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[Part 1; See pictures] I had surgery with Dr. Bae and it literally ruined my life. I didn't want to write this review and I was actually afraid to for a long time because I did not want to be on Dr. Bae's bad side but since he has now told me there is nothing he can do for me going forward I feel like I am obligated to leave this review for other people to read. I was severely injured in a car accident at the age of 24. I saw Dr. Bae for the next 2 to 3 years because I was suffering from incredibly severe back pain which radiated around the side of my torso. After seeing Dr. Bae periodically and completing copious amounts of physical therapy as well as many other conservative treatments including numerous pain management procedures, Dr. Bae suggested a fusion surgery at the age of 27. Throughout my time seeing Dr. Bae I was deathly afraid because my condition was getting worse and worse and my quality of life was quickly deteriorating as a result. I was a very high-level athlete who was also attending grad school and working at the same time. I was afraid of the pain management procedures that were being recommended to me by my pain management doctor but had them done nonetheless. I kept Dr. Bae in the loop regarding the pain management procedures I had done and he said the lack of relief I had received from the different procedures indicated to him that it was time to go ahead and fuse my spine. Knowing what I know now, this was not correct and I feel he should have directed me to either try a different pain management doctor, or at least additional procedures, before fusing me at such a young age. When I woke up from the fusion surgery, I knew something was wrong. I have never felt such terrible pain in my entire life, even with all of the medications they were giving me to help ease the pain in the hospital. I don't believe words can do that level of pain justice. I was supposed to be out of the hospital in 1 to 2 days. While I was discharged after 1 to 2 days, I got home and was there for about 30 minutes and then began having incredible difficulty breathing. My girlfriend took my temperature and it was over 102°, Which combined with my incredible difficulty breathing, led to the hospital insisting I rush back to the emergency room to be readmitted. The hospital insisted that someone from my family drive me because they believed an ambulance would take too long in light of the severity of my condition. The hospital kept me for observation for 3 to 4 additional excruciating days and during that time it was discovered I had an infection in my lungs as a result of the surgery and I had blood coagulating inside of my lungs and chest, causing the extreme difficulty breathing. I felt like I was drowning on land, I don't know how else to describe it. About 4-6 days after the initial surgery I was rushed into an emergency surgery for a pneumo-hemothorax. When I woke up from that surgery I truly wished they had just let me die. The pain was indescribable. Like nothing I have ever felt in my life and as an athlete I have had numerous acute injuries over the years. After completing a total of somewhere between 10 to 14 days in the hospital as a result of my "successful" spinal fusion, I was discharged back to my home. For the next 3 to 4 months I could barely function. I went from someone who could do well at any sport or activity my entire life to being almost completely unable to care for myself across the board. The way Dr. Bae had explained my recovery would go and the way it actually went were worlds apart. After 3 to 4 months of essentially bed rest following the surgery, I began physical therapy and pursued it relentlessly, never missing an appointment and going at least three times per week for the better part of a year. MY PAIN LEVEL NEVER IMPROVED. MY PAIN ONLY GOT WORSE AFTER SURGERY. Dr. Bae was sure that this fusion would take care of the relentless pain I had been feeling which was constantly at a level of about 6 to 7 out of 10. Unfortunately following the surgery my pain went from being not only in the area I had initially complained of, to throughout my entire left side of my back, and even both sides in certain spots. Following surgery my pain sustained at a level of 8/10 to 10/10. I thought I could not live with the pain I was experiencing prior to surgery, but compared to the pain I feel now on an every day basis, even years later, I WOULD DO ANYTHING TO SOMEHOW GO BACK AND NOT HAVE ALLOWED DR. BAE TO PERFORM MY FUSION SURGERY.

