Zero Stars!!! Paul Chen is a LIAR!!! OK, some details. I was made to feel fairly comfortable and all of my questions were answered to my satisfaction so I went ahead with a lasik procedure on my right eye. The most important question for me was "How long is the recovery period?" I was told three days and I asked the question several DOZEN times in many different ways like "When will I see well enough to go back to work?" or "Will the vision be exactly like the simulation?". I am a General Contractor and my vision is exceedingly important especially for the specialty work that I do. Paul Chen told me that he could BOTH adjust my reading and my distance vision with ONE LASIK PROCEDURE!!! This was the first LIE!!! Look it up. I have spoken to over a dozen Surgeons, Opthamologists and even my own Dr. as she is also a board certified Lasik Surgeon. LASIK SURGERY IS A SINGLE POINTED SURGERY!!! You can only adjust near OR far vision. NOT BOTH!!! I go in for the procedure after three months of simulations and questions. I am given a ten mg. Valium 20 minutes before I hear my name called. THREE people rush me to an OR unit and immediately say "Your procedure is in two minutes, sign these five forms QUICKLY because you are next! With no time to read any forms I sign them,. under the influence of a Benzodiazepine! The surgery takes all of a minute. Three days later I can not see anything far but I can read better. I call the office and Paul Chen says come in and we'll see what the problem is. I get there and he tells me, after an examination, that everything looks fine "What's the problem?" I tell him my distance vision is more blurry than before the surgery. He fumbles for a moment and then says, and I quote "This type of surgery can take 18 to 24 months to fully recover from!" I say that LITERALLY EVERYONE, INCLUDING YOU, SAID THAT THERE WAS A THREE DAY RECOVERY PERIOD!!! Now he starts "FAKE TREATING" me for the next 18 months coming up with dozens of possible solutions ALL ON MY DIME!!! The 18 months got him past the statute of limitations and screwed me!!! Again, I am a licensed General Contractor in CA. When something goes wrong on my job who pays for it? That's right ME!!! Not this *sshole he and his assistant all but accused me of lying!!! I now need a $6000.00 ACTUAL surgery on my left eye to be able to perform my job. I need to sell my home in CA and take what equity I can get and move to a cheaper state because I am literally 35% disabled due to my wonderful LASIK PROCEDURE!!! **** YOU VERY MUCH PAUL CHEN!!! read more

Dr. Chen performed a very thorough eye exam. His staff members are very nice. Office is clean & efficient. Eye highly recommend! Thank you.

I am so happy about my PRK surgery. I was going to do it four years ago, but was told by Dr. Paul Chen that I wasn't a candidate for LASIK. I was scared off, but I now know I should have done it earlier. It was so easy, and the recovery from PRK was not hard at all! With all the follow-ups to ensure my great outcome, I feel that I should have been charged more. Dr. Chen's staff (esp Deborah) were so wonderful. As a medical doctor, it is hard to find such professional and caring people. Highly recommend! read more

Dr. Paul Chen is the best! He performed 2 cataract surgeries and PRK surgery on one eye. He is meticulous in his follow up care. Although he is a quiet soft spoken man, he listens and always asks if you have any questions. The office is efficient and friendly. I have only had to wait a very short time twice in the 3 years I've been going there. My husband goes there as well and says that he had the most thorough exam he's ever had. read more

My 22-yr old daughter had sudden loss of peripheral vision in her right eye. You might imagine our alarm. We called a number of optometrists and ophthalmologists in the area. Dr. Chen was the only one who had her come in right away to identify if was something that needed immediate attention (e.g. retinal surgery). She was not an existing patient and he saw her over his lunch break to work her into his schedule. Wow. That's some old old school concern for your patients. We're very impressed with him and his team, and we'll certainly be seeing and recommending him in the future. For the curious: it turned out she was having her first ocular migraine -- it was a considerable relief to have the diagnosis so quickly. read more

Dr. Paul Chen performed cataract surgery on both of my eyes in 2019 with amazing results. Recently, I had to have skin taken off both eyelids as the skin was drooping over my eyes and impeding my vision. It was a short, painless surgery & quick recovery--I can't believe how much better I can see! Dr. Chen is very professional and incredibly competent. His office runs smoothly and I never wait more than 5 minutes. I also applaud his staff--friendly, caring, and knowledgeable. read more

