This surgeon has haunted me since 2015 and created a lack of trust for any medical professional. He performed a unilateral cleft repair on my 3 month old daughter February 2015. The repair came undone almost immediately and he was unavailable during one of the worst moments of my life. After pestering him relentlessly he said that it was common for cleft surgeries to fail and that it wouldn’t have any long lasting damage and that he would repair her lip and palate when she turned 1 in October 2015. I trusted him again which was a mistake I can never forget. So once again he did both a lip repair and cleft palate repair that failed. When she came out of surgery the top of her mouth had multiple holes, her lip was ripping open where the revision was supposed to be “fixed” and he once again ghosted us. She was in excruciating pain for weeks because of the incisions constantly ripping/tearing open. After almost a month later he said that it was normal complications. We had no one checking in on her and then found out he had left the cleft team which meant he did a surgery on a 1 year old and had no recovery plan/team members to help with recovery and further treatment.

A month post surgery we saw Dr. Wood at Gillette and he couldn’t believe what had happened. He told us that she would need another lip and palate repair because of how terrible the revisions that were done by Dr. Hamlar. He was able to perform both surgeries and my daughter has been great since.

My daughter underwent major surgery at 3 months old and 12 months old for no reason that almost had long lasting damage. I will never forget this awful surgeon and the damage he left on my family.

Submitted Dec. 2, 2023

I will never go to a african american doctor again, And im black. This man Rushed me in and out so fast it was a shame. Made is money for doing nothing. Slick Jive Money maker. Asked me a few dumb questions gave me a paper and got me outta there with a grin,, Rush, Rush ,Rush, Dont go to this doctor, unless you want to be rushed out the door with a grin,, You have been warned,, No wonder he had openings, And the rest of the ents were booked out a month. David god will deal with you and your lack of care.

Submitted Aug. 30, 2021

Dr Hamlar is absolutely amazing :) he has done all 4 of my sons Cleft Lip & Palate repair I wouldn't trust any one else!! Thank you again Dr Amazing for all your wonderful work!

Submitted April 29, 2014

The best have had cancer 3 times in 16 years and he has saved my life no better doctor than Dr. Hamlar

Submitted Feb. 4, 2014

Dr Hamlar never performed a biopsy on my sister's throat condition despite him telling her he did one and it came back negative. Trusting her gut, she finally decided to go to another doctor because Dr. Hamlar was inattentive and not even listening to her concerns. She went to another Dr. who immediately discovered a tumor. Now we've found out months later, DR HAMLAR NEVER PERFORMED A BIOPSY and she has THROAT CANCER. His behavior is criminal and he shouldn't be practicing medicine.

Submitted Jan. 17, 2014

I can not stress how excellent a physician Dr. Hamlar is. He is treating my granddaughter with a cleft lip & palate. He visited her when she was hours old. He has made himself available to her mom & dad. He has answered all our questions and treated the concerns of first time parents seriously. His surgical skill became apparent when the lip repair healed with no visible scars. He is caring and skilled. A rare combination. I have the upmost respect for him and am glad that we have access to such excellent health care. He can run late, but he is worth the wait! The cleft palate team at the U of M is top of the line exceptional. Very highly recommended.

Submitted Feb. 17, 2010

I have the deepest respect for Dr. Hamlar's skills. After seeing several ENT and plastic surgeons over a decade, he was the first to be able to straighten and repair the functioning of my nose. I am very grateful for what he did for me.

Submitted July 19, 2009

I had a paradectomy in October and Dr. Hamlar was wonderful. Very knowledgeable and really made me feel comfortable about the procedure. I highly recommend.

Submitted Jan. 5, 2008

Wonderful physician. Has care for my nephew since he was 3 months old (now is 6). Very knowledgeable, thorough and caring. Excellent surgeon. Surgery outcomes on this little boy have been remarkable. Very little evidence of the severe birth defect this boy once had. I'd trust Dr. Hamlar to care for me or anyone in my family.

Submitted Oct. 25, 2006

Br prepared to wait along time when you get there. Dr. Hamlar is very thorough and tends to run quite behind. However, I have had three surgaries with him, and wouldn't trust anyone else. He's very skilled. He teaches as well at the U of MN medical school.

Submitted Sept. 5, 2005