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Hyun Bae, MD

I have known Dr. Khurana for many years and its always be a very pleasant expierence. He and his staff have been very professional and easy to work with. I complained of back pain for many years and he never wanted to operate . Finally it go so bad he agreed about the surgery. Things went really well and not after just a few months I feel much better. If your going to have surgery or any other back issues. I would strongly suggest Dr, K and his staff. JIM

Sanjay Khurana, MD

Dr. Bae Review I had surgery with Dr. Bae and it literally ruined my life. After seeing Dr. Bae periodically and trying some pain management procedures, Dr. Bae suggested a fusion surgery at the age of 27 due to an injury from a motor vehicle accident. Throughout my time seeing Dr. Bae I was deathly afraid because my condition was getting worse and worse and my quality of life was quickly deteriorating as a result. I was a very high-level athlete who was also attending grad school and working at the same time. I was afraid of the pain management procedures that were being recommended to me by my pain management doctor but had them done nonetheless. I kept Dr. Bae in the loop regarding the pain management procedures I had done and he said the lack of relief I had received from the different procedures indicated to him that it was time to go ahead and fuse my spine. Knowing what I know now, this was not correct and I feel he should have directed me to either try a different pain management doctor, or at least additional procedures, before fusing me at such a young age. When I woke up from the fusion surgery, I knew something was wrong. I have never felt such terrible pain in my entire life, even with all of the medications they were giving me to help ease the pain in the hospital. I don’t believe words can do that level of pain justice. I was supposed to be out of the hospital in 1 to 2 days. While I was discharged after 1 to 2 days, I got home and was there for about 30 minutes and then began having incredible difficulty breathing. My girlfriend took my temperature and it was over 102°, Which combined with my incredible difficulty breathing, led to the hospital insisting I rush back to the emergency room to be readmitted. The hospital insisted that someone from my family drive me because they believed an ambulance would take too long in light of the severity of my condition. The hospital kept me for observation for 3 to 4 additional excruciating days and during that time it was discovered I had an infection in my lungs as a result of the surgery and I had blood coagulating inside of my lungs and chest, causing the extreme difficulty breathing. I felt like I was drowning on land, I don’t know how else to describe it. About 4-6 days after the initial surgery I was rushed into an emergency surgery for a pneumohemothorax (I believe that’s what it’s called, not 100% sure). When I woke up from that surgery I truly wished they had just let me die. The pain was indescribable. Like nothing I have ever felt in my life and as an athlete I have had numerous acute injuries over the years. After completing a total of somewhere between 10 to 14 days in the hospital as a result of my “successful” spinal fusion, I was discharged back to my home. For the next 3 to 4 months I could truly barely function. I went from someone who could do well at any sport or activity my entire life to being almost completely unable to care for myself across the board. The way Dr. Bae had explained my recovery would go and the way it actually went were worlds apart. MY PAIN LEVEL NEVER IMPROVED. MY PAIN ONLY GOT WORSE AFTER SURGERY. Following surgery my pain sustained at a level of 8/10 to 10/10. I thought I could not live with the pain I was experiencing prior to surgery, but compared to the pain I feel now on an every day basis, even years later, I WOULD DO ANYTHING TO SOMEHOW GO BACK AND NOT HAVE ALLOWED DR. BAE TO PERFORM MY FUSION SURGERY. During my last appointment with Dr. Bae following surgery, he told me “I don’t know what to do for you. I think you need a spinal cord stimulator. And you will need to see someone else for that.“ Essentially telling me he was done with me....great. Since then I have tried countless additional pain management treatments and procedures to no avail. As any reputable pain management doctor will tell you, a spinal cord stimulator is an absolute last resort, especially for someone my age (27 at the time of surgery, 30 years old now). Length and content of this review were heavily edited to meet the character limit.

Hyun Bae, MD

Went to Dr Bhalla in such intense low back pain that I couldn't even sit in the chair in the exam room, I had to stand. I couldn't bend or hinge at the waist, my back and hip were in so much pain. I was told to take an ibuprofen and that I probably pulled a muscle. This is without ordering an MRI. As well, I told him it wasn't muscle pain (I know what muscle pain is from previous injuries) and that I had shooting pains down my leg (hello, nerve issue, duh). Thankfully I was finally able to get an MRI ordered from a doc who cares (and who was stunned that at my pain level and mobility limitation an MRI hadn't been ordered sooner). I have a sequestered disc which, in case you didn't know, isn't treated with ibuprofen. If you are a woman and in pain, Dr Bhalla seems unable to take your pain seriously. Find a doc who will, so you don't destroy your liver with constant OTC pain meds.

