Bert R Mandelbaum, MD

Mandelbaum repaired my daughters ACL and Meniscus tear in 90 minutes. Four days later and only a small amount of pain. He was informative and knowledgable.
This is her second surgery but last time was with a different surgeon. This experience is a 1000 times better from time, staff, surgeon and pain.
I highly recommend elite athletes see Mandelbaum. He operated on two of her teammates in the past and they came back to soccer stronger than they were before.
The surgery center was like a hospital floor but everyone was kinder and the place was very clean. I was skeptical about not going to a hospital but I have no regrets and it was a very smooth and timely process.
The wait time in his office is long but it’s because he takes his time with patients and answers all questions.

Had articular cartilage reformation surgery and the repair of two tears in my meniscus with Dr. Mandelbaum. From start to finish, he and his staff have been outstanding. Within a two week period, I had my first appointment with Dr. Mandelbaum, an MRI which he read and shared with me immediately after the imaging, pre-​op with his staff PA (Stephanie Pongracz), surgery to make the required repairs and my post-​op appointment the day following surgery. Throughout the entire process, Dr. Mandelbaum was professional, knowledgeable, empathetic and friendly. He clearly explained the damage and discussed the operation and my options.
Dr. Mandelbaum always had time for questions and made me feel completely comfortable. His support staff is also outstanding. If you need knee repairs, Dr. Mandelbaum is the «go to» orthopedic surgeon in Los Angeles.

Our family has a long history with Dr. Mandelbaum. He has been warm and caring in all exchanges over the years. Between me and my two sons, Dr. Mandelbaum has performed several surgeries for various reasons and we’ve all been better off because of him. Six weeks ago, I had a meniscus tear repair. The surgery was short, simple and it’s hard to tell anything was done to my knee! I trust his judgement and his care. I cannot recommend him more highly.

Dr. Mandelbaum was nice the one time I met with him. But the office staff are unbelievably incompetent. For two months they have been telling me my insurance company didn’t authorize the treatment, but the insurance company said Dr. Mandelbaum’s office failed to submit the proper paperwork. I had to do all the calling back and forth to get Dr. Mandelbaum’s office to submit the right medical authorization. Finally they did, but they said it still wan’t authorized. Insurance company finally said it was. Finally Dr. M’s office admitted they’d had the authorization for weeks without telling me, though I’d been calling frequently and telling them I was in pain. Ridiculous. Just very rude, callous people. Thanks for all the times you lied to me and sent me to voicemail, then ignored me.

Dr Mandelbaum is an amazing doctor. However his patient care is off the charts bad. This has been confirmed by the 3 other people in my family who have also gone to the doctor. Don’t get me wrong he’s a great doctor but if you have a job I wouldn’t recommend seeing him. I’ve had 4 visits, MRI, bone scan, xray and each time have waited a minimum of 50 minutes. You don’t get much time with the doctor and the last appointment I had was so fast and there was no plan /​approach put in place. He gave me a cortisone shot and couldn’t be happier to get me out the door. He spent very little time with me and I left feeling like I didn’t have a plan to move forward with the injury.

This has been a long time coming. I’ll never forget the remark by this doc to me in 1998 «sometimes you have to work through the pain». Weol, guess what you were incredibly wrong! Mandelbaum misdiagnosed me in 1998 & sent me to Dr. Michael Sinel who also couldn’t diagnose me. They had me as shoulder tendonitis & overuse syndrome. What does that mean? Incredibly generic. Well I tried to push thru pain until it stopped me. I had Thoracic Outlet Syndrome TOS, which got diagnosed by MRA at UCLA by Dr. James Collins & eventually by UCLA neuro. My shoulder, neck, hand, grip strength, arm symptoms were from TOS. I had bilateral 1^st rib resection/​scalenectomies thru UCLA Vascular. I was NOT impressed & I think he has the wrong approach to dx that he cannot figure out. And I sure hope by now he got some re-​education & updates on TOS.

Dr Mandelbaum is truly amazing. My daughter Karisma tore her ACL 2−½ years ago and all the training and P/​T that he requires made her come back so much stronger. Now, unfortunately she tore her other one and I would never go to anyone else. He takes his time with every single patient and he so personable. We are truly blessed to have the privilege of Dr Mandelbaum working on our daughter. Marisa in the office is freakin hilarious. She always kept us smiling.

