I had major surgery 7 weeks ago by Dr. Sean Cao. My husband and I were really impressed with him from our first visit. He took the time to explain everything to us in detail so we could make an informed decision. When we had questions after the appointment my husband called and left a message and Dr. Cao called us right back to answer our questions. I was in the hospital 6 days and he constantly checked in on me. Thank you Dr. Cao for taking great care of me. Thank you for all you do! read more

Can't believe this guy is a doctor. We must be out of doctors if they still let him practice. So arrogant and rude. Doesn't care to answer your questions. He will SPIT in your face like he did to me! read more

My family is deeply thankful to Dr. Cao for his dedication in the long term care of my husband from 2016 to present. My husband's latest surgery was 6/7/24 . Dr. Cao patiently and thoroughly explained the course of treatment for my husband, which helped us to move forward with surgery. Dr. Cao has kept my husband alive for the past eight years and still going strong after this recent surgery. We are extremely grateful and have so much appreciation for Dr. Cao and his team for their professionalism, knowledge,kindness and exceptional skills. read more

The psycho surgeon that loves cutting up people every chance he gets. No matter what your condition is he will recommend surgery. After the surgery he will say your condition was inoperable so you are left suffering in pain for absolute nothing. Go to a different hospital to avoid this man! Everyone at this hospital recommends him but he just wants to bill the insurance every change he gets. read more

Extremely rude and annoying as f...always talks in arrogance attitude, claims himself dr and always cut off your conversation by say "I'm a doctor.." then if you want to say something he 's like walking out of the room. wtf I mean fuck off you are a doctor doesn't mean you can act like everyone's father. I don't appreciate his attitude when he talks to patients who are suffering like they owe him anything. The most Disgusting doctor I have ever met. read more

Almost identical to Michael L. Story I lost my dad after Dr. Cao resected a 13cm tumor from my dads liver. As soon as he was admitted to the hospital his surgery was scheduled to be done early morning 2 days later. Dr. Cao informed us that he would resect the liver with intent to cure. We didn't even have the time to discuss other potential options as he says it must be done this way. However, he did not explain the risks, recovery or even other potential options of treatment prior to necessary surgery. My dad was in normal condition prior only discomfort from the tumor being so large. I'm not sure if Dr. Cao and his team even consider that maybe my dads liver isn't in as good condition as a normal liver since he had a history of hep C and cirrhosis since he acted like it's simple and saying you only need 25-30% of your liver to work anyways. After surgery my dad didn't look great so we took him back a week later to see Dr. Cao and asked him about why fluid stopped draining from the surgical site, why he's so jaundiced and why his test liver results were bad. He just said everything is normal just give it time and didn't care because he was leaving for vacation right after. We took my dad directly to the ER right after that where he had to stayed another week because of his poor condition. I'm sure it's malpractice but money is too easy for surgeons like Cao, no need to recommend any other alternatives when you truly don't really care about your patients. All he really did was end my dad's life sooner to get paid. All other alternatives such as cancer treatment or even nothing at all my dad would have lived for longer than 2 months. After surgery and finding out his liver is failing, other doctors on Cao's team were telling my sister the surgery probably wasn't required to be done so soon....what's the point even telling us that after the fact? When they could have discussed and objected with Cao before he cut up my dad? Cao was by far the most rude, vague, uninformative and uncaring out of the doctors there. Seems like he's just coasting for a paycheck and in his profession and only patients suffer as a result. We put trust in Cao but he just did his part quickly and was non existent after that, leaving my dad to die slowly knowing it's impossible to recover based on his previous condition. read more

I should have written this review a long time ago. Dr. Cao was the guy who guided us through the whole process when my wife had cancer. He was always there to answer questions and without his help I'm not sure what would have happened. She is alive over 10 years later because of his help. read more

Dr. Cao has operated on my father three times for liver cancer. My family and I are deeply grateful for his attentive care towards my father after each operation and post visits. He is professional, knowledgeable and patient. He takes his time to provide thorough information to my father on his condition with every visit. We are highly confident in Dr. Cao's skills and absolutely trust that he has my father's health and well-being as the number one priority. read more

