John M. Hilinski, M.D., San Diego CA

I had two rhinoplasties done by Dr. Hilinski (4 years apart)

On both occasions the results were not what we talked about, although I will give him credit that he did make some decent progress. The first surgery was to refine my nasal tip as well as fix my deviated septum. The tip was refined some but the septum was not any different. I was also left with uneven nostrils (which was there prior to the surgery) but Dr. Hilinski did not correct this.

On my second surgery. I was extremely clear my main focus was straightening my septum and fixing nostril asymmetry. I also wanted a slight reduction in my profile. The only thing corrected somewhat was the nostril asymmetry. My nose is just as deviated now as it was before BOTH surgeries.

I usually felt rather rushed during check ups and honestly, he did not seem to care too much about my results. In Fact, on the cast removal of my second surgery, he did not even show me my results in the mirror before releasing me. It seemed extremely unprofessional after just spending thousands of dollars to trust him in executing this surgery. I followed up multiple times with him via email about this and was ignored every time. I was very respectful to him throughout the process but I did not feel cared for me. People spend extremely high amounts of money for these procedures and deserve what they pay for.

Although Dr. Hilinski did not botch me the results were extremely underwhelming and felt like a waste of money for the most part.

I have been going to this office for over a decade. I see Kelly now for Botox and she is always professional and gives me that rested look. As I am aging she is very helpful in helping me grow wiser gracefully.

Excellent service, the staff is very friendly and professional. Kelly is amazing she is also very gentle you don't feel any pain. I recommend her 100%.

Dr. Hilinski fixed my nose (previous primary rhinoplasty with a different surgeon, and then re-broke my nose years later) in a way that I wasn't sure was possible. My nose was crooked and deviated, and my breathing was poor out of one side of my nose. Further, my nose didn't fit my face, and wasn't natural.

My revision with Dr. Hilinski couldn't have gone better. Nearly 10 years after my initial rhinoplasty with a different surgeon, Dr. Hilinski fixed my nose, both aesthetically and functionally. DO NOT go to a jack of all trades to get your nose fixed. I urge you, go to a specialist/true expert like Dr. Hilinski.

I owe him and his entire staff/team a tremendous amount of gratitude. I'm so glad I did my research, and that I decided on Dr. Hilinski. He is a true expert and professional.

Dr. Hilinski is absolutely amazing! I had my macrotia surgery on Monday and came back Wednesday to remove my bandages. It was an emotional moment looking in the mirror after the bandage removal, the results are truly amazing and I can’t wait until they are 100% healed. I am so grateful to have found Dr. Hilinski, he did a phenomenal job. Thank you Dr. Hilinski, Andrew and everyone else who made my experience so wonderful!

Professional, friendly, and responsive to questions, concerns, etc.all staff and associates were great.

Disorganized Office & Disorganized/Rude Doctor.

1. At the end of the consultation with Dr. Hilinski on Wednesday, he took photos of my nose and said: " watch your email for some morphing photos this weekend. "
I was hoping to discuss the morphing photos with him during the consult. But I accepted that. I had to quickly get to the airport.
Never got the morphing photos from him over the weekend. Called his office Monday to inquire, his assistant said she would send him a message. Called again on Tuesday, the assistant said she would send him another note. Called on Wednesday, I simply said: "I am not happy with this. He said he was sending it to me over the weekend. "
A few hours later. Dr. Hilinski called me and left a long voicemail which I didn't even want to listen to after I saw the transcript. Instead of being slightly apologetic about the delay, he blamed me for being impatient. He said photos take time. He said he did not want to provide morphing photos to me anymore.

A doctor can't do what he said he was going to do. But blame patients right away.

2. I made my appointment to see him over the phone with the receptionist ahead of time to see him in January. I told the receptionist I was flying out of town - returning the same day. The receptionist also said to me that the Doctor will provide the morphing photos usually before the weekend, even if he can't get it ready to discuss with the patient during the appointment.

I then bought my plane ticket.

Closer to the appointment date, I called the office to double check my appointment. I was told the doctor was going to do surgery that afternoon at my appointment time. There was no note in the computer system that I was flying into town to see the Doctor. If I had never called, I would have never known about this. Surely I freaked out and was not happy.

