Review of Medical: Dr. Lyndon Mascarenhas

[k_stacky 65]

I know it's been a few weeks since I've been, but I wanted to give a quick review of my medical with Dr. Lyndon Mascarenhas for anyone presently trying to decide which visa doctor they want to book their medical with. I booked my medical in October through his website, gave three dates and times in November that worked for my schedule, and was given one of those dates.

On the day of the medical we drove to Toronto. My appointment was for 10:40am and we left with plenty of time to get there early but there was a particularly nasty incident on the 401 and we ended up getting there closer to 11pm. We parked down a residential side street that was about a block away from his office but make sure there are no signs posted that say you can't park there. The office itself was kind of hard to find and we walked past it once or twice before we realized which one it was. (doh!)

Once inside there is a board that lists all of the names and suites of the professionals in the building, and tells you what floor you need to go to. Once you get to the correct floor the elevator will open from the opposite door as the one you walked into downstairs, so face the opposite wall if you don't want to embarrass yourself like I did! Once you step out of the elevator you follow the hallway until you see the suite, it was very clearly labelled. The waiting room is very small so try to only bring what you need and depending how many people are there be prepared to stand while you wait. The receptionist took my vaccine checklist paper, the supporting vaccine documents (flu shot record, blood test results, vaccine record) and she took my passport photos, passport, and had me fill out a short form which I then handed back to her.

After that you wait until you are called and then someone lead me into one of the rooms and I was given back my original documents that I had handed in at the desk.There are several rooms in the back and the Dr. bounces between rooms as he meets with the different people and their cases. It was maybe a 10 minute wait before he came into my room. Dr. Mascarenhas was extremely friendly and really made the whole process painless. He confirmed my name and date of birth, my address three times throughout the interview, and asked me simple questions about my health, if I had any communicable diseases, etc. and took my pulse and blood pressure. He then explained the fee's and told me to pay at the front desk and gave me two forms; one was a map to get to the LifeLabs building for my bloodwork, and another was a sheet for my x-ray which is on a different floor of the same building. He took the time explaining both papers and where to go and what to expect and really made sure I understood what to do. He also commented on how prepared I was and how he wished everyone was the same way. (thank you VJ )

I paid the fee at the front desk, got my receipt for it and then made my way back to the elevator and down to the waiting area for the x-rays. You just give the receptionist the x-ray papers and take a seat until you are called. After that you go into the back and you are given a gown and provided a changing room to remove all clothes and jewelry from the waist up. These change rooms are not monitored or secure so if you can I would avoid bringing in any valuables with you. Then you sit on waiting chairs just outside the x-ray room until you are called in and then it is just a simple chest x-ray; put on the protector, position yourself according to the technicians instructions, and you're on your way! There is a labelled laundry hamper on your way out for used gowns, so make sure you throw yours in there.

Once that was over we headed down the street to the building to get the bloodwork done. This was probably the most unpleasant part of the whole experience. The receptionist people were very rude, but I took a number and sat down. The people around us while we waited were very nice though, and it was a nice way to pass the wait of 30 minutes. Eventually they call your number (listen carefully as I found it hard to hear them) and you give them your healthcard, etc. then you go back to whatever room you were told and you sit in the chair and they take your blood. The nurse I had was not so great and I ended up with a pretty nasty bruise, but eh I suppose. ***Note*** Before I went for my medical I had the exact same bloodwork done in my home town and they actually used the result date for that instead of waiting for the results from the Lab in Toronto. It got me my medical back faster in the mail, but I was slightly disappointed having to give blood twice haha

My medical was on Nov. 12th and my package was delivered on Nov. 17th (three business days later), but as I said I think the short timeline was also due to me already having the bloodwork done previously and them not having to wait for the results. The envelope inside that you take to your interview is clearly marked 'Do Not Open' and a photocopy of the DS-3025 was included seperate with a note to "keep it for your records" aka for AOS. I was very worried about not receiving this form and was pleasantly suprised that they made it extremely easy for me.

Overall, it was extremely painless (apart from the bloodwork ) and I would definitely recommend him!

[journadian 13]

Thanks for the review been debating on which of the 3 docs in Ontario to see.

[Friend2ya 9]

I decided to go with Dr. Lyndon Mascarenhas, as soon I received consulate request on Nov 23. I went to the website like around 10:30pm, filled up some questionnaires and did email for appointment. Right before midnight I had an appointment on Nov 26 at 11:15am

I had my results ready on Dec 1 and I was like wow!!

