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Macula & Retina Institute

3.2 (5 reviews)
Open • 8:00 am - 4:00 pm

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Specialty Eye Care Medical Center

Specialty Eye Care Medical Center

1.7(121 reviews)
0.0 mi

Dr. Gutmark is excellent--kind, competent, and thorough. He took the time to explain everything and…read moreanswered my questions thoughtfully. I felt very comfortable with his care. Unfortunately, my experience with two staff members was disappointing. One seemed rushed and did not clearly warn me before touching my eye with a laser, which caused me to flinch. She appeared impatient afterward, and the interaction felt lacking in bedside manner. After my exam, my pupils were dilated. While I had my own sunglasses, I requested the disposable shades typically provided after eye exams for additional protection. The receptionist initially told me I didn't need them and later explained they had run out. It's a shame, because Dr. Gutmark is a very good doctor, but the staff experience detracted from an otherwise positive visit.

Life-Altering Administrative Failure Resulting in Permanent Monocular Vision…read more I am writing this review approximately three years+ after the events of early 2023 to ensure my feedback is entirely objective, rational, and cool-headed. I intentionally waited this long to process my frustration so I could provide a balanced yet unflinching account of how the administrative operations at Specialty EyeCare Medical Center (located on N. Brand Blvd. in Glendale, CA) cost me the permanent vision in my right eye. To provide context, my history with this clinic began a year and a half prior, when I suffered a retinal detachment in my left eye. The care I received then was excellent, and the clinic successfully saved my vision. My primary treating surgeon, Dr. Anna Gabrielian, is a highly skilled professional who performed a total of three solid surgeries on both of my eyes. I am extremely grateful to her for saving my left eye! However...this review is not an indictment of her surgical capabilities, but rather a warning about the systemic administrative failures of the practice. In early 2023, I suffered a retinal detachment in my right eye. A retinal detachment is a universally recognized medical emergency requiring urgent, time-sensitive surgical intervention to prevent permanent blindness. Unfortunately, during the COVID-19 era, the clinic severely overbooked its patient volume. Because of this administrative chaos, the office completely lost track of my file and forgot about me! Despite the urgency of my condition, nearly three weeks passed with zero communication or scheduling from the clinic. I ultimately had to call the office myself just to ask what was happening. By the time I was finally seen, the delay had rendered my retinal detachment irreversible. Following this failure, a secondary male surgeon at the practice (Haroutoun Hovanesian, MD) subtly implied that the inability to fix the eye was my fault -- a deeply unprofessional shifting of blame given that the clinic had entirely neglected my scheduling timeline. Because of this systemic failure, I am now 100% blind in my right eye, forced to live with permanent monocular vision for the rest of my life, beginning in my mid-50s (I am 56 now). This outcome was, in my opinion, entirely preventable and represents borderline medical negligence or malpractice! Note that my blindness is now causing on-going progressive exophoria, which has had significant impact on my career opportunities as an Actor! My face is my business card, so losing full sighht in one eye has chain-reaction effects! I should be irate! What makes this situation unforgivable is the clinic's complete lack of accountability. Over the last three years, I have maintained the utmost courtesy. I never raised my voice, never complained, and never pursued legal action. Despite the clinic receiving substantial financial compensation from me for multiple surgeries and visits, I have never received even a single written apology, a letter of acknowledgment, or any form of compensation for an administrative error that altered my life forever. Clearly, they feared litigation. The staff members at the front desk and in the scheduling offices can also tend to be rude and abrupt. Sadly enough, the above-referenced male surgeon displays very clear signs of chauvinism, and to worsen things, the phone service is often very rude. It also seemed that if you are not of a specific "local cultural ethnicity", you are treated very differently and way more abruptly! Online reviews also clearly seem to confirm that observation! I had 3 years of experience with that medical center (and affiliate local offices), so I am not stating those facts randomly. In summary, if you utilize this clinic, please be aware that profit and overbooking appear to take priority over administrative accuracy and patient safety. The exhausting phone hold wait times are already hard enough to handle (over 1.5 hours wait time, at times!)...your surgical outcome is only as good as your wallet and as good as the office's ability to remember you exist.

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Specialty Eye Care Medical Center
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Chang Stephen S MD

Chang Stephen S MD

3.0(2 reviews)
0.1 mi

Excellent Eye Physician and Surgeon. One of the best in our…read moreCountry. Caring, compassionate, highly skilled, honest, and well trained! I highly recommend him!

Dr. Stephen Chang at Glendale Eye Medical Group was referred by few friends for my mom's PRK…read moresurgery after a failed Lasik surgery that was done by Dr. Kourouyan. He did NOT take any precautions and his procedure had a disastrous outcome. The laser got caught in the old incision and cut layers down in the cornea. He assured us that he will take care of all the costs and medical care for the eye, and he reimbursed half of the charges because of his negligence. My mother was scheduled few visits throughout the next year hoping to see progress while it was healing. After a year passed from the surgery date we had our last visit. He checked the eye and said I'm sorry but your vision has gotten worse and it's not healing. I can't do anything for you. We had to pay out of pocket to see Dr. Maloney, one of the best ophthalmologist in the country. He recommended a cornea transplant. Since then I have requested her medical records from Dr. Chang's office. They gave us copies of the dates that she had gone for visits and not the actual notes from the Dr. Unfortunately since a year has passed so has the statue of limitations period and many attorneys do not take the case and Dr. Chang is not taking any responsibility to care for his patient due to his negligence. My mother's eye is more then 80 percent damaged from this surgery. Her vision is mainly reliant on one eye. Take our experience in consideration and don't risk your vision to negligence.

Macula & Retina Institute - retinaspecialists - Updated May 2026

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