I lost my dad after Dr. Cao decided to resect a large 13cm tumor from his liver while other liver surgeons turned him down due to the size and nature of his tumor. My dad was scheduled to undergo chemoembolization with another doctor (which may have resulted in the same outcome) until Dr. Cao stepped in right before the procedure to inform us that chemoembolization would not work and that removing it from his liver was THE ONLY WAY. He made us believe that this was THE ONLY WAY. He mentioned that people didn't die from the surgery, but they die from the inability to recover. Well, he was right...Prior to surgery, my dad was his normal, positive, and engaging self who didn't appear to belong in the ICU. He would have been able to enjoy the remainder of his life with a fairly normal qualify of life, but instead, suffered greatly in the hospital for ~3 months after the surgery before passing because his remaining liver was too scarred to support his life. Here's where a potential malpractice suit may arise for Dr. Cao in the future: negligence. There is a reason why surgeons do not remove tumors over 6cm and Dr. Cao completely neglected it. He was aware that my dad may die from the recovery process and was willing to perform the operation anyways. Not long after the surgery, Dr. Cao passively mentioned advocating for a liver transplant at UCLA Ronald Reagan hospital. ***Why perform this massive operation on my dad only to send him to UCLA in worse shape to have his liver replaced anyways knowing that he was not a candidate for a transplant Dr. Cao?? My dad was 53 years young, strong, and fit. He was a man of value. We thought he was going to get his second chance in life when we trusted Dr. Cao but we had no clue what we were up against because Dr. Cao failed to inform us of how difficult the recovery process could be or provide us with a plan beyond the initial surgery. It's difficult to talk to the man or ask questions without him making you feel stupid and I'm an optometrist. Thinking back, I would have liked to have known how many of his patients have recovered from an operation like this before allowing it to happen. I wish doctors did a better job these days at explaining the pros/cons for every treatment option including the pros/cons to no treatment. They seem to forget that there's an option to do nothing for someone diagnosed with a short life expectancy but I guess something has to be done for someone to get paid. We would have greatly cherished the final months with my dad at home instead of with him suffering at the hospital and being told to "let nature take it's course" AFTER Dr. Cao had already cut out his liver. read more

Sean Cao, MD - I hope Dr. Cao will forever remember the life he took. - Surgeons Near Me - Fountain Valley, California

I will never, EVER, refer anyone to Dr. Sean Cao. I don't care if he has experience at UC Davis and Stanford, his curt and dismissive behavior and lack of professionalism is completely unacceptable for any doctor, yet alone any health care provider. I came here with my father, who was referred here by his primary care doctor after an unusual ultrasound of his liver. Needless to say, my father and I were both nervous about this visit, especially since the staff had requested for us to make an "urgent appointment". We made an appointment for 1pm on a Wednesday, however they called us at 11am asking to come in by 12:30pm. We rushed over to the facility (mind I add they had given us wrong directions) and got there by 12:32pm, filled out some paperwork, and wasn't seen til 12:54pm (Yes, I kept track of the time). As soon as we filled out the paperwork, the front desk worker gave me a pamphlet and said "this is what you will go over when you see Dr. Cao". The folder included an insert on consent forms to surgical care and treatment, "pre and post op surgical procedures", and a pamphlet about Dr. Cao (apparently recognized as one of the "Best Doctors in America". I don't find the fact that the front desk worker simply handing me a folder with surgery material at all comforting when neither of us even know to what extent was the problem with my father was. When Dr. Cao entered the room, I addressed him and mentioned how I am a medical student and would like to be informed of what is going on with my dad. He was curt, and did not look at me once for the entire visit thereafter. Dr. Cao performed a quick focused exam on my father (which I had actually already done the day before), and asked my dad a few questions. My dad had a little trouble understanding his accent/"medical lingo" so I was there to help translate. Dr. Cao was obviously annoyed with the fact that my dad couldn't understand, repeated his question with a more stern and "clear" voice, and quickly moved on to show us the images from the CT scan (which I had brought on a CD that my dad had received from a different clinic). While showing the CT images, Dr. Cao explained how he doesn't really know what the problem was but simply gave the option to wait, or have surgery to remove his gallbladder. That was the extent of the visit. I asked Dr. Cao if I could have a printout of the CT scan/images because I was not able to open the document on the CD from my computer, and he simply takes the CD and hands it back to me, because he apparently didn't want to or know how to give me a print out (which I doubt). He asks my dad, "Any questions?", and as my dad was talking, Dr. Cao picks up the phone, and says "bring the next patient into the room, I'm ready". We left, without even a handshake goodbye, and I was pissed. Now comes my complaints: -Don't give your patient a pamphlet on surgery when they don't even know why they're there in the first place. -Don't give me attitude because I can't understand your accent. -Don't ever, EVER, pick up the phone and have a conversation in the middle of having a conversation. -Dr. Cao: "We would just take a small camera and make a small incision and remove the gallbladder". OK, #1, you need to explain what a gallbladder is/does to a patient before you talk about "simply removing it". #2, before you even know what the problem is, why are you shooting out "treatment" options? Actually treatment "option" because you even said verbatim that you "don't even know what the problem is", so my dad should just remove it. #3, how do you even talk about removing a gallbladder without mentioning a SINGLE positive or negative effect? #4, you couldn't even positively identify the gallbladder. "Not sure but this might be the gallbladder". Really? You're going to talk about having a surgical procedure to remove an organ without even being able to identify it? I'm positive that there are a thousand other doctors that can help you with your hepatobiliary and pancreatic disorders and problems besides Dr. Cao, who will actually give a rat's ass about you. Please, go find them, and share your referrals. read more

