I had two surgeries by Dr. Lieberman; one in 05 a cervical fusion c4,5,6 and on in 07, a thoracic laminectomy from T9-T12. I was on a lot of pain medicine when I met Dr. Lieberman. He did the cervical surgery, and told me to just stop the meds (I was on too big of a dose to "just stop") and when I reduced the meds, the pain was still there. Many years later I found out the discs never fused. In the meantime, I had also told him about my low back and I made a bad decision to go back to him. He insisted the pain in my low back and legs were from a fat lipoma that needed to be removed. He scared me into the surgery telling me I would be paralyzed from the waste down if I didn't have it removed. So he did a a Thoracic laminectomy from T9-T12 but then abandoned the surgery and left the lipoma in my spine. He said it was too connected to the nerves (he had told me it was fat). So he left it there. I continue to have both the pain in my arm and chest and also my low back and legs. I am on disability. The leg pain covers the L5S1 dermatone paths and an emg shows an l5si radiculopathy but still no surgeon will do the surgery because Dr. Lieberman said the pain was coming from the lipoma...the one that was going to paralyze me if I didn't have the surgery immediately. I had these surgeries in his hospital. The Surgical Specialty Hospital and the second surgery I was there for 6 days because nurses kept opening the spinal fluid tap "accidently", which I call incompetence. It was excruciating headaches for 6 days. I called several times after to get an appointment with him and the staff would say "Is it something new?" and refuse to schedule an appointment bcz it was the same pain he didn't fix after 2 spine surgeries. I feel he did the second surgery on me to help fund his hospital. I don't think he maintains a Dr.'s ethics and he is out for himself only. He cut into my spine twice and then abandoned me.

Submitted March 17, 2015

The worst office staff and surgeon you could possibly encounter. Make this your LAST POSSIBLE OPTION!

Submitted Feb. 21, 2015

I thought I'd done my homework before scheduling surgery with Dr. leiberman. Not so! I was operated on May 15, 2014 and what was to have been a "minimally invasive, outpatient procedure" ended up being 2 nights in the hospital Dr Leiberman and colleagues owned, released with incredible pain, re admitted to hospital for 3 nights and to a local skilled nursing center for 2 weeks. Upon release, the flight back to San Diego was a challenge as the debilitating pain continued. I understood from Dr Leiberman that within 3 months of surgery I'd be pan free! The pain persisted to the pt I could not walk without a walker,
Very bent, hunched over and still with pain! I could not not stand for more than a minute and my quality of life continued to deteriorate. I called dr Leiberman on July 15, 2 months out of surgery. When I explained the debilitating pain, my worsening condition and no improvement, I understood him to say "something is wrong, terribly wrong". His assistant Andrea was also on the line and he tasked her to script an MRI ETC, I then told him i had an appt the next day with Neurosurgery at UCSD. Dr. Leiberman sounded a bit short, ended the conversation with, "second opinions are always good". Hence, I would never recommend Dr Leiberman based on my my personal experience. After 8+ months of the debilitating pain! unable to walk etc, I just had a 91/2 hour surgery at UCSD, spent a week in the hospital and was just released after 3 weeks in a skilled nursing facility, will have Home Health,OT and PT for several weeks and finally outpatient PT. While Dr Leiberman may be a fine Neurosurgeon, in good conscious I could never recommend him based on my very poignant and recent personal experience. I also learned there was a"cement like" substance as well as a lot of constricting material on the nerves in the area that the pain was emulating from. Kathryn (Muffin) Kent, San Diego, Ca. 2/7/2015.