Thankfully, my flight flying out of San Diego was around 7 PM. So I waited in the office for over 4 hours and finally visited the Doctor after his surgery. Ended the appointment without being able to discuss photos taken for my nose. Rushed to the airport.

Hope this experience won't happen to you!

Best practice I’ve ever been to. I love the doc and love the treatments. High quality, accommodating, friendly staff, easy parking, knowledgeable. I’ve been going here for years for various treatments. Most notably, I had two rhinoplasty operations before Dr. Hilinski and went to him for a third. He worked his magic and I gotta say it takes a true master to fix what I had going on. A little pricey, but the expertise is worth it. I’ve possibly been called high maintenance and hard to please, but this practice does everything right. Truly top notch. No complaints from me and I will be back!

I recently saw Kellie Hartman RN. I ended up with a major black eye. The treatment felt rushed. She even excused herself in the middle to tend to a cool sculpting patient. She didn’t take the necessary precautions to prevent significant bruising like this. Two weeks later it’s still dark and bruised. Makeup doesn’t cover it. I look like I was punched in the face. I contacted the office by email and phone. No call back just an email from Kellie saying these happen. She’s young and definitely needs to improve her skill and ability to compassionately care for patients. Especially when they’ve been injured by her. This situation significantly impacted my life and she couldn’t even return my call. Her lack of experience shows. She’s definitely not Dr. Hilinski. I wouldn’t recommend her or go back.

Excellent customer service, and bedside manners:). All staff are very professional compassionate and very accommodating. Awesome experience

My genetically-gifted double chin has always been a sensitive issue for me. I saved my money up and last year decided I was ready to pull the trigger on a consultation. I found Dr. Hilinski on Yelp! And decided to go with his office because they had great reviews and offered both Coolsculpt and Kybella.

Bottomline:
When all is said and done, I didn’t notice any difference in my problem area and feel obligated to write this review because I wish I could have made a more informed decision before wasting a $2,000 investment. I’d recommend finding a practice that is more committed to the results. It’s a lot of money to spend to feel unhappy with the outcome.

The good:
Kellie Hartman RN did my initial consultation, the procedure and the check in’s. She was truly wonderful, kind and informative. The office is centrally located and has parking which can be tricky for that area.

The bad:
The area I wanted treated it directly under my chin and the results are barely visible after two treatments costing $2,000. I’ve included photos so that you can see for yourself. I did see some difference in my jaw line but that was not an area of concern and in ways, it makes my under-chin area stand out even more now than it did before.

I was recommended Coolsculpt over Kybella but when I didn’t see the results we had expected, the office said they could brainstorm with the Coolsculpt reps to see if there was a better way to approach the placement of the tool on the hard-to-reach under chin area. This made me think Kybella might have been a better fit but that Coolsculpt is being more heavily promoted at the office, even if it wasn’t right for my problem. And if Coolsculpt was a better option for me, it sounds like they should have consulted their reps to hit my problem area in advance of the treatment.

After my treatment I wrote Dr. Hilinski an email letting him know that I wasn’t going to share my feedback publicly but that if it were my business I’d want to know. I was constructive and honest about my experience. I was surprised when he responding asking me to come in to discuss it further. I made it extremely clear that I was not willing or able to spend any more money. His office said they understood but when I came in and discussed with Dr. Hilinski he gave me a deal of another $700 to treat the area. While I appreciated the responsiveness, I did not feel heard and I didn’t feel like their office was willing to fix the initial lack of results and was just hoping I’d spend more money. I have a friend in the industry who let me know in confidence that the cost for a cool sculpt cycle is $125 so I think that if Dr. Hilinski’s office had wanted to, they absolutely could comped an additional session in good faith.

I highly recommend Dr. HIlinski and his office staff. I’ve had a major procedure with a facelift and laser peel and look awesome!
Dr. Hilinski has had me come in for several follow up appointments and I am very satisfied with the results.

Dr. Hilinski is a master at his craft. I trusted my face to him and am very happy I did. Highly recommend dermatologist and facial plastic surgeon.

Dr. Hilinski helped fix my nose, and I can finally breathe with no effort. His staff is helpful and friendly, and they make you feel at home. Overall a great experience. I would definitely recommend to anyone.