Stuart R. Seiff, MD

Dr Seiff revised a blepharoplasty done in 2006.
I could not be happier.

I am now two years out from skin transplant surgery near my eye and on my eyelids. Dr Seiff has monitored the cancer potential area with a melanoma expert as well. He also has watched the scar evolve. My eyelid began to web and he has been waiting until this week to inject it. The material he used and the area he injected have corrected the webbing.
No one detects I’ve had skin transplant surgery to the side of my nose and eyelids. He is a wonderful doctor and highly skilled surgeon. Feel safe with him.

I would not recommend this doctor.
He was quite arrogant towards me, but I thought it was just his attitude and that he was probably a good doctor (give him the benefit of the doubt).
Come surgery time, I was awake for parts of the procedure but did not feel anything. In the majority of the time he was sewing me up, he was either making conversion with the nurse or anesthesiologist about FOOTBALL! Funny thing is he was the conversation starter with the other person WHILE he was operating on me.
It’s been a year now, since my procedure, and I can sure as hell say he did not give a dam when he was operating on me. There are so many things he could have asked me, or to make me more comfortable… I kind of feel like I was thrown under a bus.

I had my eyelids done. Warning, unless you really really need it done, and are willing to take a huge risk of bad results, DONOT DO IT. How about one year of misery during healing/​recovery time? How about The constant feeling of something being stuck on, and something else stuck under, your eyelid? How about the degradation of vision in both of your eyes so bad that eye glasses will be required for the first time in your life? How about having to wait an hour and forty minutes to see the doctor… repeatedly? How about trying to get scheduled when you won’t have to wait over an hour and a half, and being told they can’t do that, unless I want to drive from Marin to San Mateo, and then maybe. Otherwise, the attitude was I should screw off and wait in line. This was the biggest mistake EVER. And forget informed consent… There won’t be any.

Dr. Seiff provided the worst medical experience I’ve had in my life. And, I’ve had multiple surgeries, procedures, and consultations for numerous ailments over years.
Arrogance doesn’t begin to describe this guy. But, if that were the only issue, then, fine. But, his description of the possible effects of my procedure were so poorly correlated with my own experience that I was literally in disbelief.
More than that, after the procedure, when my eye was SWOLLEN shut, with swollen, impaired, blurry and teary vision and numbing pain that lasted 3 weeks (he said «I’d have my contacts in the next day» — and that’s a quote). He 100% changed his tune about what he said in the consultation. He backtracked, and said, «Well, it’s like touching skin on a burning stove». What?!? That description was NEVER ONCE mentioned in the consultation beforehand when I asked about possible side effects. I truly wish I had recorded him, but his words are etched in my mind.
BOTTOM LINE: it’s been almost 18 months and my eye is still not recovered from the effects and tears up constantly (another side effect that was NEVER mentioned). If even just one person reads this and decides to go elsewhere, than I feel like I’ve helped someone out and saved them from a possible horrible experience.

Dr. Seiff is a great surgeon and I am super pleased with the blepharoplasty he performed on me three months ago. The eye care facility where the surgery was performed is top notch with excellent care and staff.

I Unilocaled Dr. Seiff to find his number to schedule a follow up appointment and was shocked to read negative reviews. First, as a fellow healthcare provider, let me say that every surgery involves risk and possible negative outcomes (that’s why you have to sign your life away to have surgery!) Also, prominent providers often involve waits, sometimes long waits.
The first time I saw Dr. Sieff was at UCSF (when he was there). I waited a long time, but heard him counseling a young women with a cancerous tumor who would possibly loose her eye. Even though he was behind in his schedule, he spoke to her with such caring, not rushing. I decided at that moment that since I was not in danger of LOOSING my eye I could wait. And I have, sometimes a long time. I go in knowing this and bring a New Yorker!
I saw Dr. Seiff with one of the worst cases of Graves Ophthalmopathy he had seen. My eyes were bulging out of my head and facing opposite directions. I looked like Marty Feldman! I worse shaded glasses for 3 years, (so my patients wouldn’t constantly ask me what was wrong with me) and had double vision.
Dr. Sieff was astute and businesslike, absolutely self assured. Call it arrogance, but from the start I found it reassuring and like I had a real partner in my care. He told me he could help me which was a huge relief. Because he is a perfectionist I have had 6 surgeries with him. I am happy to report that I now have beautiful eyes, like Susan Sarandon. Actually I think my eyes are prettier than they were before I got Graves Disease. Dr. Sieff wants to do one more surgery (as I said he is a perfectionist) because my eyelids are a millimeter different. I am waiting for this one.
I do have eye tearing, he is not sure why. My eyes are sensitive and I use eye drops frequently and eye lube at night. But, I am so thankful that I met Dr. Seiff and that he was able to make me look normal again. In addition he referred me to another wonderful surgeon (Dr. William Good) who was able to make my eyes look forward.
I still see Dr. Seiff reglarly, he does an amazing job with lip filler! DOES NOT OVERDO like so many Marin County cosmetic people. All in all I love Dr. Seiff. But, this is eye surgery, they cannot guarantee the process, they are human.

