My sister has been going to this doctor for her eye exams for decades. While I was still active duty Navy and away somewhere on some gray naval vessel, I remember getting letters from my sister and when talking of her (too many) doctor visits each month, she would describe her very pleasant interactions with Ethel, who is his very capable receptionist. My sister would rave about how she would be late for her appointment, and Ethel would still try to get her seen "on time". Now that I have been staying with my sister for the past few years, the appreciation and high praise for Ethel doesn't quit. On a previous appointment my sister had with Dr Cruciger, I finally had the honor and pleasure of meeting Ethel when I accompanied my sister up to the fifth-floor office. The office is roomy with very nice framed lithos decorating the wall. The chairs are NOT the usual chairs one would find in a waiting room for ANY doctor or medical facility (but not really comfortable). They remind me of bus station or airport chairs in which they serve the purpose but aren't made for comfort as one is not expected to remain long. In my little time in the office on different occasions, I have seen Ethel in action and she appears to do and know everything! It's amazing to see her effectively taking phone calls, receiving patients and answering questions to ease the wait period. What would Dr Cruciger do without her? She probably does about six separate jobs! I really wish all receptionists were as pleasing, knowledgeable and efficient as she. What I really enjoy seeing - and it reminds me much of Andalucia (SW Spain where I live) - are the many patients who walk in just to talk to Ethel, who must seem an angel to them as I seem to believe also. When I finally move from SF and return to Spain, I know I'll miss a lot of my hometown, and the memory of seeing Ethel at work will be among my few fond memories. Thank YOU Ethel; I don't know what my sister would do without you. You have truly been a friend to my sister for many decades, and it was great to finally meet The Ethel she speaks of and describes in such loving details. Oh, since I am NOT a patient of Dr Cruciger, the high and generous appropriation of stars and this review is solely of Ethel, who deserves such praise and more, but she must settle with this simple review only, to show my deep appreciation for what/who she is and has done over so many years for my sister. I only hope Dr Cruciger realizes the fantastic and irreplaceable office manager/receptionist he has and is giving her all that she deserves and more. Anyone with such talents as Ethel possesses, in any office, is priceless - one so loyal, intelligent, multi-tasking and efficient is NOT easy to find these days. She is a diamond among rocks. Ethel would be sought-after by many. read more

Excellent care!great bedside manner! He is the best doctor. Saved my sight! I have been seeing him over ten years. The greatest!!!!

What a wonderful doctor! He is caring and thorough. He took the time to explain to me everything he was doing and the results of what he was seeing concerning my eye exam. I was totally blown away with his kind and gentle manner. An absolutely wonderful experience with a wonderful doctor!! We need more caring professionals like him. Thank you so much Dr. Cruciger! read more

I went to see Dr Cruciger recently, for a routine eye exam - explaining to him some troublesome symptoms of eye "veiling" I had been having for some time. As part of his exam, he listened to my carotid artery with his stethoscope and immediately raised a red flag of a very potential and serious arterial blockage. One thing led to another, ending after only 3 weeks with arterial surgery to open up the artery. I must say that without Dr Cruciger's sense of urgency for me to follow up on his findings, I could have soon fallen victim to a stroke caused by the arterial blockage and/or potential embolism. I cannot say enough about his calm, soft-spoken demeanor, his medical experience and expertise in dealing with my situation. Thanks Dr. Cruciger! read more

I have been a patient of Dr. Cruciger's for over 14 years. This last year I had an infection in my eye. Dr. Cruciger was patient and assertive in my treatment. I am always worried about taking antibiotics and worried of course about my vision. Dr. Cruciger helped me through, communicated and drained my infection so that I am now infection free. What I most like about Dr. Cruciger is that he doesn't just jump to conclusions but spends the time to think things through strategically so that he makes the right decision. I've had many doctors and am over 65 and Dr. Cruciger is one of the best. read more