I had a successful PRK surgery by Dr. Paul Chen at North County Laser Eye Associates in October 2012. I went from a full-time glasses wearer to 20/20 vision in both eyes in less than a month. The pain/discomfort was mild and fleeting. I took Dr. Chen's advice to operate on one eye at a time, one week apart, and that allowed me to not miss any work through the process. Dr. Chen was professional, and it was obvious to me that he holds high standards for his staff. The staff members were attentive to all my needs, shared their own experiences with similar surgeries, and related to me personally. Importantly, the post-surgery protocol involves multiple follow-up appointments, and this made me feel well-cared for (even though I'd already paid my $$!). I would recommend North County Laser Eye Associates to anyone with eye care needs. read more

After wearing contacts for 20 years I had LASIK eye correction surgery 3 weeks ago with Dr. Chen and staff and my vision is now 20/15! Dr. Chen, Michael, and Deborah were so professional and made me feel very prepared and comfortable. You will be the only patient having eye surgery that day, and their focus will be entirely on your eyes. I recommend Dr. Chen to anyone thinking about laser vision correction! You will not regret it! read more

Excellent Experience!!! After finally making the decision to have vision correction surgery I was still a bit apprehensive. I was referred to Dr. Chen and went in for the consultation. At that meeting I learned about my options, the facility and Dr. Chen's work. All of my questions were answered. Soon after I trusted that this was the place for me. I am extremely happy with the results, the care I received, the expertise, professionalism and kindness of everyone on staff. First Class! read more

They are so attentive and responsive! The staff is friendly and every question I have is answered. They care and they are quality!!!! Can't beat that, especially for health care concerns. read more

Dr Chen performed cataract surgery on both my eyes in November and December of 2017. I opted for the deluxe cataract procedure with the crystalens so hopefully I would not have to wear glasses any longer. I am happy to say that I now have 20 20 vision in both eyes post surgery. Dr Chen and his office staff educated me along the way and were very informative and supportive. I couldn't be happier with my vision and no longer need to wear glasses. I would highly recommend Dr Chen and North County Laser Eye Associates!!! Paul G read more

Although I live in Orange County and Dr. Paul Chen is in Carlsbad, I feel so lucky that my primary doctor referred me to him when I had a partial retina detachment. I was so pleased with my treatment and experience in the repair that I stayed with him as an ongoing patient. Just recently, I had cataract surgery in both eyes and I cannot tell you how happy I am with the results but more importantly the care both from him and his office staff. If you research him, he was at the top of his class at Princeton and Harvard for both undergrad and med school and also is a published scholar. I highly recommend Dr. Chen as a true specialist and professional. I currently work in the healthcare industry and am familiar with quality of care. read more

I feel from my own experience that Dr. Chen is a fine and capable opthamalogist. What is particularly impressive is his efficient and well managed office staff, which I find rare in almost any medical office today. And, I have personally never had to wait more than 10 or 15 minutes to be seen. read more

I had medium sized cataracts on both eyes. Both he and his staff explained the surgical procedure and told me about all the additional options--the laser for the incision, the high tech lens placement measurement, as well as the lens upgrade. After asking a lot of questions and receiving very honest and direct answers from both the staff and Dr. Chen, I opted to just go with the standard lens replacement. The surgeries, the followup, and the results were all outstanding. The surgeries went flawlessly. With the first surgery, I chose to take the day off of work. For the 2nd surgery, I booked the earliest surgery and then worked from home for the rest of the day. I had zero discomfort or side effects other than needing to up the font size on my computer screen for the day of surgery. In fact, I went to a company formal occasion that evening. I skipped the wine, but was able to participate in everything else without wearing the wrap around shades on my eyes or feeling any discomfort. The results were outstanding. One eye is 20-20 and the other eye is 20-40. The thought of even having cataracts was very upsetting. The thought that they were already medium sized was even worse. But Dr, Chen and his staff were thorough in their exams, thoughtful in how they they treated me, and never pushed any kind of upsell for the lenses or the procedures . They answered all questions honestly and directly. They also did not push me to have my reading glass prescription filled by them. I went to Costco and had it done. I highly recommend Dr. Chen and his staff if you need cataract surgery. They take the time to answer all questions and explain what was happening. Eaoh time I saw Dr. Chen, he stayed until EVERY question was answered. . read more

