Mark D Gendleman, MD

I had a horrible experience with this doctor. We got into a yelling match in his office, and that has never happened to me before in my life. He doesn’t listen to anything you say. His diagnosis is final.
I had a severe reaction 7 months ago to TTO that burned my skin. It kept me from using acne meds that normally work fine for me. I used lotions/​creams to alleviate the burn but doing so also led to breakouts. I went to an Internist who prescribed hydrocortisone cream which didn’t do anything for me. Ever since that initial reaction, my skin hasn’t been the same — it’s been extremely dry and irritated and moisturizers has done little to help. He told me it’s not possible for TTO to have damaged my skin to such an extent and that it goes away after a few days. How can he tell me it’s impossible when in fact my skin feels irritated? Some people have very serious reactions to TTO and it does not go away in just a few days. He pretty much called me a liar. He only saw the breakouts and said, you suffer from acne and need oral antibiotics. Normally, topicals would not bother me at all, but now it burns when I use them so clearly something is wrong. What a huge waste of time.

This Dr is pretty damn awful — missed diagnosis and complete lack of bedside manner. Will not listen to your case history — makes snap judgement in less than 5 minutes. Not sure why anyone would go here. Seems he just wants you to buy their $ 90 lotion from their pharmacy.

I agree that Dr. G is not much for small talk, which can be off-​putting. However, he has always been top notch at diagnosing and treating any issues we’ve had. I brought all three of my toddlers to him for various issues, and he’s treated me for skin tags and moles. Love the fact that he treats any problems right away, rather than require a follow-​up appointment.
If you need a warm and fuzzy doctor or a lot of hand-​holding (which I do not judge!) then he may not be for you. If you need prompt, skilled treatment, then he is your guy.

This is the second time I’ve made an appointment through zocdoc and it’s been cancelled by the doctors office. So I called in to speak with someone and Maggie was very nasty with me on the phone, I really don’t appreciate the direction that my first experience was going so I’m moving forward elsewhere. I will not use zocdoc nor visit this unprofessional doctors office.

I can understand why some people may find him a little brusque, but I have received the best derm care from Dr. Gendleman. I have seen several dermatologists in the area and he has helped me solve my skin problems the best and the quickest. Also, you can always get an easy appointment without waiting for weeks (like most offices around here), which is very helpful. I have had to take my 6 yr old daughter in several times for painful procedures and he is very calm and caring with the children.

I’m very surprised at how overly sensitive people seem to be. I’ve been seeing Dr. Gendleman since 2008, and have been very happy. He does have a dry sense of humor, but seems to be a very good doctor. He knows what he’s talking about.

I have been a patient for approximately 10 years as needed. He came highly recommended by my internist. I believe that in addition to his practice, he teaches at medical school.
On each and every occasion, he has addressed my problem directly and resolved it. He is to the point rather than serving as a chatty psychologist which is what many patients look for in a physician.
The most recent need for his services was for what turned out to be basal cell cancer on my eyelid. I had seen two other physicians who stated there was no problem. He immediately stated that the cyst should be removed; it was too close to the eye for him to do, and he made an immediate referral.
In reviewing the other reviews, I do not understand why there are 13 highly recommended ratings and the Unilocal site indicates they are not currently recommneded.

Wow. Went to see him today regarding several skin conditions. I have to agree with another reviewer that he is very unstable. I have never been treated this rudely by any doctor. He did not listen. He couldn’t even find the skin tags that I mentioned until I got a mirror and showed him. He cut me off, was so rude, came into the room while I was undressing without knocking. When I told him that his manner was rude he shot back with. «It’s just the way I am.» When I told him that I would not be returning b/​c of his unprofessional and rude manner he said «After everything I’ve done for you?» — What? He removed a few skin tags. STAY AWAY. Wish I had looked at this earlier…

I have been to Dr Mark Gendleman’s office on more than one occasion & have had interactions with both Dr Gendleman & his receptionists, over the phone & in person. He and his staff were warm, polite & helpful.
He advocates for his patients & he prescribes & advises for what works– not for what pays.
Anyone that says otherwise has probably caught them at the wrong moment & has been overly judgmental, critical & hateful.
The proof to the negative & hateful nature of those that gave him 1 star is the vulgar profanity that was used to describe him.
In my opinion, you don’t give anyone 1 star unless they verbally abuse you (in the way that the reviewers did,) physically abuse you, or were dishonest in their dealings with you.
Slander is a horrific sin, especially when it is completely off base.
Bottom line is that Dr G is a good guy, he says it like it is, & he’s a total rock star so don’t let anyone else tell you otherwise!

