AboutSkin Dermatology and DermSurgery

I’ve never been here for a *paying customer* service — I was involved in a 3-​yr long «lab study» which involved painful injections of a «near-​approved» substance into chin fat which was supposed to cause a moderate reduction in that substance; and consequently a younger-​looking face. I found out today the substance had been approved by the FDA and in fact was being marketed for $ 1200 per treatment, so I received about $ 7200 worth of treatment for free. The stuff worked… mild-​moderately.
As such, I can’t comment as a typical customer here. My study coordinator, Jessica, was always professional and cheerful. Dr. Cohen, 1 of the study leads, is an affable man — but very busy and down to business. I was compensated nicely for my time, volunteering my face, and so forth.
If you’re thinking about becoming a paying customer here though, come with me a little further down the rabbit hole and let’s explore.
The reviews for this place swing *wildly* — they’re almost all either 5 star, or 1 star. How does that happen, you might think? Let’s take a look at when said 1 star reviews occurred — 2009, 2012, 2013, 2014. You might think, «meh, can’t please everyone — those people were just „sour grapes“ in the bunch».
About Skin’s 1^st 6 reviews, including subpar ones, were in a 4 year timespan.
Since 2013, there have been *20* reviews, and outside of 1 1-​star and 1 4-​star one, they were all 5s. [I know; I know — I should be given a 6-​figure job as an statistical trends analyst.]
My perception is that someone finally got wind of the bad/​inconsistent reviews, mentioned it to higher ups, and suddenly patients were either asked — or possibly offered financial incentive — to provide positive reviews of their service. Patterns stand out to me, and when 4 years yield 6 mediocre average reviews,
but 2 years yield 20 *stellar* reviews… something’s up. Personal beauty businesses just don’t change patterns that rapidly. It’s like the US Government being graded with automatic A’s on various facets of their «report card»…it just doesn’t hang together. Or passing the star QB with «C» averages when they’re actually failing — just so they can keep playing. You know?
This is all conjecture on my part — I can’t prove any of this — all I can prove is the observable patterns. They’re there for people to see freely on their own and draw their own conclusions… but I thought I’d comment on what I saw. [Not being a paying customer; ethically I have to go right down the middle on them.]

All the folks at about skin dermatology are wonderful! Dr. Ho is especially wonderful. He’s thorough, gentle and caring.

Dr. Samantha Stoler is excellent. I had several moles removed, including one on my nose.

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Dr. Contreras and all his staff are caring, professional and efficient. They took the time to explain the processes and answer all my questions. I have full confidence in their diagnosis, treatment and concern for my on going health. I highly recommend this practice.

— one thing I have learned about good ol’ Unilocal is everyone has their own opinion and experience. That being said, my experience with the office of About Skin has been nothing but positive. With melanoma in my family — I needed a professional that I could trust. I have seen Dr Stoler and Mod twice and could not be happier with this office.

I am a 59 year old woman with a long history of skin cancer. I was recommended to Dr. Joel Cohen by numerous friends who had received MOHS surgery on their faces. My cancer happened to be right on the side of my nose and quite large. Dr. Cohen was extremely sensitive and caring. I felt he was genuinely concerned about me and he tried to assuage my fears about the procedure and the resulting scar, which was minimal after he skillfully repaired the wound. And I have had follow-​up laser repair to my scar which has further refined the scar. I would not go to any other dermatologist in town. I have the greatest faith in him and his staff!

This is an excellent practice with impressive physicians. Dr. Contreras has been my dermatologist for a year now. Frankly the other whiny reviews here frustrate me.
September 2013 I suffered severe (second degree «plus») burns on 20% of my body. The U of CO provided exceptional initial care for a month. After that month I was sealed up with minimal scar tissue but had considerable redness and discoloration. I have been under Dr. Contreras’ care now for one year and am almost completely back to normal. He has used lasers and recommended topical treatments that have been tremendously beneficial. He and his staff have worked with my insurance to get these covered (not easy to do). For the limited amount that was not covered, the office has compassionately worked with me to make sure I’ve still received the needed treatment.
I also experienced an antibiotic resistant staph infection during this time. My primary care doctor wasn’t able to accurately diagnose and provide treatment (started me on an anti-​fungal instead of an antibiotic), but Dr. Contreras got me in quickly and started me on the right medications empirically that completely wiped out the infection before the cellulitis and facial scarring that might have otherwise set in.
This is a great practice with great doctors, great staff, and state-​of-​the art lasers. I definitely recommend the practice.

