Denis Tarakjian, MD

Dr T is wonderful. He is caring about his patients and very professional, I hope he never retires!

I really like this office. I’ve been going Dr. T for annual exams for the last 3 years. I like the location because there’s a huge parking lot and patient parking is only $ 2. The appointments can run behind, but I don’t mind because it’s hard to find such a good doctor. Dr. T always makes jokes and lightens the mood, because obviously going to the obgyn is not something you really «look forward» to. His nurses are all very sweet. If I have a baby in the future, I definitely want Dr. T to handle my pre-​natal care. Mary Birch is an amazing hospital, I wouldn’t want to go elsewhere.

Dr. T is seriously the best OBG in San Diego!
He is funny yet extremely thorough and knowledgeable. I always felt like I was in good hands.
He performed my scheduled C-​section and did such an amazing job, I swear I was in and out of the OR in 10 minutes. My scar was tiny and is nearly invisible now, almost 2 years later.
I had a seamless experience and if we ever decide to have anymore kiddos, I will definitely go back to see Dr T!

I highly recommend Dr. T. as an OB/​GYN. I had transferred to his practice during the 4^th month of my pregnancy because I did not like my experience with the multi-​doctor rotation care that existed at another medical office. I had read positive reviews on him via Unilocal and decided I would go with him. That decision ultimately saved the life of my baby who ended up being born 5 weeks early by emergency C-​section. I had been having contractions for the 3^rd time in my pregnancy and the triage nurse at Dr T’s office encouraged me to go to the ER even though I had an appointment scheduled with him for the same day. They ended up finding that even though the baby had a heart beat she was not having any movement or fetal response. Dr. T saw me that day and asked me to return to the ER first thing in the morning since he would be on call. Within a few hours of being in the ER I was seen by a specialist and the decision was made for to have surgery later that day. However, Dr. T wisely asked for me to be monitored while waiting for a surgery time slot to be finalized. Before I knew it the baby’s heart beat disappeared from the monitor and I was taken in to have the baby right away. Thank God she was born alive and ended up staying in the NICU only for 6 days. It turned out that her umbilical cord had bunched up and gotten blocked in some spots cutting off her food supply. This is very hard to catch and unfortunately is usually found out after the baby has passed. Thank God this story ended up differently.

This man is amazing. As soon as I met Dr. T, I knew we would get along… My husband agreed. He answered all of my questions honestly and most the time with a little humor.
I was nervous, as this was our first child but Dr. T didn’t stress me out — in fact he would calm me down in a matter of minutes.
The day I went into labor we had a Doctor appt scheduled so we called and told him we would be missing it because we had checked into the hospital– he walked over on his lunch break to say hi and check on our progress… And then because he is so awesome– even though he wasn’t on call at Mary Birch that evening– he delivered our little man!
I know the Doctor on call that evening is great as well but it was reassuring having Dr. T in the room. My husband and I agree I might have demanded a c-​section but Dr. T knew my personality and exactly what to say to get me to PUSH!
I recommend Dr. T to everyone!!!

Dr. T is great! I recently had surgery with him and everything was great. He definitely eased all of my fears.

Dr. T is a quirky New Yorker with a flair for fashion and has a laid back, joking bedside manner. Very relaxed.
He is a schmoozer (just listen to him chatting up the nurses outside your exam room prior to entry), and being on time is not his strong suit. I’ve waited 40+ minutes in an exam room several times now — only to see him for at most three to five minutes.
His office staff is nice. I appreciate his confident, relaxed manner. I wish he would spend more time with his patients, and not make you feel like you were being rushed out the door.
Booking early morning appointments will not keep you from waiting a long time to be seen, either. I think he is just one of those doctors who runs on their own schedule.
That being said, I still think he’s a great doctor. I will update this review post delivery.

Dr T was my OB while I was pregnant and he delivered my daughter as well. He is direct, caring, and easy to talk to. His nurses are nice as well. No complaints. I will definitely use him for my next pregnancy!

