BEWARE the mandatory "optional" laser requirement and the $2,200 out of pocket it will cost for cataract surgery. I was given paperwork discussing the differences between the standard approach and laser and how it was a choice. The risks and benefits or both approaches are equivalent - google that with the Assn of Opthalmologists. And that's why medicare doesn't cover laser though they cover cataract surgery. But when it came to the day prior to surgery, Dr. Elander said he only does the laser procedure. He is pleasant although very short on answering questions. His front staff made several mistakes including giving me a sample glaucoma drops instead of artificial tears! No, I don't have glaucoma. Despite my issues, I have no doubt that Dr. Elander is an excellent surgeon and my cataract surgery went perfectly. read more

No one better! He is the best of the best!! Very caring, great attention to detail. A total professional. Office staff very efficient. You could not possibly be in better than hands with Dr. Elander. And personally I find him lovely. read more

Best eye dr on the west coast great quality listens and very competent. Then going to him for over 25 years and wouldn't even consider going to any other EYE DOCTOR. read more

I cannot say enough good things about Dr. Elander and his whole staff! My primary ophthalmologist is actually his partner Dr. Karimi, who I absolutely adore, but she referred me to Dr. Elander when I suddenly developed very severe cataracts (as a side effect of long term cancer medications) and needed surgery--because "Dr. Elander is the best!" :) First of all I so appreciated the fact that Dr. Elander validated my need for this surgery and confirmed the fact that I wasn't crazy, since my eyesight was diminishing by the day, and I'm about 20 years younger than the average cataract patient. Second of all, both he and his staff made the process so seamless. From setting up the surgery with the surgery center to having the eye drop prescriptions delivered (free of charge) to my house, to arranging for the required Covid test pre-surgery...they took care of it all and also sent extremely clear and detailed instructions for pre and post surgery. As for the surgery itself, I have had many surgeries and this was by far my most favorite and best surgery ever (as if you can even say that about surgery in the first place). It can be pretty daunting to know that someone is making incisions in your corneas, but Dr. Elander is SO calm, confident, and amazing at what he does that he took all the anxiety and fear out of the procedure. He explained everything that was going to happen and he and the OR staff at the surgery center were kind and warm and gentle. There was absolutely no pain involved whatsoever, the recovery process was so easy, and the follow-up care was extremely thorough. Dr. Elander called me the night of (both of) my surgeries to see how I was doing and if I had any questions, which I really appreciated. But the best part of all is that Dr. Elander gave me back my eyesight after a year of cloudiness and haze. I can see perfectly again, which is a total relief and something I will never ever take for granted! It's a truly miraculous surgery and while I know some people complain about the higher cost of the laser surgery that is not covered by insurance...for me personally, the cost was far outweighed by the knowledge that a (much) safer procedure would also give me the ability to have clear vision again. And that's worth it's weight in gold. I will be forever grateful to Dr. Elander for his expertise, competence and skill--and to the whole staff for helping to make my cataract surgery such a positive experience. I will happily refer everyone I know to Dr. Elander for cataract surgery! read more

I recently had amazing results from cataract surgeries by Dr.Elander. The procedures were painless and my recovery quick. I want to thank Dr. Leander and his staff for their professionalism, their thoroughness, and their friendliness. read more

I'm a returning customer. When I came for my yearly checkup the receptionist told me that I am late and they cannot see me, despite being 10 minutes ahead of time. They refused to see me no matter how much I asked and only offered to reschedule. I went home thinking that maybe I got the time wrong. Annoying but happens. Alas earlier today I finally received a voicemail that was recorded a few days ago, where the receptionist asked to move my appointment 30 minutes earlier!! You see, they changed my appointment without my permission, left a voicemail to inform me, and when I showed up, they tried to make me doubt my memory instead of apologizing. Bad service, lack of basic decency read more

I am a long time patient of Dr. Troy Elander and I was dumbfounded when I called the office today to make an appointment for my annual exam. I was told he was booked until June of this year. Unfortunately, I noticed I had a floater that I discovered yesterday but since it was not going away, I called back this afternoon and voila! I had a 5PM appointment today. Interesting since I was told he was booked up today. Since my appointment was his penultimate appointment of the day, I was hoping I would get my annual exam taken care of as well but no. I spent $150 for a ten minute visit with Dr. Elander saying he couldn't find the floater but that's because he wasn't in a good enough light to see it in the first place! I think he chose NOT to examine my eyes so I could come back and spend more money. No way baby. read more