I was amazed* when I happened on these reviews (actually looking for something else). I’ve used Dr. Gendleman for close to 30 years, took my three children to him, and sent my husband. I find him very knowledgeable, very up on current treatments and literature, and he doesn’t waste my time or his. I even enjoy his sense of humor — so you can see why these reviews really surprised me.
Dr. Gendleman is definitely not a super chatty type of doctor, but that’s not what I’m looking for. I have never found him less than cordial, or uninterested in hearing every pertinent detail about why I am there. Over the years he has cured many different types of dermatological problems which 5 people of differing ages and lifestyles have had.
If you are looking for someone who is straight to the point (and willing to try further options if the first doesn’t work), this is a doctor for you. Not a bedside manner, but highly competent. Caveat: he is no longer taking most insurance plans, but is not exorbitantly priced.
*Amazed enough that I’ve actually just joined Unilocal (which I always read) to write this as my first review. Finally contributing back to Unilocal (red face). And hopefully presenting another side of a very skillful doctor.

I truly believe this Dr. Has mental illness. I found him downright scary and abusive. I walked out the appointment after he told me he hated patients with lists. He was agitated and angry. I was frightened enough to tell him I did want him to touch me. Foolishly I wrote a check for the cost of the office visit, but after I got home I called the receptionist and asked her to tear up the check which she did. I cannot believe he was once named one of the 100 Best Drs. In Chicago magazine. This man should be medicated and perhaps disbarred from practicing.

Dr. Geneleman’s receptionist ignored me, preferring to have a casual, personal conversation with a pharmaceutical rep. instead. The wait time was very short to see him. Dr. Gendleman was dismissive and bordering on homophobic. I had come in for a skin cancer check and mole removal. He basically said that men shouldn’t be concerned with mole removal or anything cosmetic. He also asked if if I had makeup on which was really strange as I had absolutely nothing on my face. He also told me that only women need to moisturize their skin. I did not have him do any mole removal. This guy needs to retire now! I wish I had read the reviews on him before selecting him as a doctor.

I’ve seen Dr. Gendelman off and on now for a few years. He hasn’t rubbed me the wrong way as he has others here. I can see how some might interpret his bedside manner as a little gruff, but as opposed to immediately jumping to the conclusion that he’s an ass, I think more likely he’s just a to the point kind of guy. If you typically don’t like that, Dr. Gendelman may not be for you, but I never felt any pressure to go a certain direction with a treatment. He presented the facts, asked what was important to me, then made his recommendations. That’s all I can ask for.

I had been a patient for 2.5 years and had not visited for a while, so when I booked my appointment, all they asked me was my last name. No mention of changes to my insurance. I get there and the office is completely run down, with a receptionist who looks like she works for minimum wage, and a billing manager who is a huge bitch, her name’s Lynn. There was an issue with my insurance, so I was in the lobby making phone calls to resolve it when this bitch Lynn walks out and starts yelling at me for being on the phone. I was there for a BLEEDING MOLE, and the bitch treated me like I was a homeless person, asking me to pay up front — they didn’t even know how much I should pay.
What a joke of an office. Dr Gendleman is on OK doctor, but if you ask him to give you advice for other things that you didn’t schedule time for, he will tell you to schedule another visit, so he can make more money on your insurance. DO NOT go there. The building is dirty, you have to pay to park even though this is in Evanston, and the staff is completely untrainned, rude and to be honest, dirty looking. Lynn looked like she needed to take a shower and get a serious make-​over.
Too bad this is a business… it’s run like a circus.

I agree with the other reviewers that his demeanor is incredibly brusque, bordering on rude. It seems that he’d prefer you to talk as little as possible, which is troublesome when you’re in your very first appointment, trying to explain your current condition as well as your history.
I saw him for acne troubles, and wanted to mention that I’m incredibly sensitive to benzoyl peroxide. But he didn’t let me speak, and ended up prescribing me an ointment that, unbeknownst to me, contained the dreaded BP. Now, clearly I take some responsibility for not knowing the ingredients, but he should have let me discuss the important parts of my detailed history with acne treatments, so we could have avoided this whole mess.
What mess, you ask? Well, I *burned my face* using this cream just one time, and when I called and explained my symptoms he told me that I was probably sensitive to BP… wow. If you’d let me talk, you’d have known that my skin doesn’t like it, and you wouldn’t have given me something that gave me what seriously looked like a second-​degree burn across my chin.
To be fair, the cream he prescribed in its place has been a godsend, and I thank him for helping me have clearer skin. Thankfully the tube is really huge, and I have three refills left; by the time I run out, I’ll have found someone new, someone who will listen to patients and not be, for lack of a better term, a jerk.

Wow, am I pissed! The other negative reviews here are right on target. My wife went in to see this Doctor with sores that had spread all over her body, some obvious infections. This all started after she got an infection as a result of a microdermabrasion treatment. The guy told my wife, without even knowing this, that all her injuries were self inflicted and the result of «picking and scratching». When she tried to explain that she had previously and initially had an injury that had become infected he laughed her off and told her not to talk. He only looked at the area of the original injury which he was not even aware of. My wife tried to get him to look at the bleeding sores all over the rest of her body and he refused. He did not examine her at all.
He was not interested in knowing the history because he had already made up his mind, sight unseen. Having an injury that became infected, treated with antibiotics, and then resurfaces is a pretty important detail! Or so you would think. He diagnosed without even knowing this fact, try as my wife did to tell him! Above all, he was rude, insulting, and arrogant. We had a bad feeling before she was called in from the waiting room as we had observed that he seemed to be seeing two patients at a time while talking to another on the phone. It was all in and out every five to eight minutes.
I went in and confronted him in front of the crowded waiting room about the fact that my wife had basically been shown the door without even being examined. He insisted he had examined her and looked at areas he never looked at. This guy runs a conveyor belt type practice. Do not go here unless you would like to be insulted and have a doctor show you the door without being interested in what could be very serious conditions.

