After waiting for three weeks I finally got an appointment for a consultation.Took a half day at work, drove an hour across town, filled out 20 pages of paperwork, put on the scrubs and waited for 30 minutes for the doc. They inform me I am out of insurance network. This is after they specifically looked it up while on the phone when making the appointment. What options do they offer to remedy the situation? Nothing. Pay the full out of pocket cost, not even a discount. They have no concept of customer service or patient care here. What a joke. read more

I had a similar experience with Dr Ibrahim. He appeared concerned at the initial appointment with my 82-year-old mother who has been on Norco or over 10 years due to back pain while she lived in Ca. She just moved to Colorado with me and I wanted a second opinion to see what we could do to relieve her pain and get her off Norco. He ordered MRIs. Once they were done I left 3 messages for him to determine out next step and if there was anything that would help her. He never returned my calls and didn't have anyone else on his staff call me to discuss. I will not take Mom back because his lack of concern and professionalism is just plain rude. I have never encountered anything like it!! I'd give a -0 score if I could. read more

I would absolutely NOT recommend this clinic to anyone. I came in with severe back pain, no ability to bend at all and had blown out my knee as well. It was immediately clear to me that the doctor wasn't taking me seriously and had not reviewed my chart and history. I requested x-rays and he said the machine was down or being replaced or something so I couldn't have them done. He wanted me to come back in 3 WEEKS for x-rays after finishing a 6 day course of steroids. I thought this was strange because in the amount of pain I was telling them I was in, x-rays is the first thing to do.. even if I needed to be sent to an imaging center, I would have been fine with that so I didn't have to wait 3 weeks to figure out what was wrong. Against my better judgement, I made another appointment and filled the steroids. I called and asked the receptionist to please call me as soon as the X-ray machine was up and running because I was in severe pain, he said ok. Fast forward to day 7 and the steroid is gone and I am literally in tears because the pain had returned 110%. I told them I needed something called in, not necessarily the steroid (because it's not always a great idea to continue those) I just said I needed an anti-inflammatory so I can get through til the x-rays. I also mentioned that I wasn't looking for pain medicine because I don't take stuff like that. I was told I'd get a call back to discuss the options. No call. I called the next day again begging them to please do something for me. I was out of work at this point because I couldn't move. I was again told I would get a call back.. no call. The next day I wrote a email to them detailing what had happened and why I wouldn't be returning. I immediately got a call which I couldn't get to fast enough to answer followed up by an email saying my voicemail didn't work (I tested it, it works) and giving some half assed excuse that they need 2-3 business days for Rx refills. ARE YOU KIDDING ME??? I am in tears in so much pain and you tell me i need to wait 2-3 days before anyone will even call me back to talk about it?? I was so monumentally pissed off and upset that THIS was their response. No apology for leaving me hanging. Just said, sorry you feel like you can't come back. Absolutely asinine. I told her to stop communicating with me because I would no longer be able to control my temper. The doctor should have had a plan in place for me in the event that these meds didn't work or I needed additional help afterwards. Instead, I was ignored. I ended up at another doctor yesterday and the first thing they did was take X-rays and I HAVE A FRACTURED SPINE. And this place wanted me to wait 3 WEEKS without knowing at all what was happening with me. I am being fitted for a brace and will likely be headed into surgery for this fracture. I am so disgusted by the lack of empathy and compassion Dr. Ibrahim and his staff have shown to me. I should have left the second I realized he hadn't even reviewed my chart because I've had back problems for 11 years and when I told him at the end of the appointment he was very surprised. He brushed me off from the very beginning and I imagine that's how he treats all of his patients. I would avoid this place at all costs. I'm very happy with the doctor I switched to and glad I'm actually going to be treated for my problem rather than ignored. read more

I had a micro discectomy in 2010 that completely fixed my herniated disc. I could walk sometimes but could barely stand at all and couldn't drive. I had no pain right after the surgery and hot back to a regular life after about 2 weeks. 6 weeks to return to work because of my physical job. Completely satisfied read more

