Aleksandr Itkin, MD

Dr. Itkin and his staff are totally professional and willing to answer questions. Dr. Itkin caught a suspicious mole, fortunately he performed a biopsy. I appreciate his calm nature and his depth of knowledge.

First, to the chucklehead who didn’t bother to check. Dr Itkin IS board certified. I don’t know why the patients have judged him so harshly. He saved my husband from missing skin cancer diagnosis and found my lichen planus was from metallosis and helped me get rid of it right away. I and my entire family go to him and would not go anywhere else! He is a Harvard educated physician and was top in his class. Scripps does not hire charlatans!

Back in 2010 I saw him for a typical body scan.
Two things I didn’t like about the visit:
First, I showed up as a patient and didn’t mention anything of any political nature, and out of the blue Dr. Itkin went on a rant about how terrible Obamacare would be for this nation. If a patient asks about it, then it is fair game for him to voice his opinion. But, I don’t come to an office visit to be told by a doctor what policies I should support. I felt it was really inappropriate, especially since I, who was a first time patient of his of which he knew nothing about my personal opinions of Obamacare or of The President.
Second was the exam:
After his pontification on Obamacare (and Obama, if I remember correctly), he then went on to do what was supposed to be a full body scan, and he did it quite quickly. As I recall he skipped over a part of my body, and it was only after I pointed this out to him that he then examined that portion of my body. He was quick to recommend that I get a lot of biopsies (he said something to the effect of: they aren’t required, but if it was me I’d get them). I could be mistaken, but my gut feeling was that he was concerned more about the number of biopsies he could do and the amount of money that he could generate for him and Scripps than he was about my care.
In the end, I did not feel satisfied with the way I was treated. So much so that I decided to seek another dermatologist to do a full body scan. Based on a recommendation from another doctor, I ended up seeing Dr. Barbara Martin on Balboa Avenue; what a world of difference… I was much happier with Dr. Martin.

Dr. Itkin is absolutely wonderful! I’ve now seen him twice and am very happy with his care. I’m a a bit of a worrier but he was extremely patient and professional. He carefully explained everything and reassured me of the findings. After the biopsy, his staff called me (twice) to discuss the results and the treatment. Additionally, there is no scar from the biopsy site. He saw me on time for both appointments. I couldn’t be more satisfied.

Went to Itkin a few times for suspicious moles. This was on referral from my doctor at Scripps Clinic. The first thing Itkin’s office tried to do was have me sign a waiver saying anything I did with Itkin was not covered by insurance since it was all elective beauty procedures. I asked the receptionist– a lady with a heavy Russian accent– if perhaps I had received the wrong form. She said no, the form DOESN’T mean that my insurance won’t cover it. I then asked why the form clearly states, in English, that it does. We argued for a bit and I refused to sign. A while later, the doctor came and told me «I’m informed that you refuse to accept your financial obligations». That was my first contact with Itkin.
I never signed, and we continued the procedure (fishy, no?). He said several moles looked suspicious. They were biopsied, and a few were abnormal so we went to the next stage: excision. During the procedure, which was very scary to me, he chatted with the nurse while paying little attention to what he was doing.
For a dermatologist, his cuts and stitches are some of the worst. Even though I cared for them tenderly, they ALL left scars which were about 5 times bigger than the moles. Since then, I’ve seen other doctors who saw the scars left by Itkin. They said the scars look like these were field dressings– i.e. quick and dirty wound stitching done in the dirt and mud of a battlefield.
His bedside manner was very immature and slightly insecure. Every time I went he greeted me with a sarcastic «to what do we owe the honor of your visit?».
Unless you want scars which look like bullet and knife fight wounds, I’d avoid this man’s practice.

My first and only visit with this guy was disappointing. He did not do a complete exam, I had to point out areas for which I had concern. His ideas for treatment changed from one minute to the next — and bedside manner??? Forget it

He didn’t read my chart, glanced at my moles and said nothing was wrong, and then told me to come back in two years. The below paragraph is how I know he didn’t even bother to look at my chart. Instead, he risked my health and relied on his «magic» ability to glance at a mole and know it’s fine without knowing a thing about the patient history.
When he told me to come back in two years I said that my previous doctor said every 6 months. He asked why and I told him I had atypical results before. He was surprised and asked where. Then he said not to worry about it as long as no immediate family has had skin cancer. Then I told him my mother, uncle, and grandfather have all had skin cancer. Then, again caught off-​guard, he asked how old my mom was. I said 35 (I’m 29). These are all questions the nurse had asked and recorded 35 minutes before (he had me wait over half an hour and still didn’t bother to read the chart). Then he brushed it off, said the doctor probably wanted money and that’s why he said every 6 months, and told me instead of two years to come back in one year. Then I mentioned that the two moles were new (because I’m an idiot and went to a tanning booth last year before coachella… I know, I’m an idiot) and he said to keep an eye on them.
He’s a bad, lazy doctor who risks my health so he can be late and get through the day easier. Definitely not recommended.

I have some other serious health concerns that also affect my skin. I’m not looking for cosmetic procedures and such so it doesn’t seem that most derms in town are that interested in seeing me. He’s the first great derm I’ve seen since the 90s when I had this great, great derm who moved her practice to the NorthEast. When he looks at your skin, he looks very closely. He was able to diagnose something on me that others had not been able to diagnose.
He gets right down to business, doesn’t try to sell you anything, and treats the problems you came in for. He also takes what you say seriously — go figure!!! I’m definitely going to see him from now on and I REALLY hope he doesn’t move to the East coast or something.

Awful doctor! Alexandr Itkin (I refuse to call him a doctor) misdiagnosed me! I went in for a skin checkup and Itkin said nothing was wrong with me. Instead, he wrote me a prescription for rosacea. I told him I felt it could be something a lot more serious but he just brushed off my concern and said it was nothing and I should give it a few more months for the medication to kick in. I decided to get a second opinion from another doctor who my cousin referred me to. LOW AND BEHOLD… I HAD SKIN CANCER ALL ALONG. Now I am being treated for it :) NO WONDER ALEXANDR ITKIN IS NOT BOARD CERTIFIED!!! Glad I went with my gut instinct.

Dr. Itkin is the best! My PCP referred me to him when I had a cyst that needed to be removed. His secretary/​receptionist Dionne (sp?) was a pleasure to work with and made me feel important. Natalie was the nurse assisting him during my surgery and she was AMAZING. Held my hand when I got nervous, reassured me endlessly, and explained step by step what to expect. ((It turns out I am big olé baby when it comes to surgical procedures))
They played Enya throughout my procedure (exactly what my mother used to play when we were young and home sick from school! Very soothing), and Dr. Itkin and Natalie kept up a steady stream of chatter that was nice and distracting. My procedure was disconcerting for sure, but Dr. Itkin was very nice to deal with and not at all put off by my jitters, he really made me feel at ease. I was impressed with his professionalism and bedside manner.
If I have any issues or concerns I will definitely make an appointment with Dr. Itkin, and not just because he went to Harvard Medical School ;)