Ken Alanen, MD

I am giving him full 5 stars because he did a job well done with both the biopsy and MOHs surgery on the right side of my head. I was given all the care and information I needed after my surgery. Not only does he work fast, you can definitely tell how experienced he is in what he does. I never felt anything for the whole duration of the surgical procedure. I came home with all the care sheets and was told what to do and what to look out for. I came back 3 months after that was scheduled for a scar check up and everything went well. He did a full body inspection of course with my under garments on, my husband around, as well as a nurse to check for any signs of skin cancer development that needs to be looked after. So far, I was sent home with great news. He may seem like he is always in a hurry but in my own opinion, the more a doctor sees and tends to a patient/client, the more experienced he gets. And last but not the least, I would like to commend Rebecca, the assistant nurse that assisted on my operation. She really made me feel comfortable and has helped kept me calm since this was my first surgical experience. Thank you so much for everything.

I was a patient for about six years. Each time I go, I feel rushed, wait long lengths in exam room for the doctor to appear, and have to reexplain my history each time - I am there every six months.. I feel that the focus of this practice is on ways to receive revenue. On my last appointment, prior to Covid, I had requested a prescription refill. I couldn't remember the name of it, but it would have been in my file. The doctor refused to look. With the Covid cancellations, of which they never called me to rebook, my next appointment is not until late February of next year. I requested the prescription that I needed as the one on file at the pharmacy has now expired. Derm.ca called me today to say it would be $35 to refill the prescription. What a complete joke. The best interests of patients is clearly not top of mind for this medical practitioner. I now have a new dermatologist and it is a night and day positive experience. The doctor listens and is thorough and not rushed. I do not have to explain my history, there are no unnecessary tests that require additional fees. I am grateful I switched to a new dermatologist.

I visited Dr. Alanen on one of his online services. He did not disclose the fact that the products he was selling were his own. This is a clear breach of the CPSA's code of conduct on accountability subsection h and section 1.1 of the Canadian Medical Association Code of Ethics. As a dermatologist, I trusted his opinion that these products were of the highest quality. The products he sold me did not bring any benefit to my skin. He also gave me medication, but it was weaker than the previous treatments I have been prescribed. I am not sure the logic behind this. I tried to bring up medical concerns to the doctor by calling him directly but his staff were unwilling to let me speak to him. Thankfully, I was able to get in touch with another doctor and fix my skin problem.

If I could give it zero stars I would! I am from Saskatchewan and they do not do the subcsion surgery acne scar surgery in our province, so I booked an appointment to get the surgery a couple months in advance at this clinic- I also had to book my hotel and had to take a week off of work for the treatment/healing period. A week before my surgery I phoned them to confirm my appointment- they told me they had either forgotten to book my appointment or it was deleted for some reason..... Good thing I phoned them!! They told me they could accommodate me anyway and squeeze me in at the end of the day- -I agreed. That was fine with me since I had already booked hotels/time off work months ago for this. I drove 7 hours to get to Calgary. I got to my appt, and waited in the waiting room for over an hour! I thought the procedure itself had went quite smoothly, but they sent me home with no aftercare sheet, nor did they recommend any aftercare products. Doctor Alanen told me we would do an online follow-up in 3 months time... I was sent home, I looked in the mirror right after my surgery and immediately noticed all these large bumps that looked almost like cysts and open wounds that looked like scratches all over my face in addition to the bruising and swelling. I thought it was all normal and apart of the healing process... boy was I wrong! A week after my surgery I had still had the large bumps and scratches all over, so I emailed their receptionist several pictures of my face, and told her about the lumps. She told me my face was still healing and to give it time. Fair enough. Fast forward three months later- here I am still with big ugly lumps all over my face that are actually numb to the touch, and the open scratch like wounds turned into red scarring all over... I tried to speak with doctor Alanen for the agreed upon 3 month follow-up but they wanted me to give my credit card information & pay an extra $50 for the follow-up!! It was never mentioned I had to pay again for a post surgery follow-up! I already had paid $2,100 for my surgery, plus paid for hotels/meals/gas out of my own pocket!! I refused to pay the follow-up charge so he never did look at my face after, although I did email his receptionist Bernadett my concerns she wouldn't relay my message to Dr. Alanen.. All she said was you can either make the trip again and drive 7 hours to the clinic for him to look at you or pay the 50$ to get your online follow-up basically. A few days ago I had a consult here by a doctor in SASK and had my face looked at for FREE, and the lady was horrified to tell me that the bumps all over my cheeks was actually scar tissue all over my face and the scratch like scars were from the instrument used during the surgery. So basically I paid $2,100 to get my face ruined... she quoted me another $2,000 to fix the scarring with 3 sessions of microneedling laser, but was not guaranteed I could get rid of it all.... I am now suffering greatly from mental health issues to the point where I am crying almost daily, and will not even show my face with out makeup to my family or boyfriend of 5 years.. I don't know what to do anymore, I feel like an ugly monster.. I wish more people would take accountability for their actions and admit when they have done wrong. I gave these people multiple opportunities to fix the problem but they wont. No care or compassion to their patients that pay big money / receive dissatisfying results at all. If you do not want your face ruined DO NOT go to these people! Save your self precious time/ money!! You will see in my photos all the red bumpiness / uneven texture caused by the surgery. This was 2 months post op and my skin still looks like this.