When I had some visual disturbances, I looked for an ophthalmologist on Yelp. A doctor with good reviews was unavailable for an immediate appointment, so she recommended Dr. Cruciger and a couple of others. I was able to get an appointment the next day, which was a good thing, because I was diagnosed with a vitreous detachment, and it's crucial to make sure it doesn't precede a detached retina. Dr. Cruciger was caring, gentle, and informative. (He's also a very cute older man who wears a bowtie.) He did a thorough exam, made the diagnosis, but was concerned with a couple of things in his findings. He said he wanted to send me to a retinal specialist, the same day, to rule out the possibility of a detached retina. When I asked him if he knew how much the specialist would charge (because I pay out of pocket and have a huge deductible) he said he would not charge me for his services. I absolutely refused his generosity and insisted he charge me. He said I could bring him a bottle of nice wine instead. I still insisted he charge me, but it has been four weeks, and he hasn't billed my insurance yet. I suppose if he never does, I will surely have to bring him a magnum. I would totally recommend him, not just for his caring nature, but his years of experience and a wonderful manner. read more

My husband had a horse accident awhile ago and broke a few bones around his eye. Dr. Cruciger got us in right away and was incredibly helpful in a time-sensitive situation. His advice very possibly saved my husband's eyesight and we are forever grateful to him. He is an immensely talented doctor. Also when dealing with one's eyes, his gentle, calm, wise manner is such a gift. We are very grateful for his professional help and lovely manner. read more

I've been putting off writing this review for several years, because I personally like Dr. Cruciger so much, but as I sit here with yet another bout of truly excruciating post-herpetic neuralgia, legally blind in one eye, I feel I need to share my experience. Several years ago I developed shingles in my eye. Granted, it was not a classic presentation in that I didn't have sores all over half my face. I had just a sore at the root of my nose, and another on my eyelid. Quite painful though. Dr. Cruciger kindly got me in the same day I called, a Wednesday, which I appreciated. He diagnosed a bacterial stye and gave me antibiotic eye ointment. He did not check my eye pressure. I expressed concern about the pain and also concern that my vision was very poor in that eye, but he did not seem concerned. Two days later my vision had worsened to the point that I could barely see out of the eye. By then it was Friday and Dr. Cruciger was not in the office, so I went to see his on-call doc, Dr. Hirabayashi. He checked the pressure in my eye and found it dangerously elevated to 44, and immediately gave me medication to reduce the pressure. I asked repeatedly what could possibly be causing such elevated pressure and he said it was "idiopathic," meaning no known cause. I also complained of the sores and of the significant pain in my eye, around my eye and eyebrow, at my temple and in my cheekbone. He said I was just sore from the pressure having been elevated and told me to follow up with Dr. Cruciger Monday. The next day the pain was even worse, so I returned to Dr. H. I expressed concern that there might be some underlying cause of the elevated pressure that might be overlooked, and if so I did not want to wait until Monday to treat the underlying cause. He did a thorough examination and said there was nothing else to diagnose. My vision was extremely poor in the eye. I again complained of the severe pain, which was like an icepick in my head. I saw Dr. Cruciger Monday and Tuesday, expressing great distress and concern. He told me he wanted me to see a uveitis specialist but could not get me in with one until a week later. He was kind and caring, but still did not make the correct diagnosis nor get me on the correct medications. Finally on Wednesday, a week after I first came in, after having been scouring the internet for information, I said I thought this could have been shingles in the eye: the sores, the elevated pressure, and the extreme pain all pointed that direction. I asked for antiviral medication, which he then prescribed at my request. It turned out of course to be shingles, and a very very bad case of it. I am now legally blind in that eye, and have flare ups of excruciating pain regularly, at least monthly. My entire life and career is affected, as I never know when I am going to be bedridden with nerve pain that is 10/10 in severity, so I am reluctant to take on professional responsibilities. I am incredibly grieved to have had my life altered in this way. Had this been diagnosed early and I started antiviral medications promptly instead of being delayed, I might have had a much better outcome, including being free of this horrible nerve pain that tortures me regularly. I appreciate Dr. Cruciger for his kind bedside manner, but he completely missed the correct diagnosis in my case, and also failed to perform an eye pressure check which would have been one clue. And I have paid dearly. read more

