Dr. Carson depends on freezing off any bump or suspicious skin lesion - everything gets burned off without appropriate analysis. My personal experience was the "removal" of an unsightly mole - 3 office visits and mole remains. Worse, my husband requested a consult for an ear lesion. He has a history of melanoma. The diagnosis was that the current lesion was not cancer - it was frozen "off" - 2 office visits - lesion remained. A second opinion and the diagnosis = cancerous lesion and surgical removal. Additionally, if questioned regarding options or outcomes, the attitude is very condescending, sharp and uninformative. Office staff is rude. We have nothing positive to say about an experience in this office read more

Dr. Carson is the best! My 17-yo son has acne - Dr. Carson discussed the options - Accutane vs. tetracycline-based products - then prescribed the latest and best medications according to our decision. He was also very generous with sample medications. He and his office staff always go the extra yard to work with us to help reduce the prescription price when the insurance won't cover the medication - since it is not *medically* necessary - by providing coupons, samples, etc. We are totally satisfied. read more

I have been a patient of the California Skin Institute over 10 years. Dr. Carson is a practicing physician for this Company and I saw him this past week. The location of this practice on the 2nd floor of a dreary grey building, nor the waiting room is impressive. Get over it.... His skills as a dermatologist are excellent so bear with the unattractive and sometime crowded conditions to receive his attentions. I'll be back 6 months later. Remember, our skin is the largest organ and those of us with skin "conditions" need to be seen regularly by those specialists that can visually recognize and treat quickly. read more

By far the worst service I have ever encountered. If yelp let you give 0 stars I would. My phamacy faxed a refill twice no response. I called they said they would check with Dr. Ball and call me for problems 4 days later after going to the pharmacy I called 3 times I was placed on hold for 10 minutes the first time, hung up on by the rude receptionist the second, on hold for a total of 15 minutes the third time. They finally gave me a refill, gee thanks I will just go to my doctor the next time. I am also looking at who to call for a formal complaint, as this has taken a month to get. I did not know they had so many locations they are like the McDonald's of dermatology I guess. read more

...so as a follow up to my initial review, the treatments were mediocre at best. Will definitely be looking for a different provider when I need to return to the dermatologist, there wasn't anything here that would warrant a reason for a return visit. read more

Doctor Carson's office has recently been graced with the addition of Doctor Katharine Ball, MD, a Stanford trained physician and surgeon who is outstanding in every aspect. She is knowlegable, caring, and everything you would want in a Doctor. I highly recommend her and this office full of a great professional staff. read more

I have used Dr Kent for several years. He always does a good job diagnosing and giving my the the right prescription. I never have to wait too long. He is very fast and efficient in his diagnosis. You need to be prepared to list out all your issues as the appointment goes fast. He is not one for too much chit-chat. I never have had any problems with getting an appointment. His staff has always been friendly to me. read more

I will keep this short. As another reviewer pointed out, Dr. Carson is all business, just like me. Took one look and bam; he made his diagnosis. Prescribed the medication and 10 days later I am as good as new. I live in Mt. View and drive 30 minutes to see him. Well worth it. read more

He is very to the point. He knows what is wrong and wants to fix it fast. Wish he was a little more interactive, but he is clearly very knowledgeable. read more

Hmm, Where to begin? :] Well this is the first time I've visited Dr. Kent and pretty much the first time I've visited a dermatologist as well, I've had some pretty bad acne for too long now and it was time to take some serious action. I can honestly say after being consulted by him I think I'll be going to him for all skin problems, aha. He's very kind and very professional, and like many others have mentioned he is very generous with samples. I went home with lots of creams and face washes. The office staff were all really nice and polite. Being the goof I am I left school early and got to my appointment about an hour early. Oops! But Dr. Kent managed to squeeze me in anyway, lucky me. It;s pretty obvious I'm really happy with the service but I shall update soon, hopefully praising the results next time. :] read more