Even though the wait in the waiting room can be long and annoying it is worth every minute. Could not have been more satisfied from A to Z with my experience with Doctor Mandelbaum as a surgeon. Most importantly knee is now completely healed and I am back to my active lifestyle with yoga, hiking and dancing!

Had knee surgery 6 months ago. The office felt like he was renting out a spot there. There were many doctors and they seemed to all use office interchangeably. He was very friendly but he seemed way to busy. i had to wait 1 ½ after my appointment time just to see him. I would not recommend. When it came time to do the surgery, and I get it, Im the only sucker getting knee surgery that day, but to put 3 ppl in the same room divided by a curtain all lined up like chopped meat or better put a money mill, i didnt like the generic assembly line i felt there. His facility where the surgery is actually done is off Wilshire? or Santa Monica?
My knee has been hurting me about 4 – 5 months since, My wife made me a follow up appointment again, but after reading all these reviews i think hes probably just going to end up wanting to do a «clean up» again. My appointment is today and i’m not going. I am going to see another doctor to get a real second opinion. People say this guy is good. He is a good talker but given i just had surgery and am having pain gain, not a good surgeon

Fantastic doctor. I had torn my acl and I figured I was going to be down for at least 6 months recovering from a replacement. Dr Mandelbaum repaired the ligament and I was back in less than a month. That was 14 years ago and I’m still goin strong. Thanks doc!

Unilocal has the wrong address. It’s 2020 Santa Monica Blvd. They say they have not been at 1301 for years. At least it was a short walk! Great staff though.

Going back 9 yrs ago, I have had 5 knee surgeries performed by Dr. Mandelbaum. ACI in my right, 2005 and an experimental procedure, Cartilage Autograft Implantation System, in my left, 2006. Both procedures were sold as «lasting forever». Both have failed. The CAIS has caused major discomfort from the beginning. ACI continues to be much more manageable regarding pain and function.
Two years ago I switched insurance to Kaiser Permanente and was told by several of their orthopaedic surgeons, who have performed countless ACI’s, that the implant generally lasts only 7 years. Earlier this year I had Kaiser perform arthroscopy to partially clean out the CAIS. As a courtesy, I sent Mandelbaum pics and surgery report for his review and have yet to receive a response.
I put way too much faith thinking Mandelbaum was giving me an unbiased opinion regarding options to CAIS. Although he is regarded as a guru in his field, understand that one of his primary goals is to sell the procedures from the pharmaceutical companies he is connected. I was naïve to think otherwise. It’s been refreshing to get feedback from an outfit like Kaiser that doesn’t operates based on generating the most profit.

ACL replacement surgery if you are an athletic person is a scary thing — and its even more so when you are no longer 25, and you make your living at being physical. 6 months after surgery and i spent last week hiking the Sierras. :) I have complete confidence in Dr. M’s ability and he’s also a really decent, sweet guy to deal with, it was as much of a pleasure as ACL surgery can be. ;) You can’t really do better.

Excellent compassionate care. Fantastic operational experience.

When you want the BEST, you have to wait for the BEST, Dr Mandelbaum, Dr Lavian, have treated me for so many different ailments and surguries. Each time with the best of success.!! If it was not for these two wonderful men and there TERRIFIC staff I do not think I would be functioning. I am so VERY GRATEFUL. The wait is worth every minute or hour. I hope that people always remember that you as an individual is worth MILLIONS… and because you are one of a kind so are these GREAT doctors and INDIVIDUALS …

Have had multiple surgeries with Mandelbaum because I was told he was the best. In fact, in my opinion he’s too busy and doesn’t spend enough time with his patients. After my last surgery, Dr. Mandelbaum did not come to recovery to let me know the surgery went. The next day at my post surgical appointment I was seen by another doctor and he didn’t tell me anything about my surgery. Approximately 2 months later I had a recurrence of the same issue that I had seen Mandelbaum for but this time went to a different doctor and for the first time, heard that my surgery was more complicated than I was told it would be going into it. I’m sure at one point Dr. Mandelbaum did something to warrant his reputation, but based on my experience, he is not a great, or even good doctor. He seems way too busy and to care far too little.

