Michael Shapiro, MD

Got stuck with him due to Dr. Hribar not having any availability. Dr. Shaprio Lacks attention, patience and rushes you out the door. Reminds me of workers who are just clocking in and out but mentally checked out. No clear explanation of my symptoms, «wait it out», possible surgery… all vague responses… with muttering. I only recommend if you have no other options and desperate to get some «professional» advise. Always try to book with Dr. Hribar who is complete opposite of experience you will get with Dr. Shapiro.

Dr. Shapiro is top notch!!! I have been going to him for over 10 years, and have always found him to be both professional and congenial. I found his staff to be friendly at all times and they make scheduling an appointment to see the doctor both quick and easy.
p.s.
Dr. Shapiro’s little dog’s name is Brutus, and he is a sweetheart.

Dr Shapiro and his front office staff were wonderfully helpful to us when our 11 year old son had a plastic BB gun pellet stuck in his ear drum. They fit us into Dr Shapiro’s busy schedule and were very patient with our scared son. Dr Shapiro worked tirelessly with our son and stayed with him through his lunch break. He gave us his cell phone number to reach out to further discuss our son’s care. He and Danielle at the front desk went above and beyond our expectations. We really appreciate the care Dr Shapiro and Danielle provided us.

Look elsewhere. I was referred to Dr Shapiro for fluid build up in my ear over months. I was also referred for chronic uvulitis which sent me to the ER twice in the last year.
My Dr. from one medical faxed over my referral. The receptionist had no record of it.
For the ear, he basically had me blow air into my eustachian tube and commented that it was cool to watch. He then prescribed flo-​nase, saying if it doesn’t get better it would need a tube. (my PHC doctor already did that)
For the Uvula he took one look and said it looked normal and was dismissive of any issues. (Clearly he hadn’t read up on my history in the referral)
Literally a day later I had another uvulitis attack. Not wanting to go the ER again I tried to call his office at 4:45. I was put on hold for approx 10 minutes and when I called back I was put on hold again only to be hung up on. When I called back a 3^rd time it was after 5pm and I was sent to their overnight system.
It’s also worth mentioning that he has a dog who comes into the exam room. It appears to be his dog? I love dogs but I’m allergic to them. This isn’t something I would expect to be present in an ENT Dr. office and made me very uncomfortable.
Definitely not going back.

I have seen Dr. Shapiro infrequently over the years. On every visit I find him to be very friendly and knowledgable. I’m completely satisfied with the services that I have been provided and would recommend him without question.

I have had ENT doctors for most of my life, so I know good treatment, bad treatment, and indifferent treatment. Dr. Shapiro is one of the best ENT doctors I have seen.
I am at a loss for the negative reviews on the ground of brusqueness and unfriendliness.
I see him probably every year for a sinus infection, and each time the appointment is short, to the point, and he gives the medications which eliminate the problem. He also is friendly. If he has the medication as samples, he will give samples rather than forcing me to pay for a prescription.
If you have a genuine emergency (no a cold is not such), they will try to squeeze you in.
He is busy, but that is due to the fact he is good.

I went to Dr. Shapiro’s office after noticing a bump under my tongue. The receptionist got me in very quickly and Dr. Shapiro determined what it was and recommended that I wait 3 – 4 weeks for it to go away if not I could call and get a referral to a specialist.
After the bump did not go away, I called SEVERAL times and left SEVERAL messages for him to send over a referral. Even got promises from the reception that they would put my chart on his desk and make special notes for him to see.
After no messages I decided to schedule an appointment just so that I could ask him in person. My second visit lasted 5 minutes to confirm that I would need to see a specialist, charged to insurance, charged a copay, and it still took an additional 3 weeks to get the referral. Nice guy but slow to follow up.

I was referred Dr. Shapiro by a manager at Marin Community clinics. I knew I needed cauterization, I’ve had it done years ago. Out of the blue, someone from Dr Shapiro’s office called and said they could see me that same day. I showed up and the price was very generous. Dr Shapiro looked in my nose and saw the offending blood vessel. He cauterized it, said if it persists to come back free of charge, and sent me on my way. Thanks!