Out of no where a growth appeared on the end of my nose. Not a pimple at all. I was not taking any chances with my nose. I needed a Dr. who knows his stuff and has answers. Dr. Gendelman of Evanston is awesome.
A friend recommended Dr. Gendelman. He saw my nose and diagnose it, then remove the growth, had it tested. He was supportive through the procedure. I felt confident, he even cared about scarring, which because of his expert work I have no scarring. Dr. Gendelman is the guy to go to when you need answers regarding skin problems.

I needed to see a dermatologist fast due to irritated skin around my eyes (couldn’t wear makeup!), and wound up going to see Dr. Gendleman basically because he was the first dermatologist I could see. I don’t think that I’ll be going back — I’d rather find a derm who has a more caring and personable demeanor. I found him to be rather brusque and at times, rude. I felt uncomfortable and defensive during his ‘interrogation’ about my skin condition, and why put up with that? He seems to know what he’s doing — but he could really use a crash course in common courtesy.

I really like him — he’s a no nonsense kind of guy. I come in, sit down, tell him what’s wrong, I walk out with a script and course of action. I’ve had some really annoying skin irritations that he’s cleared up in a few days and the standing orders are, ‘if it ever comes back, call me up and I’ll phone you a perscription.’

I made an appointment to see Dr. Gendleman, and when I made the appointment with the receptionist, I was feeling really positive, because she assured me that I could come in for a quick consultation, and then — if all went well — I could have a procedure done the same day, instead of having to take off work for a consult, then come back a couple weeks later for the procedure. In this case, the procedure was cyst removal. I took a sick day from work to come to his office. I was seated in the doctor’s office, then a young man (another dermatologist) came in to take my information. Let me just say that the only reason Dr. Gendleman gets ANY stars is because his younger, totally wicked hot colleague was decently nice to me.
I had just started explaining the location of the cysts (totally embarrassing to have to do in front of a hottie), and in walks Dr. Gendleman (presumably it was Dr. Gendleman, he didn’t introduce himself or even really acknowledge my presence). I tried to explain that the cysts were rupturing and causing me all sorts of problems, and showed him one, and the man literally laughed in my face and lectured me about how minor and insignificant my problem was, and in basically the meanest way possible said «there’s no way I’m going to help you.»
I explained that I’ve had similar cysts removed when I was a teenager, and again in my early 20s, so my request wasn’t THAT outlandish, and he just scribbled a phone number of a surgeon in the far North burbs. I informed him that I didn’t have a car, and he just looked at me with a totally blank expression. I started to cry at that point (not dramatically, but tears were flowing. I couldn’t help it… it’s difficult to talk about that stuff, and I was beginning to realize that I had not only wasted a sick day, but also was going to have to start from scratch. He looked at me and said, «WHY ARE YOU CRYING?» and I assure you it was not with concern. He seemed mainly annoyed. I didn’t know what else to do, so I just gathered my stuff and let myself out of his office, while he just looked at me without saying anything. As if that wasn’t awkward enough, the entire thing happened while the hot dermatologist was just sitting there.
Keep in mind that I am not complaining because he refused to remove the cysts, but let the record show that a very nice, young female dermatologist that I saw last week has agreed to remove all three. She took the time to listen to my concerns, agreed that they needed to be removed, and we even talked about cosmetic concerns since the cysts are on my scalp (she will peform the removals without having to cut my hair). My complaint about Dr. Gendleman is twofold. Number One, the man was rude to me and made me feel like a piece of crap. I hope to God that he was just having a bad day, and that this isn’t how he treats all his patients. Maybe he deserves the benefit of the doubt on THAT. But Number Two, he exhibited a complete ignorance of sebacious cysts and how they work.
Having had them my entire life, I have done TONS of research. These run in my family, I have had three removed by three different kind and willing dermatologists. Sebacious cysts can rupture, and they will continue to reform, and re-​rupture, until the «rind» of the cyst is removed 100%. I’ll stop there, but feel free to look this information up on your own if you’re curious. When I told Dr. Gendleman that I’ve had these cysts for 5+ years and that they have ruptured several times, like when I wear a headband or brush my hair, he again laughed me off and said something to the effect of «why would they come back after they rupture?» in same tone that someone would say «you have no idea what you’re talking about.»
My 5 minutes at Dr. Gendleman’s office were the worst 5 minutes of my recent life. His terrible attitude and complete lack of caregiving ruined my day. Not only can I not get those 5 minutes back, I can’t get my sick day back to use for future need, and the best part of all — I got to pay this jerk $ 45!!! When I have a little more time on my hands, I will be reporting this doctor to his professional association, because people should simply not be allowed to behave in this manner.