The workers were very kind but my experience with Dr Ryu was horrible. My gp doctor recommended hom for my knee replacement but he decided I had a bad attitude because I was asking questions about the upcoming surgery. I was nervous and scared but his reaction was utter disrespect and said my attitude was bad and he was not doing the surgery. Please note this was the day BEFORE THE PROCEDURE. Dr. Ryu has a GOD complex and NO bedside manner. He treated me like a lowly slave who had no business asking him questions. If you want a compassionate understanding good doctor who treats people with respect and courtesy this IS NOT THE DOCTOR TO SEE. I have worked with some rude uncaring doctors in my ER in the past but he has been the worst. He may come highly recommended but I don't do pompous doctors who treat patients like dogs. I highly suggest people go see another doctor because this one is mean, nasty and rude. I know he might have been having a tough day but to take it out on patients is despicable. read more

My Dx was that I had a slap tear in my left shoulder and a partially torn bicep tendon. it limited me in my ability to do my job well, and especially when it came to my fitness. At the time I was active duty in the military, and the last thing I needed was a chronic injury. weighing my options I chose to have it fixed surgically, after initially being referred to a different off base ortho surgeon, said surgeon referred me to Dr. Ryu. I had an arthroscopic repair done, and I will say I knew the recovery time beforehand and I was well informed as a patient. The surgery was well worth it in my opinion. At the time of writing this it is roughly a month and a half since I was discharged as his patient. I have full mobility, and with a semi intensive training regime my strength is about where it was before the surgery and post op atrophy. Well before I recovered, I was also unfortunately tasked with a physically intensive TDA well outside what I could physically do at the time. I worked within my limits, and was religious with my physical therapy exercises. I was stuck between a rock and a hard place when it came to my new job duties and my recovery. Looking back on it, I did risk further injury by pushing myself before I was physically recovered. When it comes down to it I attribute my outcomes post op to dr. ryus proficiency, and not luck. In all honesty I am many things, but lucky is not one of them. I genuinely do attribute my overall outcome from the surgery to Dr. Ryu's advice post op, and his proficiency as an orthopedic surgeon. I can only speak to my experience as a patient of his, and I am beyond satisfied with the outcome of my surgery. I will also say that as a service yelp caters to people that seek dissatisfaction, or a vector to complain. If I ever had a injury in my other shoulder, I would seek to be his patient again. my outcome speaks for itself. read more

Dr. Richard Ryu, MD gets five stars from me. I went out of my way to request a referral to see Dr. Richard Ryu, MD after witnessing a friends two different shoulder surgeries. I was immediately impressed with the very small (in size) but tightly run and immaculate surgery in Santa Barbara. My friends' surgeries were done by a modern, very-up-to-date, surgeon that is Dr Ryu. Barely a scar, and future health of the joint is excellent. He is a superb surgeon. If you listen to him, follow his suggested rehab routines you will be happy. As for the surgery facility, I believe in the small and the tight. This surgery has a faithful, happy, and low turnover staff, and likely is so much more clean (sterile) than any hospital's hallway of surgeries. The surgery is not only comfortable but staffed by experts who were hired for their fine skills in whichever part of the routine of receiving, preparing, operation and surgical procedure, post -op, and follow up. Office, nursing, and receiving staff at all three (yes three) locations in which you might come in contact with Dr. Ryu are excellent. Hardworking and therefore sometimes too quick, but never neglectful, Dr. Ryu, sees patients pre- operation in either Santa Maria or Santa Barbara. All surgeries happen in Santa Barbara at a separate location not far from the main hospital and other office. He is a surgeon! A high functioning, majorly disciplined man, who is at the top of his game. He can seem abrupt at times, terse, and impatient, but I believe it comes with the territory. Surgeons do many things that I would never want to do. I am thankful for the brave, dexterous, and daring that a surgeon must have to be great. If you come prepared as a patient with questions he will answer them --with trustworthy and concise detail. If you leave and think of a question that you forgot to ask or did not think of during your appointment, just call. Someone in the office or nursing staff will get the answers you need! I will seek Dr. Ryu out if I need another procedure that he specializes in. And BTW, his referrals have been top notch too. Trust Dr. Richard Ryu, MD before or after going to a lower quality surgeon. I have not regretted it and highly recommend Dr. Ryu. read more

If you have an orthopedic problem, especilly related to shoulder or knee surgery, you need to see Dr.Ryu. His repair of my ACL was perfect and allows me to do all sports without limitation. Some see him as having a weak bedside manner. Perhaps, but I found him to be intelligent, concise and anle to explain what he was going to do, and what I needed to do to get the best result. I have sent family and friends to him as well, all with success. read more

Very unpleasant experience. This doctor has the worst bedside manner I have experienced, actually I've never had a doctor talk to me in the fashion this one has. I proceeded with surgery on my rotator cuff with Dr. Ryu as I was directed to him for a workman's comp injury. His demeanor is very unsettling. After the many short visits, no answers to my questions (if I was allowed to ask any) and constant blame towards me for not healing quick enough, I should have walked away from this doctor immediately. The day of surgery he threatened to not operate on me when I got teary eyed because they stabbed me for 15 minutes trying to get my IV in. He came over and said "if you can't handle a simple IV your not ready for surgery and we won't do this today" Excuse you?! If you do not heal quick enough for him he Verbally and mentally abuses you. He forced me to move my arm in my last visit in ways it hadn't been moved yet and I hurt myself worse. I refuse to finish my treatment with this guy. That is the type of treatment I have experienced since day one with this this celebrity doctor. He saves his energy for his celebrity clients and treats others like parasites. Your lucky to get 2 minutes with him. read more

Dr. Ryu is a narcissistic a-hole. If you have major trauma or something that needs obvious surgery he is probably great, but if you have anything more complicated, he is not friendly at all. He basically operates like a surgical factory - get em in - churn em out. He won't spend hardly any time with you explaining things, and he treats you like an idiot. I was out of work for 3 months due to knee troubles, (had a mri that showed a cyst in my knee and oped to not remove it) went back to work for over a year, and was continuing to have trouble so I scheduled an appointment with him just to talk about things. He basically accused me of attempting to scam disability and that "he pays in to the system also" when I wasn't even asking for time off work. He then told me he never wanted to see me in his office again for any reason. I was completely caught off guard by his behavior when all I wanted was an honest consultation. Steer clear of this narcissistic, empty, unempathetic, amoral slime bag. He should have gone into auto repair if he doesn't want to deal in human compassion. read more