladies in his staff were very helpful, patient, and very caring. They were never bothered by ALL my questions.
I will definitely recommend Dr Kaufman to anyone! Great doctor and great staff.

Very bad customer service! Had appointment at 11 am, waited for one hour, very unfriendly receptionist girl. Never come back again.

Excellent service. Extremely professional and through. I had my eyes examined and refracted. Staff was very friendly also. A++.

Dr. Kaufman and Dr. Hair are both very good Doctors. Dr. Hair has a great bedside manner and Dr. Kaufman is a Doctor. If you want your child to be diagnosed properly, then this is the place to go. If you need a Doctor to hold your hand and tell you that you are the best parent in the world, than go somewhere else. My daughter was given the wrong prescription at a chain eye location and I knew that something else was wrong, so I searched and found Dr. Kaufman. We had to patch her left eye to fix her lazy eye and now we are still waiting for her cross-​eye to fix itself with her glasses. He is direct and to the point and has never wasted my time. I highly recommend his practice.

I took my 6 year old son to see Dr. Kauffman by referral of our pediatrician. He knew his stuff, no doubt, but he was so cold. So rude. What happened to good bedside manner? Honestly, he reminded me of a person with Aspergers. He sprayed a chemical into my child’s eye without any explanation, and when my son (shocked and scared) whined that it burned, he told my child to «stop acting.» Absolutely unacceptable.
Is he knowledgeable? Yes. It’s he an expert on eye disorders? Most certainly. But why must we choose between skill and demeanor? We should demand both. My child deserves BOTH. And so does yours.

OK, so this guy won’t win any personality contests, but if you are looking for personality, go watch Arsenio.
To recap: We took our daughter to one of those cheery «family» optometrists, who diagnosed our 4 year old for something that just seemed a bit severe. My wife, not liking the explanation (and faced with doing something that could affect our daughter’s vision for years, if not her lifetime), immediately got her to Dr. Kaufman, who took about 30 seconds to declare the first diagnosis as absolutely WRONG, and got our daughter the glasses she truly needed.
So, if you want to feel good and have the wrong diagnosis, be my guest. If you want a real doctor to look at your kid’s eyes and get everything right, this seems to be the place. A big plus is having Aardvark next door for the glasses.

Dr. Kaufman turned a routine pre-​kindergarten eye exam into an experience that has left my kid utterly terrified of eye doctors, eye exams, and anything coming near her eyes.
At the beginning of the exam, I thought it was odd that someone so cold and unfriendly was a pediatric specialist, but figured he was having an off day. And then Dr. Kaufman told my 5 year old daughter to close her eyes, then open them wide, which she did. When she opened her eyes, he sprayed a solution into them with no warning to her OR me and she started sobbing with fear and pain. Offhandedly, the doctor comments «it make their eyes sting, so it’s better not to tell them ahead of time.» She sat there sobbing as he just… sat there, waiting for the dilation to take effect. I was in complete shock.
I wish I’d read some reviews of him before taking my child to Dr. Kaufman. With hereditary eye problems in the family, my kids are going to need yearly exams, and now the oldest won’t even let the pediatrician touch her eyelids for fear he’ll hurt her eyes the way the «other doctor» did.

My daughter has been going to him since she was a baby and she’s now in grade school. While Dr. Kauffman is not the warmest with kids, I do feel completely at ease with his knowledge and competence. He deals with tiny little measurements in tiny little corneas and he was absolutely correct about the condition and growth changes in my daughters strabismus. I recommend him for more acute conditions, not for getting a standard eye exam that an optometrist can achieve. He is professional and I don’t see how someone could be disgusted with accuracy. His office is always full with children who need more scientific attention to non-​standard eye problems. Plus Aardvark Eyewear, connected to his office, has a huge selection of kids eyewear. This is such a relief because after 5 years of choosing glasses, we are always finding plenty of frame options.

Please, if you must take your young one to an eye exam or anything related, do not go here. I have never met any Doctor, let alone a pediatric specialist, as cold as this Doctor was. His cold indifference and lifeless presence was enough to make me wish I had never set foot into his office. I could continue and write more about this awful experience but quite frankly, I am still in disbelief and quite disgusted. Do your little one and you a favor, find someone who at least seems to enjoy what they are doing.