I have been told by Gilbert that I needed YAG, so I did. Since this Yag surgery didn't get good result for my eye. Now I have floating bodies for several months which causes hindrance on my reading and reading on computer and also cause blurriness. It was much better before of this laser treatment. read more

Everything needs to improve. First, the dr needs to clear off his arrogance and eat some humble pie. In addition to that, that office administration/ system has ti be better organized. They are never clear about all the details in the process. You never receive any written paperwork probably si if a situation does not come thru as told, there is no way to prove it. I felt they mislead you so you make assumptions on your part and again are unaware of actual treatment. They are like a car salesman running you thru to arrange surgery appts fast with vague data about your insurance coverage which is not accurate. It's impossible to contact them to change appointment dates. Some staff you deal with, like scheduling, don't have a phone extension or email. Most dr offices today, big or dnalk, have online portals to provide reports of your visits, what you need to do to prepare first your visut; you can leaves ?s and messages and billing is there as well. Why don't they havevthe $ to spendcon this? No, they claim all this cgarity work they fi just so they can write that off of their taxes worn they don't provide a decent service fur paying clients. I am livid abd recommend going to another dr. read more

I'm writing a review on behalf of my 80 year old mother-in-law, who was utterly flabbergasted by how rude Dr. Gilbert was to her. I believe such behavior was completely uncalled for as my MIL is the most docile, respectful, and compliant patient one could ever be. She is supposed to make a follow up appointment but is extremely reluctant to experience the same kind of obnoxious treatment a second time. Unfortunately, she did not read any reviews before seeing him for the first time. Dr. Gilbert should not remain in the business of seeing patients if he cannot treat them with kindness and compassion. read more

Dr. Gilbert senior is a pompous man who after being an hour late to my appt. gave me no acknowledgement. I was treated as another patient by mistake because I was not verified by my name and birth date. Given a treatment not authorized and when I told Dr. G he said I was lucky I wasn't charged for it. All costs were not disclosed upfront for my surgery. I'm glad I am done with this office and nasty doc. In my opinion, I would NOT recommend other to say keep looking. read more

I owe a debt of gratitude to Michael Gilbert. He saved my life in 2022 when I was diagnosed with uveal Melanoma that was missed by two other eye exams. If it weren't caught in his diligent and studios hands, I would definitely have lost my eyesight and probably my life. He was keen enough to see vision change in one week and even though he saw nothing, referred me to a specialist who could do an ultrasound which is the only way to diagnose this rare and dread disease. Please go see him and never listen to another so called eye specialist who tells you there is nothing and to come back in 6 . Mo! I did and I'm am still here and thriving read more

Writing this on behalf of my mother who has never encountered a worse doctor. Zero stars, really. First, she waited 2 hours just to be seen. She was bounced around from room to room. Appointment was at 11:15 and she wasn't seen until 1:15. No one offered an apology. Reading other reviews it sounds like this is not uncommon practice in this office that they overbook patients and make them wait for hours. Second, he was very rude and condescending. Didn't say hi or bye. Didn't apologize for the wait. When he asked a question and he clearly didn't get the answer he wanted, he impatiently asked again, without clarifying what kind of answer he was looking for, just at a louder volume. He did not smile or give eye contact the entire appointment. Every time my mom asked him a question, he wouldn't look at her and instead talked with the technician in the room that was hastily typing away on a computer. My mom said the entire time she felt so small in his office. Again, looks like others have felt the same way. Third, when he examined my mom's eye, he pushed her eye so long and so hard, it caused immense pain. Either he is not self aware, or he just really doesn't care. Another thing I saw mentioned in a past review. Fourth, they took pictures of my mom's eyes AFTER she had already been seen and Dr. Gilbert had moved on to the next patient. Not before so the doctor can examine and discuss it during that appointment. And when she asked if the doctor will see it, they gave her a wishy washy answer saying if there was anything wrong they'd call but if there was no problem, they wouldn't call. How are we supposed to know the doctor even examined them? Fifth, their office felt like a pharmaceutical company trying to push products. They provided my mom with a brochure that looked like a spa menu with all the fish oil pills, heat masks, and spa-like treatments. It all felt really sales-y. Yet another thing mentioned in reviews. All in all with the ridiculously long wait, the sales-y product pushing, the illogical order of processes, and most importantly the total lack of bedside manner, my mom was completely mortified and left in more pain than when she came in. Reading the past reviews afterwards proves this wasn't a one off kind of appointment, and I wish I had seen them before she went. It seems like Dr. Gilbert and his office have been running this kind of operation for years which is sad that he still has a patient base. If it wasn't obvious enough, my mom highly does NOT recommend! read more

