Does anyone have any detailed comments about the dermatologist Dr. Ervin Epstein, particularly in the area of skin cancers. My husband has had a skin condition for several years and needs an excellent Dr. who will be aggressive with a diagnosis as the biopsy indicated the possibility of a type of unusual cancer. My husband has had poor experience with other dermatologists in the east bay, failure to be thorough, lack of knowledge, etc. He will see Dr. Epstein in a month and he'd like to know if he'll be seeing a top notch dermatologist or whether he should look elsewhere. anon

What one GP had diagnosed as exfoliative dermatitis, Dr Epstein called ''a variety of excema'' based on a visual examination only. He refused to discuss cause, saying ''these things just happen'' and dismissed the idea that it might be from a food allergy, which we determined to be case later through another practitioner. He prescribed prednisone, a cortisone cream, atarax, and an antibiotic plus UV rays in his office sunbox which ended up giving my husband sunburn. The treatment worked eventually, but had a lot of side effects, and didn't allow any way for my husband to stop using the products without huge flareup, particularly since it didn't address the root cause, only the symptom.

Furthermore, he seemed to use a magnifying headpiece like glasses. If we had relied on Dr Epstein's judgment, my husband would likely still be using the cortisone cream and returning to his office regularly. anon

Although we mostly see him for annual melanoma checkups, he gives his patients lots of attention, medical and personal. My older daughter also had a bothersome skin condition that other doctors couldn't treat, and Dr. Epstein handled it well and helped us get rid of it.

We like Dr. Epstein. Maria K

Re: Dermatologist good with adolescents
I don't have experience with E Epstein re adolescents, but I have been a patient of Epstein's, as has my 22 month-old-daughter. I like him quite a bit as a person, but his office is always crowded (tiny waiting room, in his Oakland/Pill Hill location), and he never did completely figure out what was going on with my daughter's skin (he did know what was going on with me, so that was fine). Donna

I am responding to the person asking about Dermatologist Dr. Ervin Epstein. A couple of years ago, I took my daughter to see him to have a mole removed. She was only 6 at the time, and quite scared of the prospect. He was wonderful with her, and he did a great job in setting her at ease as well as in removing the mole, which healed quite nicely. Not long after that, I saw an article in San Francisco magazine in which they listed the 100 "best doctors" in the Bay Area, and I was not surprised to see he was on the list.

My daughter, who has unfortunately inherited my tendency to get moles, will probably have to have more removed. She does not seem nearly as leery of having this done now.
Good luck!
Sarah