This is cautionary information about Dr Zaki G. Ibrahim of South Denver Spine. When needing surgery, research your doctor's background thoroughly because you may learn they are not the doctor for you. Get a 2nd and even 3rd opinion early on. Dr. Ibrahim is hands down the worst doctor I have ever had the misfortune to deal with. Initially, he came across as a compassionate Dr but it time it became apparent that this was not the case. Rather than reviewing my file before entering the office, he asked me every time where my pain was even after performing surgery on me, a surgery that was most likely not the correct surgery for my condition. It clearly states on his site that he performs discectomies for patients with leg pain and back pain caused by a herniated disc. I questioned him as to why he was choosing to do a fusion surgery as most of my pain was in my leg and he stated it was because I had back pain. A family member in the healthcare field and her co-worker believed fusion was not the correct surgery. He unfortunately did not come to the conclusion that my back pain was in my sacrum, unrelated to the L4 disc herniation. He performed a fusion surgery in Feb of 2014 and by May of 2014 I was in unbelievable pain in my sacrum, a complaint I had been making since shortly after surgery. Additionally (although I did not know it by May 2014) the bone graft he used was beginning to grow outside of the fused area and was beginning to press on my L4 nerve. Once again he was not able to diagnose my sacrum pain and wanted me to see a primary care physician because I had lost so much weight. Weight that I had, in fact, lost due to pain and nothing else. The pain in my sacrum had become so severe; I was forced to do just about everything on my knees because I could not bend over. Dr Ibrahim performed surgery on me and then hung me out to dry. The bottom line is that when the Dr. was unable to determine the source of my pain, he behaved as it was all in my head. It only took 5 minutes for a doctor from CU to determine that my back pain was coming from my sacrum. Since then I have had CT scans showing arthritis on both sides of my sacrum. It was determined by a physical therapist that I had absolutely no movement in my sacrum. As the months went by and I continued intense PT for my sacrum, the bone graft used during the fusion surgery continued growing into my L4 nerve, causing excruciating pain. I was now in a situation that was worse than prior to surgery. My leg felt as if the nerve was being strangled. It was incredibly tight and truly unbearable. In Dec of 2014 I had a complicated revision fusion surgery performed by an excellent CU DR. The bone growth from the original surgery caused nerve damage which takes anywhere from 6 months to two years to heal. At 7 months I suffer daily from leg pain. read more

I have been a patient of Dr. Ibrahim's since 2013. Between early 2016 and 2018, I did not need to see him. However, since February 2018, I have been to the office a number of times. For the past month and a half, I have been in the most insane pain I have ever experienced. Dr. Ibrahim and his former staff had always been responsive and professional, but what I have experienced in the last month and a half has been unbelievable. I called the office mid March to make an appointment and the staff had not rolled the phones over after lunch. I tried all afternoon and did not get through. I called the next day and did get through and left a voice message for Dr. Ibrahim's scheduler. It took her 2 1/2 days to return my call. In fact, she called me on a weekend day saying she is so busy it is the only time she has to return phone calls. Seriously??? Fast forward to this week. I am suffering with insane pain. I did not get professional responses from the staff when attempting to get scheduled for my second injection in a series of 4. Dr. Ibrahim had given me his cell phone number years ago so I text him. He did text back that he would send the order first thing the next morning. My husband took over. He called the surgery center and was told the order had not been received. He also left 2 messages on Dr. Ibrahim's cell phone number after speaking with staff. My husband tried calling Dr. Ibrahim's office just after lunch. The staff did not roll the phones over until just before 2pm. Last evening, the scheduler called my husband and told him she could not get the order to go through via fax (this had been going on for 2 days now) and that he would need to come pick it up in the morning and take it to the pain center. So, early this morning, my husband drives from Denver to Centennial to get the order and is told that the order was emailed last night, but here is a copy of your wife's medical record. No one called my husband last night to tell him he did not have to drive to Dr. Ibrahim's office. Really??? My husband drives to the pain center and a very caring and kind woman confirms she received the order and my medical record all via email last night. I am getting an injection today. I text Dr. Ibrahim to say thank you not mentioning this morning's wasted trip to his office by my husband. Within seconds, Dr. Ibrahim calls me and basically lets me know that boundaries need to be established and I have to go through proper channels and do things professionally. He also said he did not know how I got his cell number. I told him he gave it to me and if his staff was professional and responsive I would not have ever text him. I told him the 2 different times his staff failed to roll the phones back over from the answering service and he told me he could not believe that. I told him my husband experienced it yesterday. He told me I was the only patient saying these things. He basically reamed me for trying to get help. A patient in pain and her husband should not have to go through this much effort over 2+ days just to get scheduled. Dr. Ibrahim had always been kind and caring and his former staff were all great. His staff now is unprofessional and incompetent and Dr. Ibrahim has lost my respect, my husband's respect and me as a patient. read more

Dr. Ibrahim paralyzed my husband doing an out patient herniated disc repair. Two days later he went on a ski trip. During this time my husband required emergency surgery. We ended up at Craig Rehab hospital. My husband has since had 5 back surgeries and will never be the same. Please do not use this man. I complained to DORA and got nowhere. He should not be practicing medicine. read more

On March 1 of this year my wife and I moved to Colorado. On the day of our move I ended up in the ER room with such terrible back pain I could no longer walk. After an MRI and Xrays I was told I have spinal stenosis and was referred to Dr. Larry Lee at South Denver Spine. Dr. Lee came into his office early the next day to see me and I could not have been more pleased with his expertise and genuine concern for my well being. He took the time to explain exactly what was happening to my spine and suggested several options to ease the pain, everything from spinal injections to back surgery. After two sets of injections that did not reduce my pain levels at all, Dr Lee performed the necessary surgery on my back. The pain the shot through my hips and down both legs was completely gone after the procedure and have not returned. It has been six weeks since my operation and with physical therapy my recovery improves daily. Many Thanks to Dr. Larry Lee and his staff for returning quality back into my life so I can enjoy our Colorado retirement. read more