Michael L Gilbert, MD - Their "menu" of products - Ophthalmologists Near Me - Bellevue, Washington

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Normally, I can tolerate an hour waiting for an exam. But unfortunately the interaction with the physician (Dr Gilbert, the owner, not son) was unpleasant, harsh, without compassion, & misogynistic. He only spent a couple minutes in the room. I tried to ask questions for his diagnosis of "dry eyes". I was flabbergasted as he had no answer and as he walked out of the room, he said ask his assistant. Most of my other physicians are male doctors, and they are all compassionate and kind. Absolutely the worst interaction I've had with a doctor. It might be time for him to take some time off or retire. I normally don't like to leave reviews like this, but I don't want other patients to feel railroaded, silenced and disrespected when they visit a physician. read more

Dr Gilbert and his staff gave me excellent care. They all explained the details of my cataract surgery process.

What a HUGE disappointment! I am a Realtor, Stager and color was ans is extremely important to me. When I went to him for cataract surgery, I wasn't SURE if I really needed it quite yet but he said, "You are the perfect candidate for crystal lenses." I had no idea about any of these things except all my friends and family that had cataract surgery just did the regular/basic one paid for by Medicare and did just great! He proposed that this was much better and I would more likely not need glasses afterwards in comparison to the basic one. I SHOULD have asked right then how much MORE these would be but, MY FAULT, I didn't. Because of a very serious injury that took me out of the work place for 5 years, I was in a sort of stress mode because of no income for 5 years (I had been a 6 figure and very successful agent). Silly me as I let this important step just go over my head. It wasn't until the day before surgery or so when his office was preparing me for the operation, that I was told it would be...prepare yourself ...$6,000 ++. I broke down in tears and called my husband to ask him what I should do now as finances were VERY tight. We just didn't have that kind of money. My dear husband always wants the best for me and particularly health-wise. He could hear I was crying and devastated so he said, "Honey, your eyesight is critically important, so we will just put it on a credit card and slowly pay it off. He knew how important my eyesight was and if this was purported to be so much better, he wanted me to have it. Cutting to the chase ... not only did it alter my color perception with certain colors but now I have to wear TRIFOCALS!!!! Not only do I feel he SOLD ME UP, unnecessarily, but he denied I had a difference in color perception and said 'You are just seeing color correctly now." Really? I was the head color technician for Macy's (the Bon) years before. I KNEW COLOR! He had NEVER heard of such a thing but when I left and searched the web for any complications, I found some articles that addressed that issue. I couldn't tell gray from purple, black from navy, etc. He offered me about $2000 in compensation. R U KIDDING? I never accepted it and because of my critical injuries from my previous accident, I was just not emotionally, mentally or physically able to fight it out. This doctor is terrible in more than one way. He was terrible by 'selling me up' and then his cocky attitude and denial that there WAS nothing wrong was HEARTBREAKING. Stay away!! read more

The first visit he was very nice. The second visit he was pompous, ungracious about being wrong, didn't help me with the problem I was scared about. I think the worst bit is that, when I came back for the second visit, explaining that the condition was really hurting (a condition I had never heard of before seeing him and had felt no symptoms of) he snarled at me "you did this to yourself!!" And did nothing. This is the first time I've been moved to leave a truly bad review on Yelp about a business. read more