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Amandeep Bhalla, MD

I waited over 45 minutes for my appointment - While I could hear Dr Wassef in the hallway talking and laughing. I then went out advised the doctor I had another appointment to make and was running short of time. Seeing we were African American he immediately goes into an unprofessional mode — speaking to me as if I was his homeboy. Following the appointment his staff was to obtain approval and order the medication for a shot for my knee within two weeks. After a month no one from the office contacted me. I began phoning Liz in medical authorizations leaving several messages over a month and she never returned a single phone call. I then spoke with the receptionist Jackie and explained the issue with Liz and requested the office manager - Jackie again transferred me to Liz. I could go on and on but in summary his staff members are unprofessional, dimwitted and vindictive as they have now stopped answering my calls. I suggest you take your business elsewhere to avoid wasting your time and save yourself the frustration. If it were possible to give less than one star I would do so.

Andrew Wassef, MD

He treated me when he was a resident at marshall orthopedics in huntington, wv. He was very rude, and with no bedside manner. He also did not treat my ankle and knees properly, so I had to request another doctor to treat my orthopedic issues. He also assisted In my left ankle surgery, however he made a medication error that almost overdosed me.

Tigran Garabekyan, MD

We went to Dr. Bae's office in Santa Monica; had a 10:00 AM appt. went prepared with copy of MRI and paperwork completed. We were brought back to a rear exam room at 10:30 and there we sat until almost 12:30! No one ever came in to check in or update us. My husband got up and went to the front desk; there was a PA standing there who said we can see you right now! He said, no Thank you! I paid $450.00 to be seen by the Dr., not a PA! I want a refund and I'm leaving! They had a couple of emergencies that morning, but no one ever told us! Not good medical service at all! No apology, no follow up phone call or nothing!

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Hyun Bae, MD

I was instructed to see him within the 90 day window after he placed my dislocated shoulder. Since he didn’t take my insurance he told me that he couldn’t do anything for me...this was in October. It is now February and I just had another xray. My shoulder is still slightly dislocated and I’m still in pain. I will be seeing a different ortho soon. It appears that he doesn’t care about the patient, just getting paid.

Christopher Combs, MD

crazy office, no organization, called 3 times no one calls back. gave me wrong information . never going back.

Leonel Hunt, MD

Horrible Horribleee Horribleeee Hate the fact I ended up coming here & totally regret it. I hate this dr really don't recommend no one to go with her. After my injury & complaining over & over Slowly everything got WORSE Only thing from this clinic in Long Beach is that the nurses are very nice & friendly but the dr is just something else. The more time I spent being hurt the worse it kept getting Had to go seek help from other drs because of the pains. Till this day I'm still hurting because I'm still injured and this shit sucks but if this supposedly dr iffff she would have onlyyyyy tried helping me & notttt ignored me Maybe none of this would've continued & maybeeee I would've been better in a way who knows because I'll never know. I'm not sure if she's a racist or what the hell but it f-n sucks the way how she treated me. Now I'm being told by other drs that they might do surgery which I'm scared But praying But all of this has been very stressful for me because of my pains. Me suffering & crying it's all stressful Again if this dr would've at least tried to help i wouldn't be going through so much But thanks for messing it up more for me

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Allyson Estess, MD

Had 1 appointment with Dr Bae. Overbooked and office staff has very POOR manners, specifically Dr Hyun Bae's physician assistant named "Lisa" - inhuman, insensitive, poor manners, disrespectful and disgusting.. Don't waste your time or money. Stay away from the American Spine Surgeons. All the best spine surgeons are outside of USA.

Hyun Bae, MD

Do not visit this orthopedic surgeon! He will lead you on which is a big waste of time. I went to his office in December 2017 for severe radiculopathy and spine neurogenic claudication. I brought a MRI with me. At first, the staff couldnt load it into the computer. Then Dr. Bhalla requested additional MRI diagnostic testing including a lumbar MRI, X-rays with flexion extension studies which he preferred to have done at his office. I felt this surgeon kept me guessing and he didn't explain much in detail. Later I found that his dictated reports in my chart were incomplete and he even had the wrong dates of my past medical history. My second office visit in May 2018 was equally disappointing. His PA was trying to correct the mistakes in dictation that Dr. Bhalla had made in my patient chart. I asked to see Dr. Bhalla in person. Finally, he sauntered into the exam room smiling and even laughing at me. He never pinpointed what was the exact cause of my pain on my xrays. There was not much validation from him on my latest MRI study. There was no specific treatment plan or other options given to me. Then he insisted that I go see a pain specialist for a bilateral L4 transforaminal epidural injections. I was handed an unknown referral list from the internet. This orthopedic surgeon never explained the risk of developing long term complications from epidurals such as infection, diabetes, bone loss and weight gain etc. amongst other bad side effects from these steroids. He marked red ink all over my new CD-ROM diagnostic studies. There was no follow up appointment that was ever offered to me. A rude and condescending attitude doesn't even begin to describe this surgeon's bedside manner.