First I waited 2 months for an appointment and then I waited one hour in the exam room! But, this is not what disturbed me most! When I entered the office the receptionist tried selling me a test with a new machine I check the back of my eye. I declined and then called a very close friend in Northern California who is an ophthalmologist also. He told me to find another doctor that cared about me more than his bank account. I did!!! read more

When I was 16 and had singles I went to Elander. He ensured that my eyes were safe from that horrendous 2 weeks of my life. Now that my shingles are gone, I still have to go back to him to ensure that it is not disturbing my eye or deteriorating anything within my eye. However, I have gone to his partner, Dr. Shaw who is just as wonderful, warm and brilliant. She has my best interest at heart, and is heeling me fix my eyes (thanks law school, for making me more blind than I already am - negative 7 in both eyes now...and I'm 24) But my contacts feels great, my glasses are more sharp and my eyes are able to breath from the new contacts I was given. My eyes have never felt better! read more

DO NOT LET HIM TALK YOU INTO THE LASER FOR CATARACT SURGERY! ! ! He gave me a big sales pitch - said it was a wonderful technical advance, safer and more accurate than the traditional method and that it could cure astigmatism. The cost would be $1,750 out of pocket in addition to what the insurance would pay. I thought of friends who'd had cataract surgery with the traditional method with excellent results so I said no thanks, but as part of their initial paperwork they took my credit card number and had me sign a release to allow the use of the laser "just in case" I changed my mind. I researched it online and found that the government (NIH) had done an overview of all the research studies done comparing results of laser v. traditional method and found no significant difference between the results. On the day of surgery I was lying on the gurney ready to be wheeled in when Elander suddenly popped into the room saying he'd heard I didn't want the laser and asked why. I told him what I'd found out and he said, "Oh, I wouldn't want you to not use the laser just because of something you read on the internet." Well, there I was on the gurney, nervous, scared about the surgery, at my most vulnerable, and you want to believe and trust the guy who's about to slice your eye open, right? So I said okay to the laser. I was awake during the procedure and could feel when they attached my eye to the laser. Something clamped down hard on my eye and then there was a sudden painful suction, LIKE MY EYEBALL WAS BEING SUCKED OUT OF ITS SOCKET. I screamed. Someone said, "it's all right". The whole thing took less than a minute. I found out later that as soon as the procedure was over Elander's $1,000 "FEE" was charged to my credit card and dropped automatically into his pocket. I shouldn't have had any pain after the surgery but during the days that followed my eye hurt so much I had to keep it closed most of the time, and by my post-op appointment ten days later it wasn't any better. Elander said it was "dry" and SOLD me some tears to use four times a day and said to come back in a month. When I told my primary care doctor about this he told me to go immediately to the UCLA Jules Stein urgent care eye clinic. The UCLA doctor said the surface of my eye looked like IT HAD BEEN RUBBED WITH SANDPAPER. Her diagnosis was keratitis. She told me to use tears as often as I wanted - 4 times an hour if needed - and to use gel twice a day and before bed and to apply warm compresses for pain. She referred me to another UCLA doctor for ongoing care. On the day Elander had examined my eye I'd asked him if I had any macular degeneration. He'd said, "tjat isn't important now". My new doctor told me that I have macular degeneration without my having asked her. She had me tested and found enough of a problem to refer me to a retina specialist. I asked Elander to refund the money I'd given him for the laser. He agreed to refund his "fee" - $1,000. The surgery center also refunded their $750. It is now seven months after surgery. I still have astigmatism, my eye is super light sensitive, and I still have to use the tears and gel. read more

The Elander Eye Medical Group is excellent. I've consulted them following two blunt eye injuries (including getting hit with an egg in my eye - and it wasn't Halloween!) - and found them to be highly skilled - both with the medical arts and patient interactions - and responsive, even after hours. I highly recommend the Elanders for your ophthalmologic needs. read more