Dr. Gilbert is the only eye doctor ever allowed to do anything to my eyes, until/unless he retires and sends me to someone of his choosing. I have a somewhat rare and debilitating eye disease called keratoconus, and in late 1998, was declared legally (and functionally) blind. I had to stop driving and couldn't read normal print. Life sucked... how can a technical writer survive if they can't READ? Dr. Gilbert did my first cornea transplant in February of 1999. Within a week of the procedure, I was getting 20/30 vision in that eye without correction. To call it a miracle underestimates the impact on my life. I had my second cornea transplant (the other eye) in May of 2004 and it has also gone well. Now I have 20/20 uncorrected in the first transplant and 20/30 in the second. I can go through life without glasses if I want, though I usually choose to use them at the computer and for reading. I can see my daughter. I can walk and drive and thread a needle and do everything that normal people do that requires vision. Dr. Gilbert very literally gave me my life back. So now that you know he's a miracle worker, let's talk about the nuts and bolts. His office facilities are excellent. They have all of the latest diagnostic and testing equipment. He works hard to make sure that all the staff are well-trained and courteous. His insurance gals do a good job and the in-office opticians are helpful (though I prefer Market Optical because they are even more trendy -- see my review). Sometimes they run late. Try not to get mad about this. Dr. Gilbert does a lot of eye surgery, and if someone has a problem or pain and needs to be seen right away, they are seen that day, and that means that other appointments will run late. I've been the schedule disrupter a few times when some of the stitches in my transplanted corneas have needed to come out, so I try to be patient when it's someone else's turn. The best way to avoid this is to be the first appointment in the morning at 8-something or to be the first appointment after lunch (1 pm). Dr. Gilbert's not just about eye surgery. He's also fantastic for routine eye care. He can seem professional and distant sometimes, but he is very passionate about his work and cares deeply about his patients. read more

Michael L Gilbert, MD - Dr. Gilbert, rated one of Seattle's best doctors - Ophthalmologists Near Me - Bellevue, Washington

Rude , pompous , arrogant . Left this office feeling like I had been slimed. He's probably a good doctor - has all the qualifications and history.. but OMG. read more

I have been having an issue with double vision for most of my life. A co-worker referred me to Northwest Vision. I ended up making an appointment with Dr. Gilbert (the referral was to a different doctor). Dr. Gilbert was great, funny, personable, thorough and knew exactly the issue I was having and for the first time I got a prescription that actually worked for me!! My fiance liked Dr. Gilbert so much that this year he decided to NOT see his previous doctor and make an appointment. Not only did Dr. Gilbert find what no other doctor was able to diagnosis. My fiance couldn't say enough good things about Dr. Gilbert. After the appointment he even called his mom who is looking for a new eye doctor that she needs to come and see Dr. Gilbert. He is the only eye doctor I would want to see and even waited two months longer to be able to see Dr. Gilbert. read more

Skillful is probably unquestionable. People skill is negative. As far as I understand, a good doctor is not only just skill set. He is a big stuck up. He looked in my eyes. He looked into my mom's eye. He looked into my dad's eyes. But, he does not look at none of us as a whole, as a person. He did not care for others worries and feeling about their sickness. There is no time for questions. At times, my mom asked for the same question once. He said, "Did I not mention that to you already." How rude! He just want to jump from room to room to catch up with his schedules. At the surgery days, we have to wait for hours for his present without any explanation. A couple of his staff act like him too. I just want to get in and out as quickly as possible and never see him again. There are many good doctors out there. read more

Arrogent, self centered, and condescending. Went for an eye exam, which he did not even do, one of his staff did, this is what I am paying for? This guy seems to be into pain, pushing on parts of the eye, that caused considerable pain. Same with my wife who also had an appointment following mine. Dr Gilbert and and the team seem to be more interested in pushing Omega 3 fish oil pills than providing quality eye care. Every one I spoke to or came in contact with started selling Omega 3, they all must be on commission or need to sell a quota to keep there jobs. Dr. Gilbert even give me an "over the counter prescription" for the fish oil, signed and dated, wow thats impressive. First Over the Counter I have ever had. Wont be back there are to many good caring Dr's that don't make a living selling fish oil. read more

I'm writing this review on behalf of my 89 year old mother. Like so many other reviews here, I'm here to tell you that Dr. Gilbert is abrasive, conceited, and uncaring. The most recent of her experiences also included a pair of glasses that were refracted completely wrong and are unusable. My mom has unfortunately been a slave to this ghoul for many years, as Dr. Gilbert is the only ophthalmologist her insurance covers in the Bellevue area. But she's going to pay out of pocket and have someone else provide all her future needs, rather than endure another appointment at his office. read more