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Amandeep Bhalla, MD

One an a half hours after I went to his office he saw me. This place is a mill they run as many people through here as possible. Went to discuss a shoulder problem in and out in about 6 minutes. Not even a fundamental X-ray. I am in the medical field, and it bothered the Doctor that I knew my way around the body and asked very specific questions. II urge anyone reading this review it for Dr. cannot spend the time to listen to you you get up and leave I wish I had.

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Eric S. Millstein, MD

The worst I've ever been to. My appointment was at 4:00, but he did not see me until 5:15. When he did see me, he was rude and arrogant. He completely dismissed my concerns and essentially suggested that I was either crazy or an idiot; he point-blank said that the entire reason for my visit to his office did not exist. Instead of engaging in a dialogue, or pausing to allow his mind to consider all the possibilities that could have caused me to experience the issues that led to my seeking his help, he repeated the same sentences he had already said, only more slowly. Not only does this convey that he has decided I am stupid, but it effectively shuts down communication between doctor and patient, signaling that the doctor has stopped listening. This is definitely not a guy who takes his time with his patients, only without them, while they are waiting for him in his office. If you would have anything other than the most cursory, basic, minimal standard of care (that I'm not even sure could be classified as such), I advise that you look elsewhere.

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Eric S. Millstein, MD

They placed me on hold for 30min to tell me they had No same day appointments!! REALLY?? They need to get better organized and stop wasting time!!

Andrew Wassef, MD

I've always had a very difficult time trying to set an appointment. A year later when I need to make an appointment I get the same excuse. Your primary needs to send the referral. I did that and they said they did not receive it. But gone through this before in the past with this doctor's office and frankly I'm fed up. Dr Combs is great but his office staff sucks big time. If I ever get to see doctor comes again I'm going to tell him how bad his staff is. The lady that answer the phone had a really bad attitude.

Christopher Combs, MD

So my aunt had an appointment on the 29th but they called her telling her to come earlier the 27th at 4:30pm so she went and got there earlier, filled all her paperwork and the waiting started. Whenever she asks his assistant she would say yes wait you're next then at around 5:45P, my aunt went up again asking when will the doctor be seeing her and the assistant rudely raised both her voice and hands and told her "WELL RESCHEDULE" and slammed the door on her!!!

Sanjay Khurana, MD

Don't waste your time and money if you want to get to the root cause of your problem. First, I was twice seen by a resident and then when Dr. Millstein finally came in the room to see me he used his I pad while he spoke to me. Needless to say I did think he gave me the full attention he should have. He is not a thinker. The resident attempted to be more helpful than Dr. Millstein!

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Eric S. Millstein, MD

PLEASE STOP AND RUN AS FAST AS YOU CAN IN THE OPPOSITE DIRECTION! Dr. Bae did surgery on me a few years ago. I was in so much pain after the surgery never getting better. By going to another doctor l found out that he misplaced the screws in my back. Going in from the side he placed the L4 screw which was longer than necessary therefore, jabbing me is the muscle and the L3 screw wasn't placed in the vertebral body but in front of it adjacent to the abdominal aorta. He ignored my complaints and tried to brush me off. It wasn't until I found out the truth and confronted him. He said "I guess your not one of my best surgeries!" I was in to much pain to deal with a suit! RUN DON'T WALK