I needed eye surgery back in January 2015 and the operation went very well. Dr. Chen performed surgery to remove and extra lid that was impeding my vision. All went very well. I would highly recommend Dr. Chen for his skill and professionalism. Charlie C read more

I contemplated LASIK for over ten years. This last box of contacts, I told myself, would be my last. The doctor and Michael explained everything that was going to happen with the pre-procedure, during the procedure, and post procedure...then explained it again. I was a little concerned because, after all, I only have two eyes and can't afford to loose them! They were very understanding of my concern and walked me through all the way. Very great experience, fives stars all the way. Chris read more

Dr. Chen is professional, courteous, and knowledgeable. I wouldn't have chosen anyone else to perform my eye surgery!

Dr. Paul Chen convinced me to have PRK surgery, I was left with a sagging eyelid, blurry vision and one infection after another. It has now been 1 year since the surgery and it has been nothing but a pain, the money I have spent trying to get this eye back to normal and healthy is crazy. I asked Dr. Chen for a refund of my hard earned money that did nothing to help my eye, he responded by ignoring my request. Read the filtered reviews, re-think going to Dr. Chen, you will regret it. read more

Not very impressed with the work ethic or follow up here. The doctor has big name degrees from Harvard and Princeton but so what? He spent 5 minutes with me after I had waited 45 minutes and then seemed to lose interest and went to his next patient. I asked what was going on and they said Dr. Chen didn't think I had a vision problem (but I do). Now I am getting bills in the mail, not sure what for since he didn't help me or do anything. read more

I had cataract surgery with Dr. Chen. He went through all the lens choices very thoroughly. I have a lazy eye and had always work thick glasses and then strong contacts. I felt confident with my choice of lens going into surgery. The surgery was a breeze and I am forever thankful for my eye sight. I DO Not wear any glasses at all! I did choose a special lens so I would not have reading glasses. I was happy to pay the extra $ for them. Dr. Chen is thorough, caring and an expert in his field. My eyes are precious and I felt confident going into surgery with Dr. Chen. Besides being grateful for my wonderful sight, Dr. Chen and his staff are just plain nice. It just doesn't get any better!! read more

56 yr old male...Dr. Chen performed Lasik 2 weeks ago and all is GREAT! Can't believe I waited this long! From initial consultation to final post-op check, the attention given by Dr. Chen and his staff was top drawer! I've been going to Drs. Chen for many years for basic eye care---contacts, check ups, etc---and I'm completely happy with the way they've cared for me over the years and before/during/after my Lasik procedure! read more

I have been seeing both Dr. Paul Chen and Dr. Oliver Chen for the past 10 years. Dr. Paul Chen has preformed YAG, glaucoma and eyelid surgery on me. I am now able to see better and don't need eye drops for the glaucoma anymore. I have nothing but the utmost trust in every surgery that Dr. Chen has preformed and I appreciate how helpful and friendly his staff is. I have, and would, highly recommend both Dr. Paul Chen and Dr. Oliver Chen. read more

I had a great experience with Dr. Chen and all of his staff. Everyone is very professional, appointments were kept on time, and the facilities are state-of-the-art. I highly recommend Dr. Chen for LASIK! read more

I had glaucoma laser surgery done on my right eye and cataract surgery on both eyes. I am very pleased with the professional results and the follow up care I received,Doctor Chen is friendly and asks if you have any questions for him. His staff Is professional and friendly. I would recommend Dr. Chen to family and friends. read more

Dr. Chen is very professional and matter of fact. The staff is helpful and get you in and out quickly. Short wait times and excellent after care. The whole lasik process was very easy and quick. Would go back without a doubt. read more

I really like Dr.Chen he is the best and so caring. I wouldn't go anywhere else. I hope my Insurance plan always keeps him as a provider. He did my lens implants and whenever I call his office the staff is awesome. They will work around my schedule and that is rare to find. They are also friendly and so efficient. read more