This is the worst Dr. in Orange. I had a gout attack and needed medication desperately. This guy never called me and his ditzy staff never got my medication. I'm needlessly suffering while these scammers collect bills from my insurance. read more

I had cataracts. I opted for the expensive, $20,000 lens; $10k paid by me and 10k by my insurer. It seems that I talked w/ people other than the doctor about decisions that I should have spoke w/ the Doctor about. I got a Tecnis multi-focal lens in one eye and the "halos" were a little bothersome at night. The billing lady said that I should get the Crystalens in the other eye. Later I did. If I'd gotten them in the opposite order, it might have worked better because the eye must "learn" to adjust the crystalens and it just hasn't. Now I must force myself to read and I've dropped from a book every other week to two books a year. I finally broke down and got some reading glasses. I'm not even sure that they put the right lenses in. The (very) young lady who took the measurements seemed confused by the machine and had to do one measurement several times. On the Surgery side, Dr Gilbert is VERY experienced and VERY safe. You could easily do MUCH worse. read more

Dr. Gilbert was listed as one of Seattle's Top Doctors of 2005 in Seattle Magazine. Dr. Gilbert is a wonderful doctor in my opinion - and his staff if second to NONE!! All of the members on his team are caring individuals who strive to give great customer service and answer all of my questions. I have also been seen by his associate - Dr. Kitamura, who is fantastic as well!! Joanne is the name of the woman who recently helped me over the holidays when I accidently ran out of my "daily contacts" - she kept the lines of communication open with me as she was working on my urgent order! She called to confirm my prescription with me and even paid for the extra costs of express shipping. Instead of receiving my contacts on Dec. 27th like she had originally estimated - she had them shipped express and I had them on December 24th! Just in time! This is a first rate establishment, located right off the NE 8th exit in Bellevue! read more

Last Monday morning I had an apointment with Dr. Gilbert for what I thought was a minor concern in my left eye. My appt. was at 7:30. By 8 he had diagnosed my concern as a detached retina. By 9am he had me in the office of a specialist. By 10 my surgery had been scheduled at Overlake Hospital. Words are not enough to express my thanks to Dr. Gilbert (and his staff) for recognizing my concern as a critical medical condition. Recovery from the surgery was simple. But the gas bubble in my eye will take weeks (or months) to disappear. Dr. Gilbert has quick to determine the problem and jumped into action. THANK YOU. read more

First and last visit. Dr. Gilbert is abrupt, impersonal and ego-oriented. Relates to you as anatomy rather than as a whole person. Does not discuss findings nor does he solicit questions you may have. Has an arrogant attitude and does not focus on the reason for your visit. Visits are short and you are left with a feeling of alienation. Respect for you as a patient and a person are lacking. read more

I had cataract surgery in both eyes. I was told by Dr. Gilbert that I would not need glasses if I purchased the advanced lenses, fantastic! He made that statement twice to me. Now I'm highly frustrated with the results of the surgery. I still need to wear glasses and I now have halos at night and can't even read a newspaper. To me my vision is worse now after the surgery, and I wish I had not done the surgery. I wrote to him expressing my concerns and he never replied. I have been seeing him for about two years, in all that time he has only called my by name once. His staff does most of the work, he come in a give a quick look and then he is on to his next patient. One must be persistent in trying to get him to answer your questions. It time for me to find another eye doctor, who puts his patients first and don't create false expectations. read more

Please don't see this doc. My wife saw him for a basic exam and it went well. While in the exam she mentioned that I had extremely dry eyes. He said to her, "I can cure his dry eyes." This statement unfortunately led me to make an appointment. After 8 visits, each of which i found unpleasant and frustrating, I realized that if he had any strategy at all, it was for me to become a stream of income. Most importantly, he seemed to be suffering from early stages of alzheimers /dementia. He never smiled at me once, barely listened, and was very focused on telling me how things were going to be done. In most appointments he was looking for a new salve or drop to put into my eye. When he began to look through the myriad of pharmaceutical samples on his exam tables, he always had trouble finding the one he needed and more than once made an accusation that one or more of his assistants were stealing his expensive samples. His assistants were quite tolerant of his rants, and all very nice, but he is not in the right frame of mind to be practicing. The last straw for was that after installing one set of plugs in my tear ducts, he told me to come back for another set if the first did not fix the problem. When I returned he refused to give me the additional plugs. He instead wanted me to pay for very expensive treatments with a machine he had just bought that were supposed to fix poor performing tear glands with heat and pressure. I went home and googled this process - it seemed that most reviews indicated that it was useless - and expensive. His other reviews seem to indicate that he was once a great doc. I think his age and health are rapidly catching up to him and he needs to quickly retire. read more