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Hyun Bae, MD

I was referred to Dr. Khurana by my main orthopedic doctor, William Mealer, M.D. I have been suffering from extreme degenerative disc disease throughout my entire spine since the 1990's, and have had a failed microdiscectomy at L4-L5 on the right side in August 2013. Before the failed surgery, I still had a good quality of life, I was able to ride my bike (a mountain bike as well!) 40 miles at the beach. In Nov. 2014, while working as a consultant at Mattel, I began experiencing severe sciatica going down both legs. Before I only had sciatica down the right leg. I can deal with my low back pain with massage, chiropractic treatment, and water therapy, I also have two bad knees. So, I'm kind of a mess, but I try to make the best of it because I did enjoy life. My contract ended at Mattel in July 2015. In Oct. 2015 I was hired as a consultant at a local credit union, hired to migrate their email system to Microsoft Exchange 2013. From the moment I started working there (which was only a 5 mile commute from my house in Torrance), the sciatica became more severe. It got to the point where I was forced to leave the job in late Dec. 2015 because I simply could not sit any longer. I went back on SDI disability and saw Dr. Mealer. He referred me to Dr. Khurana, telling me he was the best, and he would be able to fix me with another surgery. I saw Dr. K (I will abbreviate) in Mar. 2016, who told me I needed a more recent MRI (which was true, the last MRI was done in 2015). I have Covered CA insurance because that is the only insurance I can get due to my pre-existing conditions. Dr. K is out of network, but I do have out of network benefits. On May 11, 2016 (a day I will never forget for the rest of my life) I saw Dr. K to go over the MRI results. He took a look at it, told me he could go in and clean it up, but it would cost quite a bit of money, in fact in might make things worse and that I wouldn't be happy with the results. He told me to get a spinal cord stimulator, saying that would help my leg pain. I was shocked. First of all, he knew that I was having bi-lateral sciatica, that was my main complaint, with the pain being the worst in my ankles, feet and toes. It actually goes from the groin area down to my toes. This pain matches up with a ruptured disc at L5-S1. He NEVER explained to me what was causing me this pain, so I had no idea of what happened. I asked him about increasing my pain meds, and he told me the DEA only wanted to give pain meds to cancer patients???? What????? I walked out of that office in a complete daze, got into my car, and immediately broke down sobbing hysterically. I don't even know how I managed to drive home. To be honest, I had been contemplating suicide since Jan. 2016, because of the loss of my 23 year career in IT, knowing I could no longer sit 8 hours at a desk, nor make more than a 20 minute commute. My condition has continued to deteriorated every month, I cannot sit, stand, walk or drive. The pain has been excruciating. I actually started writing a rough draft of a suicide note, which I saved in Word 2007 and put a password on it. On May 12th (one day after K's diagnosis), I transferred the $$ I had been saving for the surgery into my Mom's account, so she could access it upon my death. I then tried to open my suicide note and forgot the password, so I could not open it. On May 16th, I changed my mind and transferred the $$ back to my account and saw my pain mgmt. Dr. to get the ball rolling on the stimulator trial. Well, that took 10 weeks, all the while my pain keeps getting worse. I haven't been happy with this PM doctor, so I saw Dr. Kenneth Bradley, who told me FOUR times after reviewing my MRI that I did not need a SCS (I will abbreviate, running out of space). He said these are a last ditch thing for people with multiple failed surgeries, and I have had only ONE microdisectomy. He explained my diagnosis in great detail (ruptured disc at L5-S1, sending the material into my spinal column, where it is constantly hitting the sciatic nerves). He gave me an immediate epidural and increased my pain meds. In five minutes, 50% of the pain was gone from my right ankle. I was amazed!!!! He told me this was correctable with another microdiscectomy. I saw Dr. Mealer yesterday who was shocked at Dr. K's diagnosis and agreed this could be surgically fixed. I will have Dr. Randy O'Hara do the surgery, who is in network. The only reason I am still alive today is because of Microsoft (starting in 2007 they built in 128-bit key AES protection and it is almost impossible to crack). For anyone who has Covered CA insurance, I definitely would not recommend this Dr., as he seems to only care about the $$. Why didn't he tell me that his cost would be too high, and to see a Dr. in network? Thank God I did not have the SCS trial done!!!!!