Too Old School. Suggested doing a surgery a way that they don’t even do them anymore. When I walked in I remembered I saw him years ago and wasn’t impressed them either. I had a flutter in my ear and can not sleep on the right side, said he couldn’t help my problem.

I went to see Dr. Shapiro because I had a continual «lump-​in-​my-​throat». He quickly told me it was acid reflux disease and told me to get OTC Prilosec. He was very abrupt and had horrible «bedside manner». He didn’t ask questions and would have sent me on my way, so I interrupted and told him that I had considered recent changes in my life that may have caused the problems since I had never experienced heartburn or any sort of problems with my upper digestion or acid. I told him about 2 prescription drugs I had starting taking about a month ago and he dismissed them as being unrelated. In fact, one the drugs (a tranquilizer) he said might help because it would relax me. I picked up the OTC Prilosec and tried it for 14 days with no relief. I also did my own research and found out that Dr. Shapiro was wrong. The hormone replacement drugs I was taking as well as the tranquilizer are listed as 2 of the top 8 causes of Acid Reflux. He was also wrong about alcohol having no affect. It is one of the causes as well. I just don’t trust his diagnosis and he is quick to write a prescription or put a «label» on your condition. His non-​caring attitude left me feeling like something more serious could be wrong and he would overlook it in a hurry to get to the next patient. Any caring doctor would have asked more questions and told me to come back if I didn’t notice any improvement – or recommend I see a different specialist if my condition is outside his area of knowledge or expertise. I am going to find another doctor and would not suggest Dr. Shapiro to anyone with a serious condition seeking thorough medical attention.

I’m so glad I went to Dr. Shapiro. He is excellent. I was hesitant to go to him after reading some of the reviews on this page, but he was willing to squeeze me in as a new patient between his regular patients within one hour of my phone call in order to take care of a blockage in my ear. (This was in contrast to the other otolaryngologist offices in the area who told me I would have to wait over a month to be seen.) He took care of me right away. I only had to wait briefly in his office before I was seen. He is friendly, efficient, and very accommodating. His receptionist is the same. Excellent service all the way around.

I went to Dr Shapiro for a mystery combo of deafness in one ear and vertigo. Brusque is the word for him. He spent 5 mins on me with the door open. Gave me a hearing test and a check for fluids. Told me I could try steroids but would only have a 50:50 chance of their being relevant. When I declined them on the grounds of their side effects he proceeded to leave the room while I was still asking him questions about my options. He concluded our conversation in the waiting room. Wait it out was all he offered me.

I cannot rave enough about Dr. Shapiro! Ok, it all begins in 2004. I had the most horrible sore throats because of some crazy oversized tonsils (too much info?) and Dr. Shapiro went over and above the call of duty of a normal doctor to make sure I was okay. First of all, I was living overseas at the time and came home to the US for a funeral. While there, my tonsils got so bad that I couldn’t breathe if I had a stuffy nose. I seriously needed to get my tonsils removed but I didn’t have insurance! I went on Medi-​Cal really quickly (which was amazing, by the way, now I completely believe in government-​run health care), but no one in ritzy Greenbrae would take my Medi-​Cal. At the time, Dr. Shapiro didn’t take the insurance but he made an exception and we set up a hospital appointment right away. The operation went great, but during the 3 week healing period (which was HELL), I was still sick with a cough and managed to open up my wound (too much info again?). I had to be rushed to the hospital on two different occasions in the middle of the night to close the wound, and Dr. Shapiro showed up both times, and he was always smiling. I love this doctor!
Fast forward to 2010. I’m living back in Marin and my husband wakes up with the WEIRDEST cyst-​growth thingy under his tongue and it just keeps growing like a blood blister. GROSS. We rush to our general practitioner who looks at it and says she has never seen anything like it, we have to go to a specialist or to the emergency room. We wanted to avoid the emergency room, so we called around to all ENTs in the area, and no one had an appointment that month. Crazy! I remembered Dr. Shapiro and gave him a call. His receptionist said he was also booked but I pleaded and she said, «Ok, where do you live? Can you be here in 10 minuets?» Sure enough we were there, and Dr. Shapiro saw my husband right away. He also had never seen anything like that weird cyst thingy, but drained it RIGHT AWAY. Amazing! I love this doctor!
Take it from my husband and me, two people who have really weird things going on in our mouths and throats, this doctor is the BEST.