The nicest man you'd ever meet! From his bright bow tie, to his gentle demeanor, he is a class act. You feel you stepped back in time in his office. He is old school and knows his stuff. Ok so I have astigmatism and need trifocals! He is the best at his profession and all the awards on the walls show it. He doesn't boost. He is highly professional, humble and a remarkable doctor, and the real deal. read more

My mother referred me to Dr. Cruciger when I expressed my doubts about seeing the eye doctors under my insurance at Kaiser. I've been looking into lasik for my eyes but due to a number of health issues I have, I needed a reliable and trustworthy opinion. Dr. Cruciger has to be one of the most pleasant and kind hearted doctors I have ever come across! He referred me to his top 3 lasik doctors for further assistance and reassured me of their reputability and knowledge in the field. I was extremely happy to get a real eye exam from someone who knows what they are talking about and could take a closer look at my eyes and give me a real opinion. I'm glad that I came here and will be back when I need a new prescription or checkup, I look forward to seeing Dr. Cruciger again for his assistance and knowledge as well as the receptionist Ethel who is such a sweet and kind lady. read more

Dr. Cruciger has been my personal Opthalmologist since I was 10, I'm 45 now and he's still the same wonderful gentleman scholar Doctor/Professor after all these years and keeping my now less than perfect vision as good as can be. I completely trust this man with, well, my sight what more can I say nice office staff as well would never compromise on this and you shouldn't either read more

He doesn't say much but he's gentle and knows what he's talking about. I happen be in an elevator with another patient of his and she was practically singing his praises. "He can look into your eyes and forsee any diseases that you have", she told me. read more

I had blurry and distorted vision where my optometrist said I might have astigmatism but Dr Cruciger saw me and immediately suggested I go to a retina specialist, thinking it might be something worse. He called in west coast retina and asked Dr Jumper to squeeze me in as an emegecy patient. They found abnormal blood vessels growing in my retina causing the distortion. I am so grateful to Dr Cruciger for his kindness, truly caring and quick action. Saving me from permanently damaging my vision!! Thank you!! I would 100% recommend him. read more

If I can have the authority to displine him, it would be good for other patients, this laughable event happened to me more than a half year ago. After he examined my eye, he told me that I must go to Retina West to have sugery done for my left eye retina tear next day early morning. I said, "this has not been approved by Brown and Toland." he said, " He said, "I treat your case as emergency, you don't have to have the approve from Brown and Toland." I knew better than He thought of me. I knew that I didn't have any symptoms of Retina Tear, like eye pain, flashing light, part of my vision gone and headache. I don't need emergency treatment and I don't want to end up pay everything myself needlessly. Then I said, "tomorrow, I have to go to fly to China to visit my mother who is seriously ill in hospital." Dr. Cruciger told me, "don't go, your left eye Retina has tear already, might be blind, if you go to China." Next morning, I called Brown and Toland. the person on the other side of the phone and I both laughed after I share my story with her. She said to me, "this case must get our permition, there is no such thing treating this case as emergency without our approve, otherwise, you have to pay everything out of your own pocket." Then that morning, I went to China town the eye glasses store accross from Police station to check my Retina. Wow, that doctor has much more advanced equipment than CPMC, can you belive it???, she could take whole picture of Retinas of my both eyes. then I told her what Dr. Marc Crucinger urged me to do. She calmly firmly told me, "your Retina is fine, no problem, you can go to China." I asked her to send my Retina photos through email. All of these, How much I had to pay? $20. For Dr. Marc Crucinger, how much my HMO had to pay him, around $ 500 for just one eye examination. Later on, I checked my Retina again in Shanghai, China twice. I got firm conclusion: they are fine, no problem. In April, this year, I went to Check my Retina again in CPMC with different eye doctor got answer: "they are in GOOD shape." how do I know my hmo got charged for over $512 for as same eye examination as I got in China town, where I was charged for $ 20 with more advanced equipment, which can take photos for my Retina? my HMO policy to pay eye doctors $5 copay, but CPMC send me a bill for $10 with detailed total charges. Why lies and scams are more expensive? I had my lessons learned. Thank you for reading my post. Hope it helps. you may visit my web site: Taohealthhealing.com read more

