Dr. Leonard Levitt, MD

I went to Dr. Levitt for the first time in June 2013 to address the increasingly irritated skin on my hands. They were covered in dry red patches and the skin on my fingertips was peeling. I had previously been to another dermatologist at a large practice, and thought that Dr. Levitt could offer me more personal attention. The first practice had prescribed me a powerful corticosteroid that had been partially effective. Dr. Levitt, however, took me off that medication and prescribed an equally powerful corticosteroid that seemed to be much less effective. At a follow-up visit, I mentioned to Dr. Levitt that this treatment did not seem to be working; he just scratched his chin and continued to prescribe the same, less effective medication. After another month, I returned to Dr. Levitt again and received more or less the same response. He put me on a slew of samples, including coal tar, a type of vitamin D cream, and various emollients and told me to alternate the powerful corticosteroid (which hadn't been effective) with an even less effective corticosteroid. He said to me, "I'm running out of things to give you." That was my signal to change providers.



At my wit's end, I dug up the original prescription for the corticosteroid that had been effective, applied that for a week or so and finally noticed a huge improvement. However, I had spent months on powerful corticosteroids that had minimal effect, thus thinning and damaging my skin and putting me at risk for corticosteroid addiction. I have since found another dermatologist who took one look at my hands, diagnosed me with palmar plantar psoriasis and performed a biopsy to confirm. We are still waiting for the final confirmation but she has already mentioned a slew of treatment options that never came up in my meetings with Dr. Levitt.



Those are the facts. I will also observe this: that Dr. Levitt is almost always available for an appointment, so he should be well-rated in that regard. However, when most dermatologists are booked up for weeks and months in advance while another one is available at any hour of the day, one must wonder why. Perhaps because his office and practice are outdated and his treatment methods are only marginally effective? Indeed, he does not take credit cards and one must remember to bring cash or a check for co-payment, which is expected up front. This is a huge inconvenience and further suggests that Dr. Levitt's approach is behind the times.

Dr Leonard Levitt was patient, thorough, and even overly concerned with any discomfort or nervousness I may have been demonstrating. To explain, I called Dr. Levitt's office hoping I could schedule a quick appointment to remove a few skin tags. Well initially they were going to try to schedule me for the following week, but when I explained to them that I had taken a sabbatical from work this week and next week would be bad for me, they bumped me into to seeing him that day. What I thought was only a few skin tags went up to 40 or more skin tags of different sizes. This was pointed out to me by Dr. Levitt and he proceeded to remove all of them for no additional charge then the reasonable price I had received on the phone. As he did the procedure he was very professional and even showed concern if I flinched even a little bit. As a result all of it was quick and painless. I will definitely revisit Dr. Levitt if any other skin conditions need addressing in the future.