i started seeing Dr Shapiro in 2004 for what was the beginning of my sinus problems. at first, simply diagnosing the condition (polyps, sinusitus, infections) was a way of making me feel better. he ordered a CT scan, he showed them to me, he admitted the condition was extensive, though didnt recommend surgery, and simply proceeded to throw drugs at it: antibiotics, prednisone, and nasal steroids.
i was averaging about 3x-​4x sinus infections a year.
[*] Everytime i had an appointment, i NEVER was seen on time. One time i waited almost 45 minutes.
[*] The receptionists were icy-​cold, grumpy and unprofessional. You could hear them bitchy on the phone with other patients. No eye contact. No sense of pride. No business working with people in a service organization.
[*] Each appointment, he treated me like a new patient, never once seeming to have reviewed my file beforehand. Even sometimes taking a full silent minute to himself during these short meetings to read my file in front of me.
[*] Every appointment was a rushed affair, with very little emphasis on educating me on how my condition was progressing, good or bad. i suppose if he doesnt know me from any other patient, he cannot be expected to track progress let alone provide such information to the patient.
[*] When once i asked to SEE the polyps, i got an impatient reaction that hinted at arrogance, as if i didnt believe they were there. A deep sigh and a serious beat while he thought about how he was going to fulfill what, i am not sorry to say, is a basic and field-​able request.
i prolly saw Dr Shapiro a total of 6 or 7 times from 2004 – 2008.
In late 2008, my sense of smell was almost entirely gone, which in the mind of his patient, was a dramatic progression of the condition he was treating. he all but shrugged his shoulders when i offered-​up all the research i had done online about surgery, polyp removal surgery to restore my sense of smell. i *knew* my condition to have worsened. he repeated what he said back in 2004: that i still was not a candidate for such surgery.
I knew then that i needed a second opinion. so i went to a new ENT: Dr Gary Rust (found using Unilocal & his 5-​star reviews), who i enthusiastically recommend, regardless of which Bay Area county you live in.
Dr Rust used tools that made Dr Shapiro’s office feel like a MASH tent.
Dr Rust asked questions that Dr Shaprio NEVER asked.
Dr Rust squarely placed me amongst those whom surgery would benefit.
Dr Rust reminded me that 4+ years of treating the condition with drugs, the alternative is by default worth exploring.
I get the feeling now, after said surgery, and with a great sense of sinus hope, that Dr Shapiro is simply a dinosaur. A doc from the old guard, though he himself is not old, and not that age alone is any factor for MY consideration of a doctor. rather, that Dr Shaprio’s office, his personality, his methods & techniques, his *whole* practice is a perfect example of how NOT to treat patients. a slow barely-perceptible-until-you’re-stuck-in-it dismantling of the Hippocratic Oath.
he seems to have only a single bullet in his arsenal: drug treatments. no variety. no suggestions. no chance for a meaningful practice to thrive.
In my opinion, a quality doctor should treat the patient first, then treat their condition. i dont mean all touchy-​feely. rather, to do their due diligence and make a patient feel like they’re on their doctors radar. regardless of how busy they think they are. if they cant be bothered to walk into that room having read the file beforehand, then they dont deserve to be practicing.
he’s a nice guy i suppose. but as a doctor, i cannot recommend whatsoever.

Dr. Shapiro several years ago for a chronic cough for over 6 months. My PCP had prescribed every possible test and we still couldn’t figure it out. I saw Dr. Shapiro and he suggested antacids (much to my suprise). Within a week I was cured. I don’t usually write reviews but I happended on the last review and wanted to give another side of Dr. Shapiro and a really effective diagnosticion.