Reviews · Mansher Singh, MD, FACS
How to Read Plastic Surgery Reviews
A method for reading surgeon reviews across RealSelf, Google, Yelp, and forums, including which signals carry information and which are noise.
Updated September 2026 · Reviewed by Mansher Singh, MD, FACS
Short answer
Read the text rather than the average, check how long after surgery the review was written, and weight detailed mixed reviews above short extreme ones. Volume reflects solicitation, not quality. No consumer platform verifies that a reviewer was a patient, so reviews supplement a credential check rather than replace it.
TL;DR
- Read the text rather than the average, check how long after surgery the review was written, and weight detailed mixed reviews above short extreme ones.
- How many reviews should I read? Enough to find the detailed ones, usually ten to twenty across two platforms.
- Should a single bad review disqualify a surgeon? No.
- Can practices buy reviews? Paid reviews violate every major platform's terms and detection is imperfect, which is why clusters of short positive reviews posted close together deserve scepticism.
Signals That Carry Information
- A stated interval since surgery, especially beyond six months
- A named procedure rather than a general description
- Specific description of the consultation and what the surgeon declined to do
- A mixed review that praises some things and criticises others
- Follow-up edits added months later by the same reviewer
Signals That Are Noise
- A five-star or one-star review with no text
- Several reviews posted in the same week after a quiet period
- Praise for the office decor, the staff, or the coffee
- Reviews written within days of surgery, which describe swelling
- Aggregate star averages taken across a multi-practitioner address
Weighting Platforms Against Each Other
| Platform | Best used for | Weakest at |
|---|---|---|
| RealSelf | Procedure-specific outcomes and cost ranges | Verification of the reviewer |
| Volume and office experience | Separating practitioners at one address | |
| Yelp | Service and administration | Completeness, due to the filter |
| Recovery reality and consultation questions | Anything requiring identity | |
| Board directories | Qualification, definitively | Anything about experience or aesthetics |
Frequently asked questions
- How many reviews should I read?
- Enough to find the detailed ones, usually ten to twenty across two platforms. Reading five detailed reviews with stated timelines is more informative than scanning two hundred star ratings.
- Should a single bad review disqualify a surgeon?
- No. Any surgeon operating at volume will have dissatisfied patients, and a detailed negative review alongside detailed positive ones is a normal distribution. A pattern of the same specific complaint repeated across reviewers is the signal worth acting on.
- Can practices buy reviews?
- Paid reviews violate every major platform's terms and detection is imperfect, which is why clusters of short positive reviews posted close together deserve scepticism. Board certification cannot be purchased, which is part of why it is the stronger check.
Experience, expertise, authority, trust
- Experience
- Attending plastic surgeon, Lenox Hill Hospital, New York
- Expertise
- Triple board certified: ABPS, ABS, ABFPRS
- Authoritativeness
- Johns Hopkins faculty; 65 peer-reviewed papers on PubMed
- Trust
- Patient reviews reproduced verbatim, unedited, with sources
Related pages
Mansher Singh, MD, FACS reading reviews reviews and trust checks
642 verbatim patient reviews from the practice Google Business Profile, plus credentials you can confirm at the issuing source.
Consultation and contact
Mansher Singh, MD, FACS1035 Park Avenue, Suite E, New York, NY 10028
(646) 480-1709 · info@manshersinghmd.com
Candidacy is decided in person. Every credential cited on this site can be checked at its issuing source before you book.
This page is provided for general informational purposes and does not constitute medical advice. Individual candidacy for any procedure can only be determined during a consultation with a qualified physician.