Dr. Gilbert is great but, as someone else mentioned, his office is like a production line... it's true. You get handed off from one person to another to another and in between those hand offs you wait in different small waiting areas. When I was there the staff explained very little to me and just went through the motions of the tests they were doing and then sent me back to one of the waiting areas. Dr. Gilbert was nice, you can tell he knows his stuff, but my visit with him was very rushed and I left with a lot of questions unanswered. When I made a follow up appointment to see him (at his request) the front desk screwed it up and made me an appointment just to see a tech instead... when I got there, saw the tech, and was told I couldnt see Dr. Gilbert I asked about it they didn't apologize they just said he wasn't there that day and it's very hard to make an appointment with him. I was a little shocked at that since I was already an established patient and Dr. Gilbert had requested me to come in to see him for a follow up. Again, I'm not knocking Dr. Gilbert but his office staff kind of sucks and I am sure the techs there are all very knowledgeable but a little more explanation and friendliness goes a long way. Since this is a review of Dr. Gilbert and not his staff/office I am giving him 3 stars but his staff/office would get a much worse rating. read more

Being selected as Top Doctor by the Seattle Magazine is a great thing for Dr. Gilbert, but for the patients it's sometimes a double edge sword. By having such publicity, the demand for Dr. Gilbert's services inevitably goes up and that means the place will need to be able to accommodate the increase in demand. As a result, the place felt like a production line and you're handed off from one person to another in a rather mechanical fashion. I guess this frees up Dr. Gilbert's time so that he see more patient. Just as long as you don't expect a small clinic and close attention, you'll be fine. Dr. Gilbert is really knowledgeable though, no doubts on his abilities as a doctor. I would have given this place a 5 star if it wasn't for all the upselling that takes place. Upsell to do the optomap that no insurance will cover. Upsell to Lasik. These were just some of the stuff I encountered. You can obviously decline on any of these, but they do push hard. read more

I have been seeing Dr. Gilbert almost yearly since the 90's. Though I have not had any serious problems with my eyes, Dr. Gilbert, his high-tech facilities and staff have been competent at checking and tracking my progress. Like other reviewers, I have had problems with extensive wait times. These waits have gotten progressively worse in the past four years or so. This year I probably waited 20-30 minutes in the lobby just to see a 'technician' to have my glasses prescription updated, then another 20 minutes to 'almost' see Dr. Gilbert...I was almost given one of his exam rooms to wait in, but another patient was shuffled in that was supposed to be after me, the helper apologized. I had to wait in another side area the side of a closet (sadly not the first time this has happened) for another 15-20 minutes just to get a coveted exam room. I finally got the exam room. He came in and checked my eyes for about 5-10 minutes and gave me a somewhat insincere sounding "sorry about the wait" with a little smile. My time is money too, and having to spend 2 hours to see the eye doctor when it should be one hour max is unacceptable. I hope Dr. Gilbert and his office gets their act together and stops overbooking patients. I hate to have to find another doctor and have all my records transferred, but I will if this problem keeps happening. Another thing I don't like is that they now print out your prescription on an 8.5x11" piece of paper instead of the handy business card sized prescription you can carry in a wallet. Who wants to carry that around in case of emergency? I just took a picture of it with my phone for now. Just another way to shuffle the patients through the production line I guess... read more