Submitted Feb. 7, 2015

Dr. Lieberman has a wonderful personality BUT while personality is needed a patient also needs a practice that is helpful, listens, returns calls (they don't) and does what is needed for the patient to return to a normal life. I had an L3-L4 back fusion done by Dr. Lieberman just under two years ago. It failed and I am two days away from having it redone by another surgeon (Dr. Mark Garrett) whom I have come to trust - his office is awesome! Dr. Lieberman said he could get me out of pain but never said my fusion failed. He was just going to cut off the end of the nerves involved - that's a mask, not a fix! Eventually my screws which are loose would have come out or broken and the disk would have totally ruptured. How dare he? Dr. Lieberman has three (3) operating rooms going at once and he has become a money mill, in my opinion - Get EM Done! He is now using a technique to get patients out of pain called a Rhyzotomy! That is nothing but a mask and will not solve anyone's problem just take some pain away. If a patient wants to become even more disabled, I guess that it the route to take. I went for a second opinion and am confident that I am going to get fixed and be able to go back to doing the things I love - hiking, four-wheeling, and even water skiing at some point!

Submitted Nov. 29, 2014

I have to say, Dr Lieberman has been one of the best neurosurgeons I've seen. He is caring, informative, and willing to spend the time going over everything with you. I've had two cervical fusions at BNI, and they just move you like an assembly line. After my two surgeries at Barrows, I've developed so much scar tissue, I'm losing the use of my arm. I went back to BNI, and was told, your too young for a third surgery, you need to deal with it. I was never so disgusted in my life. The pain, the loss of use of my arm, and hand, is not something anyone should have to "deal with". I can't thank Dr Lieberman enough for cleaning up the mess that Barrows left me with. As for anyone complaining about his staff, you are so far from the truth. Every time I've called, I spoke with his MA, and every time she said she was going to call me, she did. They are great girls, and they are fortunate to work with such an amazing dr.

Submitted Sept. 23, 2014

absolutely the best experience I ever had with a doctor of any kind from Dr Lieberman to Sheila and all his staff at the Arizona Center for Neurosurgery to The Surgical Hospital Of Phoenix and the Nurses Heather and Leila and all the staff there I would highly recommend them and will tell everyone I know Thank You for the care I was given and the treatment I recieved

Submitted July 19, 2014

Dr Lieberman is a wonderful caring surgeon. He answers questions in a clear understandable way. i truly believei'm upright because of his care. I was unable to walk without excruciating pain and was bent forward and to the side. I am upright and was able to walk a mile after 3 weeks. He continues to care for me anytime i have any problem at all. I would and have recommended him to others.

Submitted June 27, 2014

This is the worst doctor I've ever had the displeasure of meeting. His staff is rude, they don't return phone calls, and they are condescending. They're too busy discussing their social lives to answer phones and attend to the patients. I went to this doctor because he's who my insurance said I should use. As it turns out, he fused the wrong vertebrae. When I removed the neck brace, on the exact day I was told I could, I was in excrutiating pain. Three weeks after the surgery, and my incision dehissed. I was in so much pain, my primary care physician sent me to another MD who, after looking at my MRI, asked me why Dr. Lieberman had fused the vertebrae he did, when the probloem was in the two vertebrae below the fusion. My PCP then referred me to BNI, where the specialists, again, after viewing my MRI, asked why Dr. Lieberman had fused the wrong vertebrae. I saw three lawyers who said I had a case, but for reasons unknown, all three stated that they couldn't help me. Hmmmm..

Submitted June 10, 2014

My primary care Dr. recommended Dr. Lieberman for my neck pain. In Nov. he put me in a neck brace for to see if the pain would go away--which it did--so he said I should have surgery. Surgery was scheduled for Jan 17th---during the night my stitches opened up so back to surgery the next morning where he stitched me up again. 3 weeks later the stitches were removed and 3 days later the incision burst open again. He met me at the emergency room but did not stitch it up again but had me put on a vacuum pump which I have been on since February 15th and it is not healed up yet. Have to have a Home Health Care nurse come every other day to change the pump. My pain in my neck is worse now than it was before I went to see him. I can turn my neck to the right 30% and to the left 0%. He finally admitted that it was his fault because he did not put enough stitches in the first time. If you are thinking of neurosurgery please do not go to him.

Submitted April 9, 2014

Dr lieberman did my L5 S1 fusion 6 yrs later i am having to have surgery again to fix what he did wrong. My fusion never fused and screw placement was in the wrong location causing some additional problems.

Submitted March 12, 2013