I have been going to Dr. Cohen for many years and have had five Mohs surgeries done by him. I have the upmost respect for him and his medical expertise. The wait times have been reasonable; and the staff is very pleasant and professional.
For my yearly checkups, I have seen other doctors in his office, and have been pleased with them.
John S.

Wow — I totally had a completely different experience than the other Unilocalers. I did have to wait at least a month to get an appointment, but I was just going to have a few moles removed and to have a skin check. Nothing to worry about. The Dermatologist I saw previously had a wait list of over two months. I’m guessing it’s pretty common with that profession.
The staff was really sweet and greeted me kindly. The office at Sky Ridge where I was seen was gorgeous and very clean. I didn’t have to wait long before being seen and Dr. Contreras greeted me promptly after his super nice assistant Katie had gone through my chart.
He was very thorough with me and was very gentle with removing my moles. The Dr. I had seen previously gave me about 30 seconds of her time, so it was refreshing to have someone with experience take that much time out of his day to make sure everything looked ok.
Overall, I had a great experience. I understand that each person has different expectations, but really the other reviews seem like they weren’t at the same place or seeing the same doctor that I was. I have already recommended Dr. Contreras to a co-​worker.
Also, if you have a mole removed, you’re going to have a scar. So take your pick — you can only have one or the other.

Rude office staff, booked out weeks in advance with no allowance for urgency of an appoint. I was in for a very itchy skin rash that was keeping me up at night. The treatment prescribed by Dr. Ho did not work. I tried to book a follow up but was told I’d have to wait weeks even though I explained that it was keeping me up at night.

I have been going to this office since they opened their doors. I have sensitive skin so I have had to see different doctors for emergency appointments because of rashes and reactions I get. Every time I called for an emergency appointment the staff was so accommodating and was able to get me in. Every doctor I saw was so nice and caring. Each listened and helped me with my discomfort. I have liked every single one I have seen. I have told many friends about this office and they have all been happy as well. I am so happy I have found this office and I will continue to so to this office for as long as I live in Denver!

I have a long family history of skin cancer so it was important that when I moved to Denver from Chapel Hill NC 2 ½ year ago that I hook up with a great dermatologist in Denver. Dr. Contreras was recommended to me by my NC dermatologist. I have been very happy with his expertise and the upbeat nature of his staff and office. Dr. Contreras listens to my concerns and is thoughtful in his approach and solutions. I highly recommend him to anyone who is looking for either dermatologic and/​or cosmetic procedures.

Dr. Contreras and his team might be «the best in Denver» according to their peers, but I can’t imagine ever going back.
Imagine being the parent of a young, beautiful little boy whose hair stopped growing and then starting falling out — you’d be me. Contreras has little to no bedside manner. The few minutes he spent with us resulted in a big fat «I don’t know, it’s probably nothing.» He asked we make another appointment in a month. A month later he still didn’t know — assumed it was the most common thing (telogen effluvium) without cause. Sent us home with prescriptions for several very expensive topical treatments (which did nothing) and said he would call some specialists.
3 weeks later we were told that since there were no specialists in Denver, the office was going to «give up» on reaching a specialist. They recommended we call the University but that we should be prepared for a 3 month wait. That was it.
Our next dermatologist was kind, immediately referred us to a specialist, and said he would call people in California (world renowned, it turns out) to see if they could help. He recommended people at the university by name and we got an appointment for two weeks later.
In one visit and thirty minutes he did more than About Skin did in several months.
We are still waiting and praying. But we won’t do it with Dr. Contreras.

I came to this practice after having a very bad experience at another dermatologist. I found this practice very compasionate and caring. When a biopsy came back postive for scamous cell carcinoma, Dr. Contreras, personally called me, left a message and answered my call. He cleared his schedule (or that’s how it felt to me later) to make sure I was seen as soon as possible. The procedure was not scary. The staff is an amazing team. I highly recommend them.

Dr Cohen is the best doctor. I have been going to him for over 8 years. He is a very caring and kind person. I know his office is super busy but that is what you get when you want to go to the best Dermatologist. He has done everything from removing a mole, botox, laser treatments, and minor skin issues like checking for sun damage.
You can get an earlier appt with the other 2 doctors and they are super nice too.

They may say they will accept new patients but you’d better not have anything that needs immediate attention. I called to see about getting an appointment for spots on my face — I’m fair skinned and know that skin cancer runs in my family. I called to get an appointment sooner versus later and after I explained my needs was told that there was nothing availalbe for 3 – 4 weeks. Wonder… would I received the same treatment if I had called for something cosmetic/​superficial? I realize all offices are busy but I even asked if they could refer me to another Dr/​office and the response…“no I’m sorry we don’t do that”.