For parking, both of my times I drove and parked at Kenwood Ave - Don't forget to pay for meter. Also try to get there before your appointment, as traffic is a nightmare left and right no matter where you go.

I tried Dr. Ian Zatzman, he was away during the week I got my medical done. I had my appointment for Dec 14 but I no longer needed. Unless there isn't any available above mentioned, and you want to call him to see if you can get that day. He is not bad at all, I had him on my first medical exam and plus traffic is not bad at all..

Good Luck on your journey,

Edited December 11, 2015 by Friend2ya

[Nathan&Amy 204]

Had my medical exam in Toronto yesterday at Dr. Lyndon Mascarenhas. Overall very good experience with this doctor. I emailed them a few times with questions and they were quick to respond, and when I went to book an appointment they had availability within the next week. At each step of the medical everyone was very friendly and professional (receptionist, doctor, xray tech, nurse etc), the only thing I wish I had known before (should have checked this review page first!) was that you have to walk to another building for the lab part of it, it is not far just around the corner about a 2 minute walk but I was wearing uncomfortable shoes and carrying a heavy laptop case and was also just feeling a bit lost downtown Toronto

 

Anyway, my experience with them was as follows:

 

Emailed them after I received NOA2 to inquire how far out they were booking (in Canada you can't actually book the medical until you have an interview date). Once I had booked my interview, I emailed again to book the medical appointment. I wanted any day but their last appointment of the day as I was coming from 2-3 hours away and taking the afternoon off work. Their last appointment of the day is 3PM so I emailed on Wednesday, August 2 and got an appointment for Thursday, August 10 @ 3PM.

 

Traffic is very very heavy in this area (it's about 12 minutes from Yorkdale mall, through city streets), and there's always construction, so leave extra time. At 1466 Bathurst, Dr. Lyndon is in one unit on the 3rd floor. The receptionist gave me a basic form to fill out with my information and I gave her my passport and she took the completed form along with my passport, one US passport photo, and vaccination records. I had also brought my appointment confirmation letter and medical records from my doctor but they never asked for those. Then they called me quite soon after that and I went into one of his offices with a nurse who asked me to write down my height and weight (they have a scale and height measure if you're not sure of those). Then Dr. Lyndon came in - the actual time with him was very quick. Took my blood pressure, confirmed my address and information, asked me a couple of questions - ever been charged with drug use or got a DUI etc, said sorry for the questions but we have to ask, the US is very sticky about that. He was friendly and made small talk, where was I going in the US, what do I do for work etc. I don't believe this has anything to do with the immigration process, it is just simply conversation. After that (literally probably less than 10 minutes with him) he gave me instructions to go to the basement of the building for the xray, and gave me a map showing where to walk for the lab (to do blood test and urine sample). Both the xray place and lab seem to be totally different entities from Dr. Lyndon, I think they just do the tests and send him the results then he checks them over and compiles the medical information to send to you.

 

I paid the fee at the front desk ($300 for the exam + $50 to have it couriered to me + $1 for the debit fee = $351) then went downstairs to do the xray, gave the form from Dr. Lyndon to the receptionist down there and again was called very quickly. The xray tech was also friendly and professional. As @k_stacky said, the change rooms are not monitored, however I had my laptop with me and it was totally fine, there wasn't really anybody around that I was worried about.

 

From there, you go back up to the stree level and walk out the door of 1466, turn left, go to the intersection of Bathurst and St. Clair, cross the street and turn left, then LifeLabs is on your right about a 1 min walk down St. Clair. (That part would be a bit annoying in the winter, but the weather was fine yesterday). Again, go to the receptionist and give her the forms from Dr. Lyndon (oh yes, also he had given me the blood test vial and urine sample cup). Again, I was called soon and sent to cubicle 1. The nurse was good, did the blood sample - for some reason used their own vial, and then I did the urine sample and then I was all done - you don't need to go back to the Dr. at all. They had told me it can take up to 3 hours, but I was done in about 1! But it could be longer, if there was a wait for the xray or lab etc - I really didn't have a wait at any stage.

 

I would definitely recommend this doctor, he was good as was all the staff. Only drawback is the location/traffic/parking but it all worked out ok for me. There is also quite a bit of food places around - Pizza Pizza, Starbucks, Menchie's, Subway etc, as well as a few stores if somebody was coming with you and needed to kill time. They could also just wait for you in the waiting rooms and walk between the office/xray/lab with you.