There is no one better. He is direct, he levels with you and he cares. I actually look forward to my gyn. appointments and it’s kind of a bummer I only get to see him once a year or so. He was scheduled to perform my surgery shortly after meeting me as a new patient back in 2009, and 5 minutes in to the consultation I had zero apprehension. He is simply as good as it gets.

Is it weird that I want to scream from the rooftops about how much I love this doctor? My experience today as a new patient was remarkable enough to actually get me Unilocaling again after more than a year’s hiatus. So, yeah… here I am, stripping myself of shame in hopes that this helps out some other ladies in their search.
Finding adequate and not totally horrid healthcare providers nowadays is damn near impossible, and any woman can tell you that it is especially challenging to find a decent gynecologist, let alone a stellar one. I am happy and relieved to report that this happened for me today!
Note: Dr. Tarakjian (more simply known as Dr. T) is probably not everyone’s cup-​o-​tea (no pun… ouch.). And that’s fine… we are talking about precious materials here. So let’s go over the most important factors, which I personally consider when evaluating a new lady-​part doctor, and how he scored in these categories.
Scoring is based on 1 to 5: 1 rated as «have you ever even seen a vagina before?» to 5 as «where have you been all of my post-​pubescent life?»
1) Punctuality: 4
I was taken back to the exam room within 5 minutes of checking in, which is usually half the battle. From the time I disrobed from the waist down until I heard a tap-​tap on the door followed by a super friendly and almost comical «…is that Melanie in there?» totaled about 10 – 15 minutes.
Five minutes longer and this may have dropped to a 3.5, but to be fair, I was a couple minutes late to the appointment because I had a hard time finding the building.
2) Bedside Manner: 5+++
This is where you may totally agree with me, or be all «wtf, Melly?» but I think his personality was just splendid. He was warm and casual enough that it wasn’t any more awkward than it already is to have a doctor all up in your biznass, but extremely attentive, funny and showed seemingly genuine consideration for my well-​being and concerns.
He really listened to me with no apparent judgment. Just as important to me, I never felt like I was being criticized or patronized when discussing my holistic/​homeopathic lifestyle and remedies with him or his nurse. More on this in item 4.
3) Thoroughness/​Knowledge: 5
Without going into too too much personal detail, this appointment was pretty routine but addressed some run-​of-​the-​mill «why being a woman sucks» questions. His answers, tests and solutions were so straight-​forward and simple it makes me really question all of my previous doctors regarding their ethics and diligence. Dr. T even ran a quick test while I waited, eliminating literally all of my worries. This is rather than sending me off to a lab, which usually incurs more bills and lots of waiting time. I am so thankful for this kind of treatment.
4) The Superiority Complex Factor: 5
I totally get it. You went to medical school and neither myself nor my friend Dr. Google have your expertise. That said, I am not a fan of defaulting to the prescription pad and/​or generalizations when it comes to my own personal health. Most Western doctors tune out pretty quickly when they hear this along with my «hippie-​dippie» methods. Instead of getting the proverbial eye-​roll from him, Dr. T proved that he wanted to help me find solutions on my terms, combined with his knowledge. He spoke to me like an equal and not a dumb patient, immediately «picking up what I was putting down,» and suddenly there was no more mention of pharmaceuticals. This is SO RARE. Aside from his thorough and necessary medical explanations, I really appreciated the banter.
Disclaimer: Now, this guy is from Brooklyn, so a large factor in my satisfaction may be that we were speaking the same «language,» but even back home in NYC, I had never found such a truly incredible and personable doctor. If you are shy, conservative or have no sense of humor, I’d recommend a more vanilla doctor. But if you appreciate real, kind, sincere human interactions with some slightly-​off-​color humor laced in, this is your dude!

If you want to wait over an hour after your appt time to spend 2 minutes with a doctor then he is your guy! Otherwise skip him… I had my second appointment and yes they BOTH have taken over 1 hour to even see him… im on time and early the least he could do is respect his patients time and do his job as he is paid to do. AWFUL!

