Alexander P Hersel, MD

A terrific staff, professional treatment, the BEST doctor, and real results!
Dr. Hersel has been a savior. He has worked on my broken back, neck, arm, shoulder, and hand. All of them are now functioning perfectly! I cannot say enough good about Dr. Hersel and his center.
Great parking and right off the freeway.

I rarely review medical practices but this place earned my Unilocal.
After several surgeries and years of chronic pain, my surgeon introduced me to Dr Hersel. He is a wonderful doc. His office is new and pristine. Free and ample parking adds to the top notch service. His wait times are reasonable for such a popular office. The Dr. spends as much time as you need from him. You never feel rushed. His concern feels genuine.
I’ve had several epidural/​nerve block procedures there. His surgery center in one of the nicest I’ve seen. And, unfortunately for me, I’ve seen quite a few. (Don’t ever injure your back!).
The nursing staff is beyond kind and compassionate. They get you through the process very efficiently. And did I mention the surgical robes/​gown?!? Wow! They are something special. Feels more like a garment you’d receive at a day spa. It’s a small amenity but not having to wear the standard flimsy ass revealing blue ER gown really does make a difference. The in house anesthesiologist knows his stuff and has such a great attitude that I’ve come to think of him as my favorite bartender. And boy can he mix a solid sedative.
No one should have to go to Pain Management but if you do this place is certainly not your typical assembly line medical office.

Firstly the office and building are new and clean. I hate going to Dr offices that haven’t been renovated since the 60s or 70s. Makes me really uncomfortable. I’ve seen Dr Hersel twice in the office and twice for a procedure in the surgery center in the same building. Office visits have always gone well. Staff is friendly and so is the Dr. I don’t know if anyone can fix the pain I’m in, so I can’t really review that part. He is trying though.
I have to say that the two times I had a procedure in the surgery center with Dr Hersel, were such easy experiences. The center is also nice and clean, the staff, nurses, and Doctors are incredibly nice and friendly. I had zero issues with the procedures (lumbar epidural). Unfortunately they haven’t worked well for me, but at least getting them done wasn’t a terrible experience at all. I was worried before I went in the first time, but the second time I didn’t have any hesitation at all because of how great everyone was previously.

I’ve been acquainted with Dr. Hersel and his family for a couple of years and have always found them bright and lovely. Last week when my husband herniated two disks in his neck — we have no idea how — and became a patient of Dr. Hersel’s I was thrilled to discover that this affable and loving father and husband is also a brilliant and thoughtful doctor.
The staff at PMIR in Thousand Oaks where Hersel squeezed my husband in, were compassionate and competent — they, put my husband at ease as they took care of his neck and could not have been more gracious to me in the process.
While I hope never to need a pain management specialist, I would never see anyone else even I had to go to his Thousand Oaks office instead of the more convenient Santa Monica center.

Dr herself is a very caring doctor. He actually listens to you. His office staff is top notch and I have received much relief in my pain since seeing them. He has other doctors in his practice and that makes it very helpful if you need to see someone right away. They built a new office in last year or two and it is very bright and well equipped.

Dr. Hersel is very nice. However, on two separate occasions he tried to move me to another doctor in his practice without asking me. The first doctor (no longer with him) was yelling at me because I wanted more anti nausea medication, not extra pain medication. The next doctor, actually walked out of the room on me when I asked why I was unable to pay for anesthesia out-​of-​pocket. The reason turned out to be that they didn’t have access to anesthesia! After a decade of being disabled, I was receiving medical treatment reminiscent of the early 1900’s when doctors were barbaric.
One last note, the second and last year I went to his Santa Monica office, every month they would call the afternoon before my appointment and tell me it was now at a different time the next day. I didn’t keep even one of twelve appointments as scheduled.
One can only imagine how I felt when I had to watch a commercial in the movie theater with Dr. Hersel talking about how much his patients matter.

I have Degenerate Disc Decease and have been in daily pain for about 12 years
before I met Dr Hersel. I can’t say enough good things about him, he is an angel
sent from heaven. Prior to seeing Dr Hersel I had tried many things for my back
and leg pain. Physical therapy, acupuncture, inversion table, epidurals, pain
medication and multiple surgeries. I had severe sciatic leg pain and he
suggested that I try a Spinal Cord Stimulator. I absolutely love it! It is by
far my favorite tool to combat my pain. I also get nerve root blocks that help.
He is so good at listening to his patients and trying to see what works for
them. My mental state of mind was so fragile living with daily pain. I was
severely depressed and at times feeling like I no longer wanted to live. Pain is
an awful thing to live with for the patient as well as their family members. It
was such a bright spot in my life when I met Dr Hersel. From the moment I met
him, that very first introduction I could feel his empathy and desire to be
helpful.

I cannot begin to express my gratitude to Dr. Hersel, or lavish enough praise for one of the finest doctors I have ever come across. A nightmarish odyssey with a difficult cervical spine fusion was so debilitating it left me unable to work or function normally. As a result I tried a variety of treatments, saw numerous doctors and was on a tremendous amount of pain medication. I ultimately had a spinal cord stimulator implanted by another doctor who, to put it mildly, made the initial problem far worse. At that point I was in total despair and frankly did not know where to turn. I feel completely blessed to have found Dr. Hersel, and while it may sound corny, he honestly turned my life around. Dr. Hersel did a repair and revision of the spinal cord stimulator and due to his expertise and skilled surgical skills I was able to get the pain relief initially promised as a benefit of the stimulator.
Dr. Hersel is progressive and clearly up on current innovations within his field, however, I would describe him as a bit of a throw back to old fashioned medical practitioners when it comes to taking time to truly get to know his patients. He is so caring, treating the whole person rather than just the site of the pain, and earnestly appears to take pride in helping his patients. In short, he is the ideal when I think of «bedside manner.» I truly feel fortunate to have found Dr. Hersel and the entire PMIR staff. The office is pristine and well run by an extremely friendly and helpful staff. It is my pleasure to wholeheartedly recommend this phenomenal doctor and superior medical practice.