I went to see Dr. Cruciger looking to find a new opthamologist he had seen my wife for a home visit while covering for our regular opthamologist during covid. I was impressed with him then and decided to seek him out as my own doctor. Coincidental to my appointment I experienced a brief episode of "tunnel vision." When I relayed this to Dr. Cruciger, he became seriously concerned that I may have had a TIA (transient ischemic attack), a minor stroke. To make a long story short he mobilized my medical providers ,which resulted in a complete workup of my cardiovascular health. As it turned out I had been having episodes of Atrial Fibrilation, that can lead to TIA's and even more serious types of strokes. Since then I have had a cardiac ablation and my Atrial Firbrilation has resolved, Dr. Cruciger was invaluable in assessing and bringing attention to a serious health condition and following through to make sure that I got the appropriate treatment. In addition he is a compassionate and considerate physician who relates to his patients as people with real life issues. I just followed up with him for my annual exam and wanted to express my thoughts and gratitude for his excellent care. read more

I have been seeing Dr. Cruciger for about 10 years. I used to work at California Pacific and was told by many of the doctors and nurses there that he was one of the best opthalmologists and who they would chose to see if they needed one. So when I woke up one day with a very bad case of conjunctivitis, I called his office. His assistant asked me if I could come in right away, even though I had never even been there before. I live a few blocks from the office so within 20 minutes I was being seen by him. He is so nice and calm and reassuring. I go to see him every one to two years for a complete eye exam since I am extremely myopic with astigmatisms, floaters, and have a family history of macular degeneration. He is very gentle during the eye exam and if I ever needed surgery I trust him completely. Highly recommended! read more

Dr. Cruciger has been my ophthalmologist for over 20 years and is highly recommended. He is very bright, experienced, methodical and generous with his time and assistance. When I began seeing him, he spotted a misdiagnosis of my vision that was given by a prior ophthalmologist, which was a God send for me, and led to proper follow-up care from a retinologist. Dr. Cruciger has also seen some of my friends over the years, all of which had great results. In my experience, he is everything you could wish for in a doctor, seriously! read more

I saw Dr. Cruciger on an emergency basis a few years ago (he was the on call doctor while mine was out of town). He showed up at his office in less than 30 minutes on a weekend and was utterly thorough and competent. He helped me out with a really significant infection. I wanted to switch to him immediately, but he said he couldn't take patients from my doctor and sent me to my original doctor for the follow ups. BUT the next time I needed an appointment a few months later, I was sure to go back to Dr. Cruciger. I've been there three times now in maybe 5 years. The office is super quiet and calm. I feel confident he knows his craft, as he was able to fix a prescription problem I'd had with my optometrist in a 30 second glance at my glasses. I feel confident with this provider. read more

I recommend Dr. Cruciger with the highest enthusiasm. I researched ophthalmologists in SF and chose him based on that. He diagnosed conditions that no other highly-regarded ophthalmologist (and that's all I've seen since I was a young child) did. To be fair, the conditions may have developed over time, but I'm just sayin'. I have nothing but good things to say about Dr. Cruciger, and this is from a law student who can complain about ANYTHING and joined yelp to critique a salon with overly expensive haircuts. In fact, it's the first positive yelp review I've written. Just see him, seriously. read more

Dr. Cruciger was one of the most helpful and knowledgeable doctors I have ever come across. I was blown away by his kindness and eagerness to help me. He was also extremely adept and had me out of the office feeling a thousand times better in just fifteen minutes. I strongly recommend him to anyone, for both his compassion and his proficiency!! read more