I am one of the cancer patients that Dr. Sean Cao helped and saved my life in Summer, 2017. He is the most caring and humble Physician that I have ever known. Dr. Cao is truly the most respectful man in the medical field. LN read more

Before I made an appointment with him, I asked his staff if he was in my insurance network and they said he was. I then received a bill from him and he was out of network. Tried calling his office twice and no one will call me back now. Very dishonest staff! read more

Dr. Cao operated on me for pancreatic cancer. I received truly excellent care from him and his entire staff. Thanks to Dr. Cao's expertise, my surgery was very successful. From my initial visit to Dr. Cao until the most recent of my post-operative visits, I have never received anything but outstanding care and consideration from him. If I had to have surgery again, I would have no hesitation in going to Dr. Cao and in fact I have recommended him to my friends and associates. I should mention that when Dr. Cao saw the CT scan that showed the mass on my pancreas he recommended speedy surgery and made immediate arrangements for it to take place. At the same time, another specialist in radiology was recommending that I undergo an intrusive diagnostic procedure and biopsy before the surgery took place. Dr. Cao explained to me that there was no need or good reason to have this extra procedure. His reasoning was absolutely sound and correct. First, any procedure that involves invading the body has risk. Second, the particular procedure that was being recommended would have involved taking a needle biopsy of the mass, which would carry a very small, but nevertheless possible risk of releasing a malignant cell or cellular material in my body. Dr. Cao explained that the CT scan told him all that he needed to know, and that the mass would be biopsied after the operation. This made absolute sense to me. In the event, the surgery went very well and when it was over the margins were clear. The biopsy did reveal stage two pancreatic cancer that thanks to my primary care physician and to Dr. Cao's surgical expertise, was caught and teated at an early stage. It is also worth mentioning that when I told the nurses at OC Memorial, where the surgery was performed, that Dr. Cao was my surgeon, without exception they all said "You are in very good hands." Nurses know a thing or two! They deal with doctors every day and they know who is who! I have read the review from Alex R. Her experience is completely different to mine. I am sorry that she did not feel that her father received the attention she felt he (and she?) deserved. I cannot help wondering, however, if she was frustrated from the outset about the directions she was given (maybe she wrote them down wrong?) and had formed a negative attitude from the beginning. The final paragraph of her review reveals how angry she was. She uses language that is not appropriate for a person who may in the future be dealing with patients herself (if she successfully completes her medical training). The Dr. Cao she describes is 100% NOT the Dr. Cao I know and admire. read more

Dr. Cao did a wonderful job diagnosing and removing my wife's gallbladder. Thank you!