I have been with this clinic for more than 4 years. I used to commute from Issaquah just because they were nice and treated patients with respect. Over time, their service has deteriorated and in the last year, the wait has been atrocious. The staff have real attitude and seem lackadaisical and seem to not care whether you are upset with the wait. Even though i show up on time regularly, it is customary for them to make you wait half hour at least. The receptionists are on the phone typically for 10-15 minutes. So, once they finish with their phone calls, they ask you to wait. After this the wait is anywhere from 15 minutes to half hour if you are lucky. Once I had to wait 45 minutes just to see the contact wear specialist. I didn't even hear an apology. Recently, I was late by about 15 minutes due to heavy traffic. They told me I had to reschedule. That is when i lost it. Folks, i am not overreacting. I am very conservative and don't like to switch doctors, But this time, i had enough, I have found a better rated specialist and I am taking my wife with me as well even though she doesn't fee as strongly as i do, I am not sure what Dr. Gilbert's reputation is but i can't imagine that patients have to put up with them just because they can get away with it, If i could give them a zero star, I would read more

Dr Gilbert is the most arrogant doctor in which I've received services. He was extrememly demeaning and disrespectful to his staff in front of me. I had a torn cornea and it was very painful. His reaction to my pain level was to tell me I was over reacting, I should have seen the tear another patient had previously. Then he proceeded to rub my injured eye in another area away from the tear. Once the numbing drops wore off, the place he had rubbed hurt more than the tear. I would never, ever recommend him to another human being as he does not know how to treat people in a humanistic manner. If he treats people this way, God only knows how he must treat animals. The two other doctors in the office (whom I went to for my follow up) were wonderful individuals. Both pleasant and knowledgable as was the staff. read more

I recently had a surgery done at this clinic. I have worn glasses and contacts all my life and had the opportunity to have the ICL surgery (Implantable Contact Lens.) I was really scared to have the surgery but I had always heard great things about Dr. Gilbert, and my grandparents also had cataract surgery with him as well. The day of my surgery I was a little nervous and everyone there was so caring and made sure I was comfortable, also during the surgery Dr. Gilbert talked to me and made sure I was doing OK. I was AMAZED with my outcome after the surgery!!! I can see better than I did with my contacts on. I would recommend this surgery and vision clinic to everyone I know!!!! A+ from me for sure :) read more

It's strange there are so many bad reviews, mostly about his personality. As an engineer, I guess I expect a medical professional to have something of a science-geek vibe. What you will get: a very knowledgeable and professional opthamologist, top of his field, with excellent skills. He is THE MAN for troublesome eye cases, and super accurate with his LASIK procedures. What you will not get: a hug during your appointment. Live with it. read more

Nice Doctor and staff. They give a very thorough exam. They take their time to answer any questions and you don't feel like they're rushing you through. read more

Was very disappointed with the service from Dr. Gilberts office and him. First of all his bedside manner is very poor, very arrogant, does not even say hello when he passes by his patients in the hall way. Without us, there is no paycheck They do not explain what financial costs that is going to be racked up for each eye, pre and post the cataract surgery. They tell you that the insurance covers the surgery, so you assume your insurance is going to cover it. What they don't tell you that there are services that should be inclusive as part of the surgery, such as eye pressure check, before and after the surgery, and separate charges for the refractive eye measurements in each eye, which they charge each eye separately. Post op appointments should be post ops with no charge. Because we are ignorant about hidden costs, they take advantage of it.They submit these charges knowing darn well, from experience the insurance does not accept these charges. The out of pocket costs racks up, and they do not explain that these specific charges will be our responsibility. They just get you to sign a contract saying we will be responsible for any outstanding charges. The post up instructions were unclear from staff. I would never recommend this place to anyone. read more

There needs to be a zero-stars option. This guy is rude and creepy and rough. There are plenty of good options out there - I was sent here for an emergency situation. I really wish I'd had a taser with me. If you insist on going, take someone with you and have them stay by your side the entire time. read more

When you become more concerned about money and not the patient you are seeing it is a problem top down. The staff is extremely rude and unprofessional. there are so many options around there is really no need to put up with this. read more

RUN, don't walk. This guy is dangerous! He is only about making money. He spends very little time with you and has all of his assistants take care of you. Arrogant is an understatement. If you have a problem he is not interested in helping you. He is most definitely NOT one of Seattle's Top Docs.....If you ask around his colleagues would agree. Do yourself a favor and find a doctor that cares. read more