After moving to San Diego from the LA suburbs about 14 years ago I had to go through the torturous experience of finding new doctors. Having had quality doctors all of my life; I have come to know what a really good doctor is. I spent 3 years going through different medical groups and went to many different doctors until I found the Sharp Rees Stealy group. Having a serious problem with fibroid tumors and already having one myomectomy done, my search for a gynecologist with special surgical skills with lasers and special techniques was very difficult to find let alone finding a doctor who would also understand and respect the rights of women who want to keep their uterus. The search paid off when I found Dr Denis Tarakjian at Sharp Rees Stealy. I found this doctor just in time as once again, after a good 10 year span, I was in need of another myomectomy. Dr Tarakjian had all the special skills that I required in my gynecologist and he also had the right attitude & medical knowledge in why I wanted to keep my uterus. He did my second myomectomy at Sharp Mary Birch Hospital where I experienced not only the best care I have ever received but also that I never knew existed for the average person. Sharp Rees Stealy medical group and this doctor are a blessing on earth for any woman wants the absolute best medical care.

I almost died after spending a month or so at Mary Birch. He was not on call the night I went into labor, and the doctor I got waited too long, and basically massacred me. Bled out in recovery BUT between Dr, T and Dr. Partridge (anasthesia), I was able to make it through another month’s rounds of surgery… oh and Dr. MacIntyre who is a fantastic urologist (yeah they cut my ureter too). Dr. T kept my husband and I from giving up, kept us up to date, and had the docs listened to him, I might have avoided some of the pain I went through. He is AMAZING. He has called me four or five times just to check up on me, and with his schedule… well it doesnt happen often. I miss his smile and him calling me Phil. He gave my baby any chance she has of making it. We still don’t know, but if she does, it’s because of him. He almost became part of the family… you’re lucky if you get him…

Your OB/​GYN may seem a weird thing to Unilocal about, but I know first-​hand that finding a good one can be tough, and I finally have! So now, as per usual, I am going to shout it from the rooftops and recommend the hell out of this guy!
Let it be known that I have never had a male OB/​GYN, and never had any intention of having a male doctor for my lady bits, but the recommendation from my primary doctor was so glowing that I thought I would give Dr. T. a shot. (So glad I did!)
His office is one of many in the huge Sharp building on Health Center Drive and his front desk receptionists are standard, too. The real service, kindness and breath of fresh air come once you enter Dr. T’s back office and are greeted by caring nurses who respect your time and understand your anxiety.
Dr. T has never left me waiting in the little exam room for more than 5 minutes and when he does come in, he is honest and genuinely sweet. He never leaves me feeling rushed or with a single unanswered question, and he calms my usually-​irrational fears with an air of confidence and assurance. He is the doctor and I am the patient, and despite my obsessive self-​diagnoses from online forums, he reminds me that his decades of experience are no match for my mad Google Fu skills.
Dr. T is funny, patient and honest. And clearly, that is what I need.

I agree with the other reviewer, Dr. Tarakjian really is a cut above the rest. A classy gentleman who talks to you like an intelligent adult. He doesn’t patronize or condescend, as too many other ob/​gyns I’ve seen tend to do. He speaks frankly, but with heart. And, best of all, he is no dinosaur. He is up on the latest in his field. If you are looking for a new obstetrician or gynecologist, I strongly recommend Dr. Tarakjian.

As a girl that holds her girly parts sacred, you better believe I don’t entrust my junk to just anyone. I am religious about the check-​ups under the hood, you better believe it.
Dr. Tarakjian, who is more known as «Dr. T» is the crème de la crème of San Diego obgyn. I have seen many over the years and no one, and I mean NO ONE has ever given me the care that lived up to my expectations.
When you go to a Dr as personal as an obgyn, you want someone who won’t handle you like you are a piece of meat. Dr T is not that class of a physician. He is the kind of man that treats you with empathy and delicacy, that doesn’t feed you shit, doesn’t take shit and won’t waste your time. He is very honest, blunt and if you want your physician candy coating it for you, then go see someone else.
The beauty of Dr T is that he is also a fantastic obstetrician when it comes time to have your children of the corn.
I cannot express enough what a fantastic physician and person this man is. He is the kind of physician that re-​instills my faith in the medical community, a true gentleman and class act through and through… and if you are one of the MANY patients he sees, you would understand. The man is BUSY and for a good reason.