Dr. Sean Cao is very talented surgeon. He is specialized in both surgery and caring after his patient . Our father was operated for gallbladder cancer in June 2018. Our dad has been recovered completely after two months. Everyone said it was miracle for a 85 years old man. Thanks Dr. Cao for saving our father's life. read more

I have had a few surgeries and my experience with Dr. Cao is far and beyond better than my first two. PRE-SURGERY: -------------------------- - Had two consultations with Dr. Cao - First consultation he made sure I knew my situation and what he could do about it - I was given options, but never felt forced into any one of them - The second consultation, again, he made my options clear and I told him my decision SURGERY: ----------------- - The anesthesiologist came and introduced herself along with the OR nurse - Everyone was very kind, warm and professional - Dr. Cao came to visit prior to anesthesia to make sure I was doing okay POST-SURGERY: --------------------------- - I had a new nurse after surgery who was again, very kind and professional - Dr. Cao came to see me to see how I was doing - I was released from the hospital within an hour or two after the surgery - I had some pain on Saturday, and although it was the weekend, Dr. Cao made himself available and helped me manage it - Dr. Cao called later that weekend just to make sure I was doing better. I really felt Dr. Cao and staff took their job and the patient's welfare seriously. I cannot recommend Dr. Cao highly enough. read more

There are always 2 sides to every story. After reading the previous review on Dr. Cao, I just had to response. The first review is the most ridiculous and stupidest review I have ever encountered. If you're dumb enough to go somewhere without checking directions, don't blame someone else. Take accountability for your own action, there are GPS, maps, etc. The office gives you all the forms and information and you complained? If they don't give you enough forms, you'd still complain. Even more hilarious is the statement "I addressed him and mentioned how I am a medical student and would like to be informed of what is going on with my dad." I doubt someone who doesn't take accountability for being lost would just mentioned they're a medical student. She probably made a big deal that she's a medical student and expected to be treat differently. Hey, you're a medical "student", not a peer to the doctor. Telling the doctor that you want to be "informed" is like assuming that he won't tell you anything. On top of that if you're dumb enough to not able to print out an image from a CD, why are you expecting someone else to take care of it for you? He's a doctor, not your secretary. She's just too lazy to figure how to print but expected a doctor to do it for her. My dad was diagnosed with liver cancer stage 3. He was treated by Dr. Cao so I know firsthand how Dr. Cao works. My sister-in-law is an oncologist and her sister-in-law is an internal specialist. In the medical profession, you mentioned Dr. Cao and they'll say you're in good hands. Dr. Cao is not one of those doctors who embellished words or talks roundabout. He'll go directly to the point and explained things to you. And he does not have an accent. If you can't hear him then check your hearing. He was very respectful to my dad and my mom. While the anesthesiologist was talking to us before my dad's surgery, as soon as he heard Dr. Cao will be performing the surgery, he immediately said "Don't worry, you're in very good hands." When the surgery was done at 12:30 AM (yes, pass midnight), Dr. Cao came out and explained what he had done to our family. He even showed us pictures. By the time he was done talking to us, it was almost 1 AM. What kind of a doctor would be willing to go this extend for his patient and their family? During my dad's recovery at the hospital, Dr. Cao would make his visits even in late night to make sure my dad was healing ok. He is very thorough. The oncologist that treated my dad after the surgery literally said if it wasn't for the quick surgery performed by Dr. Cao, my dad wouldn't have made it. He saved my dad so I cannot let some idiot smeared his good name and reputation. read more

DR. CAO was a excellent physian and surgeon when treating my sister-in law, sheryl Keele for stage 4 pancreatic cancer. He was very supportive and caring to her and to my husband Steve. He took time to speak to us and explain what was happening thruout. My sister in law wanted to fight the cancer and Dr. Cao gave her that chance; althout she eventually succombed to the disease. I would recomend him to anyone needing specialized surgery and treatment for liver and pancreas. I t was obvious that he was very knowledgable in this field of medicine read more