I first saw Dr. Gilbert last May when it was apparent my cataracts were getting worse. He was recommended to me. I had the first eye done in June, and the second eye the following week. I spent money for the more advanced lenses as I didn't want to wear glasses except for reading and he assured me this would be the case. What an awful experience! The first eye went well. At least at the beginning. When I had the second eye done the following week, it was a little painful and then it started to bleed when he was finishing up. He asked me what I did. From one week to the next, he wanted to know what "I" did to cause the bleed. I should have run then. The man has no personal accountability. I continued to have issues with both eyes. I didn't have far vision on my second eye. He did 2 zag surgeries on each eye. I went back into his office a couple of days after the second zag lasar because my vision in the first eye was now cloudy. I saw his PA. Apparently, the laser poked a hole and my vitreous fluid was seeping behind my eye. The cure? Go to a retinal specialist, drain the vitreous fluid and put in saline. I never did see Dr. Gilbert that day, only his PA. After the retinal surgery I went back to address my poor vision. He NEVER came in to see me, had his associates running in and out with suggestions. I never heard sorry this happened, sometimes this happens, nada. He never took the time to talk to me at all. He BILLED me for EVERY visit I did to take care of the shoddy surgery he performed. Not only did I pay thousands of dollars out of pocket for the lenses, I paid for another expensive surgery from a retinal specialist. My vision is still a problem but I won't ever go back to him, or recommend him to anyone. I find him arrogant and dismissive. read more

I saw Dr. Gilbert for a general eye consultation. While he had a very friendly staff and comfortable office, he was absolutely the worst doctor I have ever encountered. The eye exam was performed by the technician. Early on in the appointment there were a good deal of question regarding dry eyes, itchiness, pain, etc. I answered no to all of these questions, but when I was passed off to a second technician/scribe, she said that I had scored high on 'dry eyes' answers at my check-in. I had her read me my answers back; they had all been recorded as 'yes' despite my saying 'no' to the first technician. After waiting 30 minutes for Dr. Gilbert, he came in, shook my hand, explained dry eyes to me (I had already been forced to sit through a video) and said I would need an imaging test to check the health of my meibomian glands. When asked whether the imaging was necessary in someone as young (26) and as healthy (I had reported no symptoms) as me, especially since if might not be fully covered by insurance, he became very upset, yelling about 'establishing a baseline' and told me I was 'too young to be losing body parts' (the glands). He was dramatic, unprofessional and a complete narcissist. In the end, I told the second technician I did not wish to have the imaging test done. Not sure who is writing all of these positive reviews, but I would highly recommend looking for an eye doctor elsewhere if you value care and professionalism. read more

I got the idea that he used to be a great doctor. Seems well trained and experienced. Unfortunately, too experienced... now established and just going through the motions. Eyes without a face is the feeling you get when he treats you. He is rude and condescending... which I can survive, however, I was put-off by his dismissal with no time for questions . Listen, I don't need a buddy relationship but I do want to feel a connection and trust for the person making delicate life decisions with me. Perhaps now a good time for his retirement ? read more

I first went to Dr. Gilbert after my eye doctor told me during a routine exam that I had cataracts and could benefit from surgery. I had one eye operated on and then the other eye two weeks later. I found the office staff to be very informative and pleasant; the facilities are clean and modern and the parking is easy in Bellevue. Most importantly, Dr. Gilbert took the time to explain to me the procedure before I scheduled any surgery; he told me what to expect during the surgery as well as during the following weeks. It all went exactly as he had described. Kathy, the wonderful surgery scheduler in the Bellevue office, answered any additional questions I had, and was very helpful during the scheduling process. The cataract surgery took place at Overlake Hospital's Outpatient Surgery Center. The nurses there were friendly, helpful and very professional. During the surgery, Dr. Gilbert described to me what he was doing, which I found comforting. I was very pleasantly surprised when late that afternoon, Dr. Gilbert called me at home to ask how I was doing and if I had any questions! I really appreciated that he took the time to make the call himself. I had no reservations about returning to Overlake and Dr. Gilbert for my other eye. Both surgeries went very well. I highly recommend Dr. Gilbert. I also found the staff in both the contact lens department and the optical department at Northwest Vision to be very knowledgeable and helpful. read more