Cheryl D Ackerman, MD

I’d like to give her no stars but it’s not an option. Very unprofessional dirty office with rude staff. I had a basil cell removed and she didn’t have any working numbing medication. I bled more than necessary and was faint when I left. Removing the sutures was worse. I bled again as she pulled them out rather than cutting them and it hurt like hell. Stay away from her.

Went to her a couple years back. Spent most of the time on the phone with her ex or soon to be ex-​husband using profanity, name calling and telling him just to get things done. Could have cared less why I was there. Asked for the first appt. of the day and got it, yet had to wait two hours before seeing her. She was busy moving her car in the driveway, answering phones that were unimportant and finally did what she had to do in two minutes… she was rude, arrogant, unpleasant and a real PRINCESS… go see a real Dermatologist not a Queen, which she thinks she is…

A few years back I needed to get a small cyst removed. Because she took my insurance and the office is local I thought it’d be a good fit. I was horribly wrong. First she looked at it and said because I’m tattooed the tumor formed. That’s bull! I’m not even tattooed near the location of the cyst! Anyway she grabbed a needle, pushed me back and injected me. Didn’t tell me what it was or what she was doing but did it anyway. After a couple seconds she took a scalpel and cut the cyst. The shot was supposed to be Novocain and it didn’t work. I blacked out and fainted. She continued with no regard. What the hell?!! And to top that never told me what it was, never tested it and told me that my tattoos are the problem. And since then its returned again and again. Never fully went away. RUN AWAY FROM THIS DOCTOR!!! She’s unprofessional, rude, dirty and she definitely pops pills because she’s always incoherent and mumbling.

I went to this Ackerman to get these tiny skin tags off of my face and neck (non cancerous, they look like tiny moles). My other doctor was too far because I moved. So I gave her a try and she said she could put this procedure on my insurance card. Keep in mind, no other doctor would do this. This procedure is cosmetic, not covered by insurance. I should have known this would not be a good experience.
Most doctors remove as many of these tiny moles very fast for about 200 – 300 dollars per visit. All other doctors I have went to take off about 20 – 30 moles for me each visit.
For some strange reason she would only took off 3 or 4 moles per visit and it appeared to me she did not know what she was doing. I told her other doctors I go to take off several at one visit, she told me I should go back there.
I would never go back to her, very unprofessional. I find it hard to believe she is a doctor. I question that she really is a doctor.
She also takes her lunch hour (upstairs, in the house portion this so called doctors office) while there is a full waiting room of people. Then before she goes to lunch have her staff sit some of he waiting room patients into each closed door office procedure room and they have to wait and hour until she is done eating.
Thank God I found Robert Nossa, M.D. at Dermatology Group in her area. He is worth every dollar you spend at his office. He takes off all my skin tags instantly with one visit. He even used a numbing cream so that I would not feel the sting, which she never did. I have gone back to him several times. No games played with this Doctor. You will be able to tell he is truly a trained medical professional. I do not recommend the other doctors at this office, only him. I say this for many reason I do not have time to write about.

I went to Dr. Ackerman a many years ago to get some acne along my hairline checked and to get a full skin cancer screening.
I found her screening to be too fast. She barely looked at me. As for the acne, she said it was sun induced. Ah, what??? She sent me away with a cream. Not very effective. also froze off a wart.
Was not impressed enough to go back. Would love to find a really good dermatologist that is a hawk when it comes to skin cancer. This dr. was not very thorough.

Terrible customer service. Called 3 times to try and get through to make an appt. no voicemail clicked in. Emailed, and asked for a call back, still no call. Finally got through and made an appointment. Called as the address listed online sent me to wrong place, only to find out that she cancelled my appointment. I received no call letting me know this. She won’t be getting my service.

Click on «Next» if you’re thinking of going to Dr Ackerman!
I went to Dr Ackerman 2 years ago for «acne» problems. I chose her due to previous reviews and her location, which is the next town over from mine.
I don’t even know where to begin, so let me just do a list…
— Prepare to wait more than one to two hours for your FIVE minute visit with her.
If you have a 10am appointment, there are 2 – 3 more patients with the same
appointment time.
— She has HORRIBLE bedside manner. She has seen me wearing her house
slippers and a sloppy dress under her dirty lab coat. Please do not think I am
exaggerating because I certainly am not. (I wish I was!)
— She comes in the room with her coffee, will talk to me for less than a minute,
leave the room as I wait for her to refill her cup with freshly brewed coffee!
— Her exam room is filthy… Dusty and cluttered! You will see awards and recognition from 2000 but it stops at that year…
— She does not listen to you at all… looks at you for a second and prescribes based on your complaint and not on her own assessment.
My stupid self kept going back to her for a year and half giving her the benefit of the doubt. One of the dumbest moves I have made granted my observation above.
The month before I decided to find a new derma, SHE cancelled on me 3times stating she doesn’t feel well… or at times a young man (maybe her son) will say she’s not available!
Anyway, I decided to do a more thorough research on dermatologist and decided on a group located in Hackensack. It is 30 minutes away vs 5 minutes but I wish I went to them sooner! I was misdiagnosed with the wrong meds. Just 2 weeks after seeing my new dermatologist, my skin is perfect!!! Not to mention, their office is clean, friendly and very little wait time!
So the lesson is, base your decision on REAL patient reviews. Also, if your gut is telling you to run… RUN! Just because they are Doctors doesn’t mean they know everything!