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Sanjay Khurana, MD

Super slow & rude made an appointment for 10:00 am got placed in a room at 12:35 pm

Christopher Combs, MD

I chose Dr. Millstein based on Yelp reviews and also a friend of a friend who went to him before. Now after my experience with him I would definitely not go to him again. This review is for Knee Meniscus problems (partial tear) with surgery, he might be different/better in regards to other issues. With a partial tear I started getting increasing pain when playing Beach Volleyball for more than 1-2 hours or walking longer than 2-3 hours. First visit to him he did a decent look at my condition but was extremely quick and rather pushy to schedule a surgery for a meniscectomy. At that time I declined because I wanted to try physical therapy further and strengthen the knee first. Second visit few months later he still suggested surgery and since my problems were not notice-ably from physical therapy I agreed to the surgery. Dr. Millstein explicitly and clearly confirmed that the outcome of the surgery would either be no overall change or improvement of my condition, definitely not a degradation of the situation. It would take 1 month to get to 80%, 2 to 95% and 3-4 month to 100% back to previous knee performances. The surgery at LaPeer itself went pretty smooth and problem free, however 2 month later with regular physical therapy and home exercises I fee at best to be to be at 50%. Still problems with walking stairs and other basic movements. 6 months later (whole time PT) I still can't jog, run, jump or do any fast movement. Walking stairs is possible and slow, even weighted movements are ok. However any quick movements are a no go, basically 0% ability when it comes to any kind of sport. This is a serious degradation of my previous condition. I understand not every surgery will bring the expected results, but a surgery shouldn't make the condition way way worse than it was before. Last follow up around 6 months later with Dr. Millstein he simply says it takes time. Also of my previous ~70% of medial meniscus left (from prior first surgery) I now per Millstein have only 20/30% meniscus left. He removed so much of the meniscus that I have barely any left. 9 months later my knee swell up from 15 minutes walking and after MRI and a different Orthopedic Doctor I now am being confirmed with cartilage damaged on the bone at the area where I am missing the meniscus and have to get another surgery. The surgery Dr. Millstein performed on me made my overall knee condition worse 3-4 times than it was before. I wish I never got that surgery or went to a different Orthopedic who would have opted for a repair instead of remove approach. I will most likely need a full meniscus transplant thanks to that very soon which comes with a year of recovery time. If you also have meniscus problems, don't go to Dr. Millstein.

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Eric S. Millstein, MD

I have tried for over a month to just book an appointment. At first I was told that my primary care doctor had not sent a referral, after having the referral re-sent I was told that I did not need a referral but that the office workers needed to check my ppo information. I received a call back message saying that,yes my insurance was okay but there were questions. I tried several times to call back and was either put on hold for over twenty minutes at a time or received a busy signal. When I finally did get through I was told that no one knew what the questions might be and I would be called back. No return call yet. Here's the deal. I am in pain, I need an Ortho Doctor. I guess I have to go somewhere else.

Christopher Combs, MD

Below is an email I received from the assistant (Tea) for Dr Bae. He does some type of donation fee of 200.00 for his phone consults. I don't mind paying a fee for a phone consult but if I don't want to donate to spinal foundation I shouldn't have to. This is a very strange practice. And just a way to go around the system and get funds when a phone consult isn't billable to insurance. I have had numerous phone consults and have never heard of anything so outrageous. Either charge a fee for a phone consult or don't but don't hide behind a donation fee to get your money. It sounds so dishonest and in fact is dishonest. I am not making a donation, Dr Bae is providing a service and for services rendered a fee is fine but they want you to send a check to the foundation of spinal restoration for a donation. Then they say Dr Bae doesnt get the funds....come on, really? No one believes that....if he didnt get the funds he would not require the supposedly "donation check" VERY ODD. AND VERY DISHONEST. You cant even get a receipt saying it was for a phone consult so you can turn it into insurance or taxes. If I want to donate to a charity with a check for $200 I will but that isn't a donation he is providing a drs consult. Charity is like donating to march of dimes.....so very odd. AND shame on his staff members and billing for being rude and lyars (Tea, Julie, Celeste). Below please find the instructions for scheduling and MRI Review and a PhoneConsult with Dr. Bae Please mail us the following: 1. CD with your latest imaging (MRI, CT etc.) 2. Short medical history, relevant to your spine 3. Check for $200, made out to the Foundation for Spinal Restoration* Please mail the packet to my attention, to the address noted below my signature line. Thank you * All of the proceeds from this review will go to the Foundation for Spinal Restoration. Tea Abshilava The Spine Institute Hello, The phone consults are not covered by Insurance and were donated to the Foundation for Spinal Restoration. Best Tea Abshilava The Spine Institute Center for Spinal Restoration

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Hyun Bae, MD