Yikes! I was facing compulsory eye surgery to remove a growth and it was suggested I forgo anesthesia --other than drops that numb the eye. As frightening as the idea of being awake was the benefits just made sense. Dr. Chen's office staff is knowledgeable and accommodating, especially Michael, one of his choicest assistants, really put this procedure in *perspective as he calmly and confidently gave me some examples setting me at ease and the surgical appointment booker, Katie, a really sweet caring young lady, is very helpful and patiently answered all my questions. (*I had to wait a year for the surgery because Dr. Chen needed to see if there was growth. Michael's kind words and the generosity of his time made the wait bearable. Also, this allowed me to only see myself as well; instead, of concentrating on a negative outcome, which, in my philosophies, could create unwanted growth.) Regarding the eye surgery: My biggest fear was moving accidently and having my eyeball gutted causing blindness. I am writing to assure you that is not even a possibility when in the skilled hands of Dr. Paul Chen and his top notch staff at the Center for Surgery of Encinitas. Before going on, I must make it clear how extremely frightened I was and I am not a squeamish person and I do have a high pain tolerance. That said, this was my eye! Please believe me, this experience could not have been more positive from the minute I entered the facility to when I left and the staff was highly professional. I lost count of how many times the nurses asked to confirm which eye the surgery was being performed on even though there was a large mark and a red dot above the eye; clearly, they did not want to risk the possibility of operating on the wrong eye. I was also impressed with the way the staff worked as a team supporting one another: so everything flowed seamlessly. The positive energy was palpable and this is enormously important when you are the patient frightened out of your wits. Dr. Chen is highly regarded and without a doubt lived up to his reputation. Since I was awake and only when Chen's hands were not touching me, I asked him some questions and he said the operation was over and there were no surprises. THE OPERATION WAS OVER? I could hardly believe my ears. I was on the other side of this ordeal I had been dreading for so long and now I was marinating in gratitude and joy. My imagination was much worse than anything I experienced and there was zero pain. The most uncomfortable part of the whole procedure was during post-op when I had to keep a medicated contact in my eye for 2 weeks that acts like a band aid. It felt as though there was something in my eye, which of course there was. Truthfully, this is a small price to pay and of course you are given drops that sooth the discomfort and most of the time it completely eliminated any issues. I hope this testimonial eradicates any reservations you might have. I only wish, I had known someone or read a testimonial prior to my eye surgery that shared what I just did. Blessings, Rev. Vera Lauren aka Rev. Vera Niestemski read more

Dr. Paul Chen at North County Laser Eye Associates operated on my eye and left me with permanent double vision, and a cataract. I feel he was misleading in his explanation of his surgical procedures, and he did a horrible job on my eye. It felt like he had worked on it with a pitchfork! Other surgeons have since repaired some of the damage he did, but have been unable to fix the double vision that Dr. Chen caused. Having DR. CHEN as my eye surgeon was the WORST DECISION OF MY LIFE, and I will be paying for it until the day I die! Speaking of cost, I have had to pay out over $20,000 of my own money in deductibles and coinsurance to the specialist surgeons who have tried to get my vision back to normal. Not only has Dr. Chen messed up my life, it has cost me a fortune. For your sake.... take advantage of my situation. BEWARE OF DR. CHEN!! Go to a doctor at a medical center, or hospital.... not at the mall, where Dr. Chen works. The other surgical specialist were so much better surgeons than Dr. Chen. Don't let Dr. Chen's educational credentials impress you. In my opinion, Dr. Chen is VERY DANGEROUS to anyone he operates on. Don't make the same mistake I did. read more

Dr. Paul Chen operated on my eye and left me with double vision and a sagging eyelid. Other surgeons have tried to fix these problems, but only with limited success. I would strongly suggest that if you are considering have an operation on your eyes, that you go to a medical center or hospital to find your surgeon. Dr. Paul Chen is way too impressed with himself, and really isn't a very good surgeon. read more

Dr Chen performed cataract surgery. He convinced me to pay an extra $3000. for a special procedure--after failed, he claimed he could fix the problem---more money-after that failed--he wanted to sell eye glasses. I gave up and requested my records--he then wanted more money to release my own medical records to me--I WOULD NOT SUGGEST THAT ANYONE OF MY FRIENDS OR RELATIVES SHOULD EVER GO TO HIM. read more