 

 

[O.C 160]

On 8/11/2017 at 10:52 AM, Nathan&Amy said:

Had my medical exam in Toronto yesterday at Dr. Lyndon Mascarenhas. Overall very good experience with this doctor. I emailed them a few times with questions and they were quick to respond, and when I went to book an appointment they had availability within the next week. At each step of the medical everyone was very friendly and professional (receptionist, doctor, xray tech, nurse etc), the only thing I wish I had known before (should have checked this review page first!) was that you have to walk to another building for the lab part of it, it is not far just around the corner about a 2 minute walk but I was wearing uncomfortable shoes and carrying a heavy laptop case and was also just feeling a bit lost downtown Toronto

 

Anyway, my experience with them was as follows:

 

Emailed them after I received NOA2 to inquire how far out they were booking (in Canada you can't actually book the medical until you have an interview date). Once I had booked my interview, I emailed again to book the medical appointment. I wanted any day but their last appointment of the day as I was coming from 2-3 hours away and taking the afternoon off work. Their last appointment of the day is 3PM so I emailed on Wednesday, August 2 and got an appointment for Thursday, August 10 @ 3PM.

 

Traffic is very very heavy in this area (it's about 12 minutes from Yorkdale mall, through city streets), and there's always construction, so leave extra time. At 1466 Bathurst, Dr. Lyndon is in one unit on the 3rd floor. The receptionist gave me a basic form to fill out with my information and I gave her my passport and she took the completed form along with my passport, one US passport photo, and vaccination records. I had also brought my appointment confirmation letter and medical records from my doctor but they never asked for those. Then they called me quite soon after that and I went into one of his offices with a nurse who asked me to write down my height and weight (they have a scale and height measure if you're not sure of those). Then Dr. Lyndon came in - the actual time with him was very quick. Took my blood pressure, confirmed my address and information, asked me a couple of questions - ever been charged with drug use or got a DUI etc, said sorry for the questions but we have to ask, the US is very sticky about that. He was friendly and made small talk, where was I going in the US, what do I do for work etc. I don't believe this has anything to do with the immigration process, it is just simply conversation. After that (literally probably less than 10 minutes with him) he gave me instructions to go to the basement of the building for the xray, and gave me a map showing where to walk for the lab (to do blood test and urine sample). Both the xray place and lab seem to be totally different entities from Dr. Lyndon, I think they just do the tests and send him the results then he checks them over and compiles the medical information to send to you.

 

I paid the fee at the front desk ($300 for the exam + $50 to have it couriered to me + $1 for the debit fee = $351) then went downstairs to do the xray, gave the form from Dr. Lyndon to the receptionist down there and again was called very quickly. The xray tech was also friendly and professional. As @k_stacky said, the change rooms are not monitored, however I had my laptop with me and it was totally fine, there wasn't really anybody around that I was worried about.

 

From there, you go back up to the stree level and walk out the door of 1466, turn left, go to the intersection of Bathurst and St. Clair, cross the street and turn left, then LifeLabs is on your right about a 1 min walk down St. Clair. (That part would be a bit annoying in the winter, but the weather was fine yesterday). Again, go to the receptionist and give her the forms from Dr. Lyndon (oh yes, also he had given me the blood test vial and urine sample cup). Again, I was called soon and sent to cubicle 1. The nurse was good, did the blood sample - for some reason used their own vial, and then I did the urine sample and then I was all done - you don't need to go back to the Dr. at all. They had told me it can take up to 3 hours, but I was done in about 1! But it could be longer, if there was a wait for the xray or lab etc - I really didn't have a wait at any stage.

 

I would definitely recommend this doctor, he was good as was all the staff. Only drawback is the location/traffic/parking but it all worked out ok for me. There is also quite a bit of food places around - Pizza Pizza, Starbucks, Menchie's, Subway etc, as well as a few stores if somebody was coming with you and needed to kill time. They could also just wait for you in the waiting rooms and walk between the office/xray/lab with you.

 

 

Thanks for your informative review! My medical is booked for Aug 28 with Dr. Mascarenhas.

 

I just want to confirm that I only need to in fact only need to bring 1 passport photo? 

 

Also, was there another option other than paying 50$ for them to ship it to you? Can you pick it up at a later date from their office directly?

[Nathan&Amy 204]

21 hours ago, Orit.d said:

Thanks for your informative review! My medical is booked for Aug 28 with Dr. Mascarenhas.