Why didn’t I check Unilocal before I went to this hack?
My 14 year old son has acne and I made an appointment several weeks before he was due to leave for summer camp, back in June. The appointment was for a Saturday morning. We get there and the office is dark. No one is there. We wait around for a little while, leave a message on the answering machine, and leave. The doctor calls back about ½ hour later. Apologizes, says she thought her receptionist had cancelled the appointment, and says she has kidney stones and had to cancel all her appointments. I’m placated. After some negotiating, we reschedule for the following Saturday, early in the morning.
The next Saturday, again, no one is in the office. We wait a few minutes. As we get ready to leave, the doctor turns into the driveway. She looks quizzically at us, as if surprised we’re there, and launches into what turns out to be a formula that she repeats over and over, speaking quickly, slurring her words, with no affect or emotion — «Please accept my apology. I’m not seeing patients this week. I have kidney stones.» Did I mention she looked disheveled? She claims her receptionist called to cancel our appointment — not true.
I ask her what I’m supposed to do and she suggests I find another dermatologist. I say, since we’re here already and you’re here, can’t you just look at my son anyway? He’s going away to camp in a couple of weeks and I won’t be able to get an appointment anywhere else in that time. She repeats the formula several times and then offers to try to find a doctor in a nearby town to see my son that day. I’m puzzled, but go along with it.
We go into the office, which is musty and messy. She starts calling around to doctors and dermatology practices in neighboring towns, telling them that my son has acne, but no one can see us that day. I again ask her if she can’t just «see» my son right there and then, since she’s already diagnosed him and we’re standing right there. All she would need to do is write him some prescriptions. She launches into the formula again. «Please accept my apology. I’m not seeing patients this week. I have kidney stones.» Finally, I get the feeling that maybe she’s not permitted to practice — that maybe something is seriously wrong with her. I tell her she’s behaving unprofessionally and that I think she’s on drugs. She takes offense and becomes belligerent, making me think that maybe I’m right. We leave. My son is mortified and embarrassed. I’m furious. He’s in camp now and still hasn’t seen a dermatologist.
I talked myself out of reporting her to the medical board but, after reading other people’s stories on Unilocal,I wish I had. I think maybe it’s too late now.

She is the worst! She cancelled on me 3 times, one time didn’t even give me the courtesy of a call! Her office is empty but you wait forever.
AVOID!!!

She’s listed as a pediatric derm — so i thought it was a perfect situation for my friend’s 9 year old daughter with acne.
The Dr was less than professional. Odd bedside manner. Less than friendly & preoccupied with something other than her job.
Child had a ton of questions for the dr, and she basically threw us out (and locked the door behind us)
I’d never go back.