In 2005, during the fall semester of college, my friend (who was pre-​med) said my left eyeball looked funny (bulging, as if something was pushing against it). I got an MRI and they found a hemangioma (benign blood vessel tumor) the size of a golf ball that had been growing behind my left eyeball likely since infancy. It had maximized the available space and was therefore now pushing on my eyeball and the surrounding nerves, etc.
I was referred to Dr. Seiff by the first doctor who examined my eye who said he is one of the best surgeons for the ophthalmic orbital and potentially ophthalmic plastic surgery I would need.
Dr. Seiff is no-​nonsense in his bedside manner which seems to have offended some Unilocal reviewers. I personally feel much more at ease when a doctor (esp. for something as critical as surgery) does not sugarcoat. I found his honest disclaimers very clear and thorough («there is a risk you could go blind in the eye or not be ²⁰⁄₂₀ anymore after the procedure because the eye’s nerves may have grown around the hemangioma»; «your eye could have leakage/​drainage issues after the procedure»; «you may need plastic surgery after the hemangioma’s removed because there may be droopy skin»). The risks were outweighed by the certain threat to my vision if the hemangioma was not removed and so we proceeded with surgery.
Because of Dr. Seiff’s outstanding skill and perhaps some luck regarding the extent to which the optical nerves had grown relative to the hemangioma, none of the things that he warned me about happened. I went in with ²⁰⁄₂₀ and came out with ²⁰⁄₂₀ — 8 years later and I still have ²⁰⁄₂₀. I never experienced any leakage/​drainage issues. He performed the surgery with such skill that although he removed a golf ball-​sized hemangioma from my orbital cavity, I have a barely noticeable ¼-​inch scar that is so faint, even if I don’t wear concealer people do not even notice it. They do, however, notice a small freckle on my cornea and do not hesitate to point it out.
There were significant risks to my vision/​physical comfort/​appearance associated with the removal of my hemangioma (the largest Dr. Seiff had seen as of 2005) and he was able to achieve the best-​case outcome: removal without any adverse effects. I still have ²⁰⁄₂₀; I experienced negligible pain related to the procedure; insignificant scarring/​change to my appearance; good and nearly painless recovery.
Dr. Seiff is a gem of a surgeon and I was fortunate to be in such good hands. I like his straightshooter style and recommend him highly.

Wow! Reading the prior negative reviews makes me think, Did we all see the
same Dr.?. Yes, he’s arrogant as a prior reviewer said, but think about that for a second. You wouldn’t want a Dr. walking in and saying «Oh, I don’t know if my
skills can fix that»! He has a heavy patient load, yes but I think that goes to show how sought after he really is. I am really happy with him and my surgery. It changed my life for the better. The only negative thing that I can say is that there was a mix up
with me paying for it and the insurance covering it too. That’s not the Dr.‘s fault, its
his billing departments. The surgery center was great! Clean, friendly and respectful of your needs. The staff were all very busy indeed but helpful and polite.

Dr Seif … Arrogant doctor … Comes in with a «I Can Fix Anything» personality … Does not even look at you while he’s talking …
I have a feeling he does not like Asian patients and assumes since we don’t say much and assume whatever the doctor says is always right … Wrong ! His personality towards Asians are very demeaning …
Most of the referring doctors refer the non speaking Asian population to see this guy … I feel bad for those patients … Those who can’t speak English … And assumes whatever Seif says will fix their face …
I suggest you go research around for a better doctor … He told me to see him again in 3 weeks for a follow up … I don’t think so … Anymore contact with him … I think he would see my fist in his face … I would then like him try to say «I can fix that … !»