 

I just want to confirm that I only need to in fact only need to bring 1 passport photo? 

 

Also, was there another option other than paying 50$ for them to ship it to you? Can you pick it up at a later date from their office directly?

Hello! Yes just the 1 photo. I had two with me but they only wanted one. 

 

Yep, you can pick it up as well, I just opted for the courier service as I live over 2 hours away. 

[D and T 569]

I had my medical at Dr. Lyndon Mascarenhas' clinic yesterday and thought I'd add a quick review to this thread:

 

The building where he is located is called Clairhurst Medical and is located on Bathurst St,  just a wee bit south of St. Clair St. W.  It is an extremely busy location and there was construction going on in the area, so possibly take that into consideration when you head down there.

 

First off, as others have stated, this medical was an absolute breeze!

 

One thing to remember though, is they DO NOT give vaccinations here, you must have them done elsewhere and bring proof with you, in the form of a signed sheet from your doctor (I printed off the sheet from Dr. Lyndon's website and had my doctor fill that out). FOR 18-64 YEAR OLDS: If you had your MMR or td/tdap in prior years, you will need to bring your blood test results from the lab showing a positive result for those. Your doctor will give you a copy. If you had varicella, your word for that is good enough. In any case follow the instructions on the website, everything you need is there.

 

My appointment was for 1:15 and I arrived about 12:30 when they were closed for lunch. There was one other person waiting there. By the time they opened at 1:00, the small waiting room was packed, standing-room only.  But the friendly, highly-efficient receptionist had no trouble handling the volume of people.

 

As others have said you will have no problem if you have followed the instructions on their website and bring all the required documents. If not, you might be given a little of the old what-fer but she will still help you determine what you need to do to solve your problem. I thought she was awesome quite frankly.

 

Your  name will be called and you'll be asked whether you are a US or Canadian visa applicant. Then you are given a sheet upon which you write your contact info.

 

When you hand your filled-in sheet, you must include your passport, ONE passport photo and your vaccination papers. I handed all that in along with my copy of the lab blood work results showing that I had received the MMR vaccination in the past.

 

Apart from the above, I was not asked for anything else whatsoever, but your mileage may vary so again, bring everything they ask for on the website just in case.

 

You will be shown to a small exam room where you will (rather apologetically) be given a short, simple, yes-or-no questionnaire concerning your history of alcohol and drug abuse; psychiatric issues and any legal issues arising from those; as well as whether or not you have ever been refused entry at the US border.  You will be given a blood collection tube, a bottle for urine collection and a sheet with directions to the lab down the street. The x-rays are done in the basement of the same building you're in.   Your passport and vaccination papers will be returned to you at this time.

 

While you're waiting you'll probably hear the jovial doctor talking and joking around with people in the other rooms.  

 

When it's your turn, the doctor will greet you with respect and friendliness and small talk will be made while he takes your blood pressure and asks whether you are healthy, whether you have had any surgeries or hospitalizations. I was not otherwise physically examined or asked for any other medical history.

 

The doc will then confirm with you whether you are coming back to pick up your results or if you'll be using a courier. I chose the courier option since it was a lengthy trip for me to get to his office and back. I had concerns about getting my envelope back in time for me to be on the train to Montreal the day before my interview, but Dr. Lyndon assured me I would have my results back by the week following. (At time of writing, this will be next week. If there are any problems with that, I'll edit this post later to let people know.)  He made sure I understood how to get to the lab across the street, then shook my hand and we were done.

 

Next, head back to the front office where you pay your bill, then take the stairs or elevator down to the x-ray facility in the basement. That took maybe fifteen minutes. At LifeLabs down the street, the processing there took maybe another fifteen minutes.

 

Minus travel time there and back, the whole thing took approximately one hour.  I would highly recommend using this clinic for your Visa medical if you're close enough to the area.

 

Good luck and don't sweat it

[viv333 0]

Hello, I am signed up for my medical with Dr Lyndon for Nov 25.  The lady who is responding to his emails - Elena refused to clarify this question. Hope somebody with previous experience can help.

 

Dr Lyndon's website indicates that for vaccines only the vaccine form for my age category completed by my GP is required for US Medical.  There is no mention of blood tests or anything else.  However, in the comments above I see that some people mention that "If you had your MMR or td/tdap in prior years, you will need to bring your blood test results from the lab showing a positive result for those. Your doctor will give you a copy. If you had varicella, your word for that is good enough." 

 

Is this a requirement?  Thanks in advance!