Visited Dr. Ken Alanen a few years ago and recently recalled what a poor experience I had. I was rushed after waiting half an hour, questions were deflected, and I was pressured to purchase his expensive skin care products despite requesting generic or lower cost options. The products didn't work for me and I felt like I was scammed. My opinion is that making money is his priority without regard to patient care, ethics, and compassion.

I've been a patient of Dr. Alanen for 5+ years and always receive excellent professional service and medical advice. Dr. Alanen explains my medical situation very well and never attempts to upsell me on the various cosmetic skin treatments they offer. I also receive knowledgeable advice from his medical team on the various skin products offered, but again, I never feel pushed into a purchase. They're genuinely interested in helping me and are very generous about offering free samples so I can determine if the products are right for me! I'd highly recommend Dr. Alanen and his medical staff!

Prior to my first appointment with Dr. Alanen I had an allergic reaction which required me to go to emergency where they administered a benedryl shot that caused me to be severely drowsy. When I got to my appointment I didn't have to wait too long to see Dr. Alanen, however when he came into the room and asked me why I was there to see him, I explained that I was in the midst of having an allergic reaction and was very drowsy and that I apologize if I'm not making sense. I went on to explain that I've been suffering from eczema for 40 years and that my face is severely scarred and that the current medicine I was on wasn't helping. He didn't touch my face and he most certainly didn't look at it either as he kept total eye contact with me the whole time. I saw Dr. Alanen for less than five minutes and in the end he said he was going to prescribe me with betaderm. I told him that I was currently using that medicine, as well as in the past and that it has never worked for me. He said ok I'll put some menthol in there and that should help and sent me on my way. As I was leaving the room I turned to him and asked him if he needed to see me for a follow up and he replied nope. A few months later I scheduled another appointment at the office and asked if I could see someone a little more professional and who actually cares about my treatment. They scheduled me with Dr. Botha who is my God sent, one visit with her and my skin has never been this clear and less inflamed. She prescribed a new medicine and so far so good...Dr. Alanen should take some etiquette lessons from her.

I had a melanoma a few years ago and once I came to Calgary, I started seeing Dr. Alanen at the recommendation of my doctor for check-ups. For the first time, I wasn't living in fear of the sun. He talked to me, calmed my nerves and I felt so much better. He is a pleasant man with a big job and I trust him implicitly. Yes, sometimes you have to wait longer than you want to but just keep in mind that there may be someone with much bigger problems than yours that he is dealing with.

I took my son to see Dr. Alanen about some moles on his head. Upon examination my son was given the green light, all is well. I jumped from my chair, whipped my hair off my forehead and said, "what about this?" revealing an irregular blister type mole that my MD told me was nothing Dr. Alanen looked and said,"go fill out the paper work, we're taking a biopsy now". Two days later the results came back, 'basil cell carcinoma' three days later the skin the size of a toonie was removed, which left me with 28 stitches on my forehead. Here's a man that is run off his feet, yet without me being a patient, he took the time to look at this mole and did the right thing. I'm sure my immediate treatment caused a longer wait for patients that day but I'm o.k. and it hasn't grown back. Can you imagine if it had been melanoma, something Dr. Alanen has to deal with on a daily basis. Telling someone this could be 'terminal' watching them cry, closing the door and visiting the next patient saying, yes we can smooth out your wrinkles ... clean up your acne. Remember he is simply serving a market for this. The extremes that this man must experience are incomprehensible. The next time you feel angry your waiting or the doctor is offering 'other procedures', be grateful, look at the beautiful art he chooses to share. Look outside at the river and say a little prayer for people like him that choose to help you live a happy peaceful life. Dr. Alanen has now taken on another Dr. Botha so he can serve you even better. She listens, she's smart and she's very kind. What a great team, we have the access and privilege too in this beautiful Province and generous Country! One more thing, the reason for such a low rating is because the thousands of patients that Dr. Alanen has helped over the years are happy! They don't consider writing a rating because they're happy, they float off in their happy bubbles and don't look back ... its usually the people that are dissatisfied that write the complaint... Be happy, please share your good experiences, it goes a long way.

What to expect if you're a first tme patient; -He is only open for appointments a few hours a day so expect to wait over an hour over your appointment. You'll then be in the consultation with him for a few minutes before being quickly ushered out. -He'll flog you his products which you collect at reception and expect to pay $50 for each. Don't waste your money. They were no better than drug store brands. -He also confirmed that my acne was indeed hormonal but still continued to recommend his products even though topical products have no effect on hormonal acne. -If you can, go somewhere else or ask if you can have an extended appointment so you can actually have time to explain what you're looking for without him cutting you off and rushing you out. *Note for clinic: Would be helpful to let people know over the phone that they'll likely be there for a couple of hours as I took longer off work than I expected.