Dellatorre Daniel L MD

I started seeing Dr. D. More than 20 years ago, when another doctor botched a procedure. He’s saved my life, finding a small melanoma, and preserved my looks with calibrated interventions and lots of old-​time care. He’s humane, meticulous and patient, which can lead to backups in the waiting room. But he’s well worth the wait.

This guy is amazing. I’ve never been to a doctor who so clearly cares about his patients and is so passionate about what he does. I came to him with a problem that had me freaked-​the-​hell out. He listened carefully, asked questions, and talked me through the different examinations he did. He gave me a clear assessment of his diagnosis, and then told me to call him in a few weeks.
When my issue seemed to get worse a week later, I called him up and he immediately took my call and patiently and clearly explained what he thought was going on. He was going on vacation the next week and he gave me his cell in case I had further issues. Seriously, the dude told me to call him on his vacation if I needed to. When I went in for a follow-​up, it wasn’t just a cursory examination. He spent serious time with me and again told me he wanted me to check-​in with him in a few weeks.
Yeah, he’s not perfect and his office runs very old school. He’s clearly a little quirky and you will almost certainly wait to see him longer than you expect. Maybe even an hour or more. You need to plan for it. If you can get an appointment first thing in the morning, your wait time will be less. But there is a good reason why he runs behind — he is incredibly thorough and obviously doesn’t rush his patients. For my health, I’ll put up with the slightly annoying process to get the sorta care he provides.

Dellatorre’s plenty good. He identified my out of season random skin condition promptly and the treatment he recommended worked. Personable and he eased my concern.
Severely old school with recording insurance info via typewriter and photocopying diagnoses from big book of skin conditions.
No complaints on wait times but had extra time allotted just in case

Went to this doctor based off the reviews here and the first thing that not a single person mentioned was his lack of care for his patients own schedules. Yes, someone mentioned that he can run behind schedule, but this was severely underestimated.
I went to see Dr. Dellatorre for acne and my appointment was at 9 AM. After about 30 minutes of waiting, I asked his receptionist how much longer and she said «shouldnt be too much longer.» I waited for another half hour. Dr. Dellatorre didnt see me until 10:30. A good 1.5 hours after my appointment. That pissed me off as I had to be back at work. When I had asked the receptionist if I could leave without being charged, she said «it will count as a missed appointment.» I almost turned into the Incredible Hulk, but rather than pay the guy $ 100 for not seeing him, I waited.
Once inside, he told me to bring a book next time (yeah, easy for him to say). Then he did his examination on me and didnt wear gloves which really bothered me. After he did his examination, he told me my problem was «psychological» not dermatology related. Um really? I have been to doctors before for acne flare ups and this is the first to tell me it wasnt acne but rather a psychological issue causing my problems.
Dont know who the other raters saw, but I havent been back since and have been holding off on paying him my co-​pay after that god awful service.
Do not recommend at all!

First and foremost: Dr. Dellatorre is literally one of the most gifted physicians I have ever seen (I’m 40, so I’ve seen a lot). As far as dermatology goes, he is far and above the most thorough, knowledgeable, and caring of the handful I’ve seen in the DC area. It is no exaggeration to say that his diagnoses have saved my life (skin cancer and full successful treatment diagnosis in very early stage). Additionally, he is easily the most thorough dermatologist one can see for skin checks. I leave every time knowing I am fully aware of what’s going on.
On the flip side, his office staff is — and this too is no exaggeration — horrible. One woman… God love her… has been working there for decades; she has absolutely no customer service skills, patience, or tact. A number of times I’ve been cut off mid-sentence…when answering a question she asked of me… and immediately put on hold. Further, Dr. Dellatorre’s office regularly gets so overbooked that sometimes people literally wait for over 2 hours beyond their appointment time before being seen, as has happened to me more times than I can count. Records are also still (as much as a year ago… perhaps it has changed) paper-​based. When I asked said woman for copies of some of my records I was given photocopies of Dr. Dellatorre’s hand-​written 3×5 index cards. That wasn’t much help to me or the other doctor I had to see.
That said, my health and wellness is worth that [sometimes atrocious] shortfall, considering Dr. Dellatorre’s caring and capability. I never feel rushed by him (which if there’s a cause for overbooking delays is the one I want) and he treats his patience with 1-​on-​1 personal care that is hard to find in any physician these days. If he weren’t such a darn good doctor, I’d rate the practice a 2 simply because of the poor office support. But, as Jon K. said, he is indeed a rockstar.

Dr. Dellatorre is a rockstar. I’ve never met a doctor who genuinely cares more about his patients. He is as thorough as can be and is absolutely dedicated to solving whatever problems your skin is facing. I wish we could clone him so all doctors could be so attentive. The only negative thing I’ve ever heard anyone say about him is that he runs behind schedule. But that’s because he doesn’t rush his patients; you will get more than your fair share of time. So bring your iPhone or Kindle or a book or newspaper and relax in the waiting room, knowing you will get to experience five-​star medical care. If I ever move out of the area, I will try to schedule my dermatology appointments during trips back to D.C. Yes, Dr. Dellatorre is THAT good. I recommend him to anyone and everyone. FIVE STARS all the way!

It was a little weird that he left the door to the hallway and waiting room wide open when he began examining me, but it was just a check up so I don’t really care that much. What was a little odder was when he abruptly interrupted my check up to answer his cell phone and then continued the phone conversation in front of me rather than stepping out for a second so I heard all about another patient to include that patient’s full name, a detailed description of his symptoms, and a thorough listing of his character flaws. This *might* all fly for a person with a normal volume voice but Dr Dellatorre has a booming voice that seems to be stuck on loud so I’m pretty sure everyone in the waiting room heard too.

I’ve had the pleasure of seeing Dr. Dellatorre for several visits and have since made him my full-​time dermatologist. The level of care and intimacy of his office and practice are unmatched and I strongly recommend him to anyone out there!