Everyone should be aware as I wasn’t after going through all the Unilocal reviews that this office will really go for your wallet. After reading his reviews and knowing he was in network for my insurance I booked an appointment for my knee. Turns out his office is associated with St. Johns Medical Center which will charge you a $ 350 facilities fee, which my insurance wouldn’t cover. He may be an amazing doctor but I pay for insurance for a reason.

One more update: Let me be more specific about how Mandelbaum let me down. Back in the mid-​1990s, he told me I’d never run again. Over the next ten years, he performed two procedures that did little or no good.
In mid-​2010, I had a procedure known as a high tibial osteotomy. That is a procedure that was around back then, and which I now know I should have had. But Mandelbaum never even mentioned it.
My knee has been great ever since that procedure. I just ran my first 50 mile race, and I broke three hours in a marathon again at age 49. So much for never running again, and so much for the famous Dr. Mandelbaum.

Dear Dr. Mandelbaum’s office,
Your patients keep calling my cell phone for physical therapy, but I’m not a physical therapist!!!
Please update your records for the Westside Wellness & Rehab with the correct number!
I’ve spoken to your office several times about this!!! You don’t want me to start treating them, I promise you that…
Thanks!

Dr. Mandelbaum (³⁄₅)
Dr. Bert Mandelbaum came highly recommended, but I didn’t have PPO insurance at the time — only Kaiser HMO.
I went to Dr. Bert Mandelbaum for his opinion on arthritis, success rates, grafting options and opinions for ACL reconstruction. He spoke down to me at 1^st and treated me as if I was a child — which is fine. He’s probably used to «regular» patients who don’t study up. He seemed hell bent on using a cadaver allograft, which I’ve heard good and bad about. He referred me to Dr. Tadashi Funahashi, the Chief Orthopedic Surgeon @ Kaiser Permente Orange County.
I eventually had my surgery with Dr. Funahashi @ Kaiser and had top notch care and rehab. I’m 2 years out of surgery and my knee is awesome. No signs of any arthritis or misalignment. Knee is tight yet flexible — just about equal to the other knee. I used my own patella tendon graft.
One thing you gotta know about Dr. Mandelbaum: He is hell bent on using Cadaver grafts and will sell you on the idea, but there are a LOT of doctors who have different opinions about the whole thing, and they made more sense to me. Being that these grafts are some of the last things to be taken out of a cadaver, the irradiation process weakens them, and there’s actually no difference between a good surgeon using your own kneecap or a cadaver. Your kneecap defect actually grows back if they sew it back up right.
Santa Monica Orthopedic Group (⁰⁄₅):
Going back to my problems with Santa Monica Orthopedic group is their billing department — these guys are SHADY! Maybe even crooks. I had called and told them that I just wanted a consultation with Dr. Mandelbaum to pick his brain about this proceedure. They told me the price was $ 150 – 300. Anything over $ 150 is already steep — just to talk to the doctor for 10 minutes.
My bill comes to me a few months later: $ 450 dollars… just to talk to the Doctor. I call up their billing department and ask why the charge is $ 450. No real answer. Just that it is. I ask for them to send me a price sheet. They should have something like this listed. A break down of prices for services/​time. They don’t have a charge sheet and refuse to send me any paper work other than the bill with only 1 number: $ 450.
I scream and rant with the douchebag in billing over the phone. I get them down to $ 320 and I’m emotional/​physically drained. If I didn’t live in Orange County, I would have driven right over and made a huge scene at their office.
I paid the amount, but I feel that it was overly steep for the service provided, is shady and had no basis, and this office’s billing is a good example of why Healthcare costs are so high in this country. It’s such a shady business.
It has been a few years now, but I have found out that this clinic did violate codes by doing what they did to me:
CA Health & Safety Code 1339.56. AB 1045– Requires that hospitals disclose prices for the top 25 most common outpatient services or procedures, and requires, upon request, a person to be provided with a written estimate of charges for the health care services that are reasonably expected to be provided and billed to the person if the person does not have health coverage. (Signed into law by governor on 10÷5÷05 as Chapter 532, Statutes of 2005.)
CA Health & Safety Code 1339.585– Upon the request of a person without health coverage, a hospital shall provide the person with a written estimate of the amount the hospital will require the person to pay for the health care services, procedures, and supplies that are reasonably expected to be provided to the person by the hospital, based upon an average length of stay and services provided for the person’s diagnosis. (Signed law 2004.)