Where do I begin…
Well, when I got there there were 2 women in the waiting room already. It was my first time and I just wanted her to look at my face regarding an acne breakout I’ve been having. Figured we’d have a short conversation about my skin, what causes it, how long this has been going on. you know NORMAL QUESTIONS A DOCTOR WOULD ASK YOU???
I filled out the paperwork and took a seat. My appointment was for 11:00am so I figured with the two other women before me it may take a little while and so I was prepared to wait.
Well, an hour goes by and neither of the women before me had gone in. It is now 12:00 and 2 more patients come walking in (both of which were their first time at this office).
Finally one of the women gets called in and 25 minutes later she leaves, and the second woman gets called in. At this point I have been waiting for over an hour and a half.
A man who walked in for his 12:00 appointment asked the receptionist why it is taking so long and how much longer he will have to wait. The Dr. told him 5 more minutes. The man was satisfied with his answer and sat down. Hearing this, I immediately went to the window and told them I had an 11:00 appointment and I have been waiting very patiently.
When Dr. Ackerman called the man in, I corrected her and told her I was next… I get brought into the room, which was filthy by the way. Her plaques were crooked on the walls, and the place looked very messy/​dusty.
She asked me what the problem was and I told her I’ve been having acne problems. She whipped out her prescription pad and started jotting away and just basically told me I’ll be taking a pill and 2 creams. no questions, no consultation, not a care in the world besides how quickly she could get me out of there…
She was about to send me on my way when I stopped her and told her to be more specific about what she is prescribing me and if we can have a consultation or some kind of chat session regarding this adult acne that I’ve been dealing with. She really didn’t want to hear it, gave me a few lines of good things she thought I would like to hear about how fantastic this prescription is and sent me on my way. She was difficult to understand, and she was wearing BELLY SHIRT UNDER HER LAB COAT… gross.
I was on my way out and paid my co-​pay. The receptionist asked if I would like some samples of the topical gel that was prescribed to me and I immediately said yes and was surprised Dr. Ackerman didn’t mention that to me. She gave me 2 very small tubes.
I went to the pharmacy to get my prescriptions. The gel that was given as a sample ended up costing over $ 180 so I opted out of paying for that since I already had some… Dr. Ackerman didn’t mention the samples to me KNOWING how expensive this cream is and good thing the receptionist asked because I would never had known.
I called the office to ask about getting more samples and the receptionist that took my call asked me to hold on 3 different times while I was in MID-​SENTENCE! Needless to say, I I was getting angry. The receptionist also told me they offer a COUPON for this expensive cream that I didn’t know about either. At that point I expressed ALL of my disappointments and asked for Dr. Ackerman to call me back. The receptionist told me that she is taking a 10 minute break and will return my call when she gets back. She never did.
LONG STORY SHORT… DO NOT GO TO HER, SHE IS VERY UNPROFESSIONAL AND COULD CARE LESS ABOUT YOU.
PS: Just found out the 2 samples that were given to me at the office are expired since July of 2011… nice

Wow. Short version: If you know what you need (cortisone, script refill) then fine. If you’re going for anything more invasive than a handshake — I advise you to find someone else. Even if you have to take a car service or take time off work.
Long version: I chose this dermatologist because of convenience and insurance. She took my insurance and she was within a short distance with hours that worked for me. My reason for going was to have a couple of moles looked at — and to get a full body check since I’ve never had one. (Turning 40 gets you more paranoid.)
I waited for a relatively short time — about 40 minutes — before I was shown into a room. Then I waited another 30 minutes in there. Sheesh. At least let me sit in the waiting room with the magazines. Also, it was not clean, and I’m not a super-​neat-​freak.
I’m not embarrassed to say that after the first ten minutes I started snooping: checked out the samples in the room with the sterilizer, went to the attached bathroom, peeked through the (opened) door into the home the office is a part of, looked through all the photos and art on the shelves… you know, maybe it was longer than 30 minutes. I don’t know.
So she comes in, I explain my mole situation and what I want, she looks at my back (lifting up the shirt) and says, «Oh yeah. There are two or three I want to take off.» Then I asked about two on my legs and the one I was really concerned about, «Oh yeah. Those should come off too.»
So now I’m supposed to get SIX moles removed? Yeah. No.
I didn’t get undressed. She didn’t look at anything with light or a magnifier. She didn’t ask me anything about how long I’ve had them or if I’ve noticed changes.
I made the appointment and then cancelled it later that day. Then I made an appointment with another place. Let’s just say that ONE mole was biopsied. The rest were explained with medical and layperson terminology AFTER actually being looked at professionally. Two of the «possible problems» weren’t even moles! «Those should come off,» indeed. I think I smell some insurance fraud.

First off it was very hard to find. It is in a big house with only street parking. There is a driveway but it is for the house part. I parked in the drive way. I couldn’t find the entrance there was no sign or anything pointing me in the right direction. There is a sign on the door that says Office.
I show up on time for my appointment and there is a lot of people in the waiting room. The people that had their appointment before mine had not been taken yet. Finally after waiting for 45mins the person before me was taken. I go up to the lady at the front desk and ask her how long it was going to be. She said 15 more minutes and that I’m next. She finally puts me in the room where I am waiting 30mins.
The doctor comes in and isn’t very professional. She doesn’t greet me really at all nice to meet your or anything. She just asked me how can she help me today. I can BARELY understand her, she talks to fast and slurs her words together. She talked to me like i was stupid and that i had no idea what i was talking about. I started to show her what i wanted her to look at. She gave me a robe and didn’t even close the door all the way or even leave the room fully. She didn’t give me a thorough examination or anything. She just asked me which ones i thought were the problem. She is the doctor. She should have examined me and told me which ones she thought were the problem. She would look and mumble something I didn’t understand and then start talking about which ones she wanted to cut off. She basically rushed my whole appointment. It was very awkward and very unconformable.
I defintally wouldn’t go back to her.