I have been advised by Dr Carson for many years. He is very knowledgable and efficient. Dr Carson was not available during my last visit so I met with Dr Wheeler. She was very professional and she made me feel very comfortable. She was quite personable but more importantly I found her as knowledgable as Dr Carson. It was a very positive experience. read more

I am truly grateful to Dr.Kent. I have suffered 6 years with a facial rash and had tried everything from adult acne creams to dermatologist prescription. Dr. Kent took 1 look - said it was fungiltis & prescribed a 10 day cream. I am all clear now :) read more

Good doctor, good Front staff, fast service, very reasonable consulting fee.i will recommend him

Dr. Carson has helped me with some issues easily, but recently I've developed a cyst on my face. He has tried to the same treatment twice and then suggested I see a plastic surgeon to remove it. This wouldn't be so bad as suggestion accept for the way he was treating me. (And there was probably more that he could have done.) He treated me as if I was a waste of time and that this wasn't worth his concern. There is a LUMP on my FACE. It hurts and I'm unhappy about it and he's treating me as if I'm a nuisance. Its very upsetting. read more

I had an appointment with Dr. Carson recently and was not that impressed. First, the phone line was constantly busy every time I tried to call and make an appointment. When I finally got through, they explained that the office only had 2 lines which i found odd for such a busy doctor. I waited the 2 week out appt with discomfort hoping this specialist will give me the right treatment for my condition. In the waiting room while waiting for my turn, I couldn't help but to listen to the long personal conversation the elderly lady in the front was having over the phone. Was that the reason why I couldn't get through to make an appointment? In the exam room Dr. Carson was very nice. I felt like he knew quite a bit about my condition and answered my questions. But towards the end of the short visit he seemed a bit rushed from his other appointments waiting. He sent me home with many samples to try first to see if they work before paying a lot for the prescription so that was nice. read more

I wish the other low rating reviews were posted earlier. Early Feb 2010, I drove a long way and took my son to see Dr. Carson for his acne problem based on reviews on the web. We are very disappointed. The wait was short and the front desk was friendly. But it took about only 5 minutes for the appointment total. Dr. Carson came into the room, barely even looked at my son's face, and started to write on his paper and tossed some samples to us. Then he offered the cortisone shots saying it's very effective without explaining to us any side effects. And that was it. He was gone. When I came home and started research on the shots, it was not good. The shots didn't help reduce the acne problem at all, worse, after two months now, it still left several hard and dark spots on my son's face. We did go back for the second time after a month, the appointment was even shorter, about 3 minutes total. Eventually we went to a different doctor and so much nicer. I would definitely advice you to stay away from this doctor for acne treatment read more

didnt see the dr cuz the bad staff couldnt get their crap together. my iphone has an issue were it is deleting my appts. i never receive a reminder from the office. so i called the office to get my appt time. the office left early. i called at 420 which they should be open until 430. then i called first thing in morning the next day was placed on long hold. then called back and kept getting voice mail. when i finalize got a hold of someone it was time for my appt. read more

I was having itchy red rash on my body. I went to Dr Carson and he diagnosed it as a bacterial infection and gave me antibiotics. I took antibiotics for 2 weeks but the rash didn't seem to go away. I called him and he told me to continue with the antibiotic for one more month. He wrote me a 90 day prescription for the antibiotic !! I was shocked and got a little skeptical. I went to some other doctors to take an alternate opinion and all the doctors told me that it can't be a bacterial infection and it's probably insect bites. I stopped taking the antibiotic and started looking for insects in the house. It turned out that I had a flea problem in the house. I don't have pets so I could have never suspected fleas. It turns out that fleas can just take a ride onto you from outdoors and then start breeding in the house ! I got pest control done in my house and don't have this problem anymore. Anyway, Dr Carson never even mentioned the possibility of insect bites and just started with antibiotics right away. Also, when the antibiotic didn't appear to be working, he asked me to continue the antibiotic for months instead of reevaluating his diagnosis. I would expect much better from such an experienced doctor. read more