If you find yourself in Dr Seiff office. Promptly turn around and RUN as fast as you can out! He RUINED my life. I’m literally now on anti depression medicine since he disfigured my eye/​face.
Let me start this review right…
He is very booked so I waited 3 months to see him. God I wish I hadn’t.
We scheduled my surgery, and the whole time he had this arrogant confidence like this was changing a tire. Well needless to say my sugery went WAY WRONG, and my eye was left WIDE open and not able to shut with tears of blood dripping, so we had an emergency surgery 2 days later. That also didn’t work, so 2 weeks later he did yet another, and another, and another and yes still yet ANOTHER! What he said was an easy surgery he does everyday has taken 1 whole year, and 6 surgeries and my vision is worse plus I’m disfigured my eye looks so crazy that people actually walk up to me on a daily basis and ask me what happend. I use to wear contacts, but thanks to Dr Seiff I can no longer wear them and have had to buy glasses. He left my eye so open that it waters ²⁴⁄₇ and the contact lens just swims around in my eye.
If he was half as good as he thinks he is then yes I’d say go to him, but in fact he isn’t I’m living proof he makes mistakes and he makes MAJOR ones. Please I’m begging all of you strangers meet with me before you see him, look at what he did to my eye/​face and let me suffer for you, you do the smart thing and go to someone else, literally anyone, even a dentist would be a smarter move then letting him near your eyes.
PLEASE save yourself the pain/​depression I’m suffering because of this man and go elsewhere!

i don’t usually write long reviews, but because this is for a dr. and people might actually look to this for prospective surgeries, i will try my best to be as detailed as possible.
so, i’m averaging my office visits and surgery experiences into one 4-​star rating.
appointment #1 — 1 star — * — dr. seiff is a bit abrasive and unfriendly, and might come off as insensitive or impolite. despite all these things, he is quite brilliant and knows what he’s talking about. he was half-​yelling, half-​lecturing. maybe he was having an off/​bad day.
appointment #2 — 3 star — * * * — A HUGE improvement from the first appt. he actually cracked a smile and was a lot more friendly and sociable. maybe my first appt. happened to land on his bad day or was just a fluke. it was a major difference in attitude.
surgery — 5 stars — the surgery is done offisite at a surgery center. it’s a great facility… really clean. he was actually humorous and funny when i met him this time. gradually, he keeps getting friendlier and friendlier.
post op — 5 stars — he says that the surgery went REALLY well and that my eyes look perfect. it’s his work so why wouldn’t he love it? however, i totally agree and the outcome is a lot better than i have imagined.
so basically, i TRUST this guy. dr. seiff is someone i would trust my eyes with in the future. he’s not the friendliest, but who cares? all you need is a BRILLIANT DOCTOR whose skills you can count on and trust. oh, and if you get to know him, he has a great sense of humor. he deserves 5-​stars for skills but i docked him for a bad first appt experience.
and he’s always booked so know that when you make your appt today, the appt date might be for a month or so later.

Stuart Seiff saved my @ss, talk about amazing.
Not only did he stay late, i.e., ’til about 8 p.m. to see me, long after his work day would normally have ended, but he squeezed me into his surgical calendar so that he could repair my torn eyelid and tear duct not even two days after he first saw me.
I can’t describe the surgery in detail, but I’ll say a few things: 1) he and his team were amazing; 2) the nurses, and surgical co-​ordinator were impressive about accommodating my schedule and endless questions; and 3) it’s less than two days after the surgery, and it doesn’t even look as if I’ve had microsurgery on one of my eyes and tear ducts.
My eyes mean a *lot* to me. I’m extremely glad that Stuart Seiff was there to fix an injury to one of mine. AMAZING MAN, IMPRESSIVE TEAM.

Stuart Seiff botched my surgery so bad I have now had two more surgeries to try to correct his work with a possible third coming up.
Stuart Seiff’s suggestion to correct his botched surgery: I should wear heavy make up.
Run – do not walk – away from Stuart Seiff.

Awesome doctor! He cut out a mole right above my eye-​lid. Since eye area is very sensitive, I was very nervous about the procedure. Moreover, because it was on my face, I was very nervous about how the area will look after this mini-​surgery. The procedure was COMPLETELY painless (I actually don’t even remember it because I was sedated) and there was NO pain after either! And the area heeled very nicely. Bravo, doctor! I highly recommend this doctor.