I called to make an apt for Dr. Elander and just like Liz (below) I was blown away that he was booked till December.Had some really bad experiences in the past and this place has been the best so far. Since I was not able to see Dr. Elander I saw a new person that they had in the office her name was Arti S...something. She was FANTASTIC!!!! She was able to explain things to me like no other doctor has been able to. The only reason I didn't give this office a 5 star review is because the office managers ( front desk girls) were so unorganized and were a complete mess and they had this frantic vibe around them, I cannot explain it, I just wanted to get back behind the desk and help them. read more

Dr. Elander performed cataract surgery for me. The pre-op evaluation was straight-forward and he clearly explained what was going to happen before and after surgery. The surgery was painless, easy and quick. The recovery was remarkably easy and painless and he was very reassuring during multiple post-op visits. I highly recommend him. read more

I have been a patient of Elander Eye Care for about 12 years. I see Dr Troy occasionally but I usually see the optometrist Dr Shah, as she is the contact lens specialist. Dr Shah is very thorough and professional. She is patient and is willing to keep working on the prescription until it is just right. I like the fact that she has me test new lenses for about a week before we decide if they are the right ones. Since I spend over $1,000 per year on contacts this is important because I would not want to order for the year and not have the prescription just right. My husband only sees Dr Troy Elander. Dr Troy performed his lasik which was a success. Dr Troy is caring and attentive. He is very calm and a true professional. We highly recommend! read more

So many mistakes were made. The office manager quit and forgot to schedule and confirm my cataract surgery. Unbeknownst to me, the surgery time was changed. I was advised of the change the day before the procedure. On the day of the procedure, Elander yelled at me to keep my eye still so he could complete the surgery. I thought I was keeping my eye still. I ran out of medication and called his office for a refill prescription. It took 2 days for the front desk to call the phArmacy. Andthey failed to follow the recorded phone instructions, which further delayed receiving the medication. At all of my follow up appointments I told Elander I was experiencing a shadow in the eye that had surgery. He was unconcerned and promised it would go away. Two months later, it had not gone away. I went to a new doctor who corrected the problem. I also discovered I should have been given a choice between two surgical procedures prior to the surgery. This was a big surprise. I had never been advised of the two types of cataract removal surgery. Run, don't walk, away from this doctor and his staff. read more

I have had problems with the office not Dr Elander. Now Dr Elander has hired out most procedures that are not surgery. I needed contacts. I worked for three months trying differnt contacts-and none of them allowed me to see properly. Waist of time- waist of money! I payed for an complete eye exam- ( done by another assistant) and after paying to have this prescription put in new glasses - I can't read with them- I end up pulling them off and putting on my costco readers ! I I tell the office I can't see with this RX they tell me I should see the eye glass store salesperson. Instead of taking responsibloity-Then another appoinment to see the gal outside the office who sells glasses- and she said : "oh yes the prescription should be stronger for you to read-" so back to the office and get another appoinment. I have to wait a month -with glasses I can't read with - to see Dr Elander- to see if he can deal with this. I called the office today and wanted to have the doctor call me back...and the receptionist ( Danielle ) won't take a message, but puts through to a machine that starts telling me the location and hours bla bla bla- then enter the first few letter of the person you want o leave a message- ARE YOU Kidd????ing me. who is running the store? read more

I've gone to Dr. Elander for about 7 years now and appreciate his professionalism and expertise. What I really like is how another eye doctor told me I needed cataract surgery 7 years ago and, so far, Dr. Troy's allowed me to wait, he feels it's not time yet, and I very much appreciate that conservatism. And, when I do have it, it'll certainly be done by Dr. Troy! read more

My family and I have been patients of Dr. Elander for many years, dating back to the time his father was still in practice with him. Dr. Elander has provided outstanding care to all of us (as well as to my mother in law) and the combination of expert skill and a truly compassionate and helpful bedside manner has been very helpful and comforting to us. For those in the westside (Santa Monica-Brentwood-Palisades) area, his location on 26th Street is extremely convenient. Dr. Elander is always available if there's an emergency, such as a sports injury to the eye, or something like that. read more

My first cataract surgery was so successful that I went back for the other eye. Dr.Troy Elander is caring, attentive, knowledgable and very skillful. He patiently answered all my questions and provided written information to follow pre-op and post-op. It is obvious that he is very experienced. He has my thanks and recommendation. read more

Dr. Elander is one of the best doctors I have ever encountered. He is amazingly thorough and really seems to care about his patients. He was able to diagnose a problem I was having right away. read more