Foot Care of New York: Mike D Thaker, DPM

Let me explain why my reviews matter. I sold orthopedic equipment and drugs to podiatrists throughout the New York City and Brooklyn area for 4 years. I got to know a lot of podiatrists over that time. In fact, I can say that I have probably met and worked with over 100+ podiatrists. I got to know how they treated patients, how they ran their business and how good they were. Among those podiatrist was Dr Vito LaPuma who works with Dr Thaker at Foot Care of New York in midtown Manhattan. I have known Vito now for over 7 years and know that he is always striving to be the best podiatrist there is.
When it came down to me needing a podiatrist these past few years, there was only one person I was going to go see and trusted to help heal my foot. Dr LaPuma is always professional and will get you back to your normal self in no time. As I have been seeing him as a patient, I have also gotten to know Dr Thaker who has been practicing a long time and brings the same patient care that I expected. The staff is always friendly and goes the extra mile if I need something.
This office is awesome and I have recommended my personal friends to go see Dr LaPuma and Dr Thaker.

The current personnel of this office are new. The practice has been purchased since the poor reviews of the past. The prior reviews are no longer relevant.
I chose this office because of its proximity to my midtown residence. I was advised to consult a DPM after being discharged from the ER of Roosevelt hospital two days earlier. I got lucky.
I arrived on time pursuant to my appointment. I was welcomed by a couple of friendly front office young women who were both efficient and pleasant. Immediately after I completed the paperwork, I was ushered into a pvt room. Shortly thereafter Dr Vito La Puma entered. After pleasant introductions, he examined my inflamed foot. He explained that the medicine I was taking was appropriate and that the cellulitis was just about resolved. He explained the findings that supported his opinion.
Ironically, he was himself suffering from his first gout attack! I felt an immediate affinity and also believed that since he was suffering from gout himself, he would really know all there was to know about it. In fact, he was quite knowledgeable. He explained that gout could trigger cellulitis. He gave me good information about the medicine the hospital MD had prescribed for the cellulitis.
Pursuant to prior communications with his office, Dr La Puma knew I didn’t have ins to cover the cost of my exam ($ 225). (I do have health ins, but my deductible hasn’t been reached.) Dr La Puma not only agreed that Xrays ($ 75) were unnecessary for him to diagnose my problem, but upon completion of his exam, he threw in an ultrasonic and whirlpool treatment on the house!
What a generous guy. And with his time, too. By that I mean that the consultation was not hurried. I have lived in So America for most of the past 15 years. It is my experience that the MDs by whom I was treated in So Am have a much better bedside manner than those in the US. In So Am you are not ushered in and out asap. In San Francisco and NYC, my experiences are otherwise. MDs there do not take the time to take a thorough history and «schmooze» with their patients (a process by which an MD can learn an awful lot about the condition of the patient). Normally in the USA there is too much pressure to see as many patients as possible. Dr La Puma was a welcome exception.
When I left I felt very relieved knowing that I had received excellent treatment and advice. I can not recommend this office enough. Please disregard prior reviews. They are no longer relevant.

This is the worst doctor’s office I have ever been to. The staff spent the entire time socializing and disregarding their patients. I didn’t see a doctor for an hour after being called into the patient room. They over charge and would NOT recommended anyone going. They didn’t even fix my issue

This has been the most bizarre doctor visit and I would definitely stay away from Foot Care of New York. First of all, I was not seen by the Dr. I made an appointment with (Dr. Thaker), and was not given any explanation or apology. The office is huge, fancy and completely empty. I saw 0 patients, and only 3 staff members (nurse, receptionist, and some other Dr who saw me instead of Dr. Thaker). The nurse saw me first, and without asking any questions about the reason for my visit and/​or my medical history, took at least 8 x-​ray shots, which the Dr. never even looked at. The whole time she was humming/​singing something, and then dragged out a whirlpool and put my feet into it (still no questions/​comments/​explanations). The Dr. that saw me was nice and seemed to genuinely care about my problem, but was unable to diagnose it. What concerns me the most is that I was not communicated that I will not be seen by the right Dr. until the other Dr. walked in and introduced himself, but by that point I already had x-​rays done and was sitting with my feet in a whirlpool bath. And of course the fact that my insurance will get charged for tests that were apparently not necessary, since noone even looked at those x-​rays. Three words: SKETCHY. STAY AWAY!

I’ve never been so disappointed by a doctor’s visit. Before scheduling the appointment, I spoke with the nurse (maybe she was just a secretary, but she was claiming to have knowledge of the medical processes of the clinic) and explained my injury. I was hit by a drunk driver and severely fractured my ankle. I have two plates and eight screws holding me up right now. I said I was interested in visiting the clinic for physical therapy because I read about the different techniques that they had that I was unfamiliar with, however they seemed like they could help take away my pain. After discussing my injury with the nurse/​receptionist, she assured me that this was the place I needed to go and that their revolutionary methods of PT were perfect for someone like me.
I scheduled the appointment, and was called multiple times and asked to switch the office location, switch the doctor I was supposed to see and switch the time/​date of my appointment. Fine, I said, if they can help me with my pain, I will go to whoever, wherever and whenever they need me to. So they, scheduled the appointment with Dr. Hurt (yes, Dr. Hurt… not a good sign, I thought to myself, boy was I right).
So, I get to the office and while I am waiting, I hear the receptionists and nurses bickering over which was going to process my insurance information. Also, I overheard a highly unprofessional conversation between a nurse and doctor about how the nurse won’t ever date anyone under 35 again, and how she would love to find an older man that resembled the doctor. I should have assumed from there that this visit would be less than pleasant. When I am taken into the room, the nurse had to x-​ray my feet and ankles. In the middle of developing the x-​rays, while staring at the metal in my leg and the 12+ inches of scar going up from my ankle, the nurse actually asked me what ankle was bothering me! I don’t want to complain about her, because she was actually pleasant (if not a little awkward and way too giggly), however, she clearly did not know what she was doing as she was fumbling the entire time.
The one good experience I had in the clinic was the «whirlpool» that they put my feet into while I was waiting for the doctor. This was to take away my callouses the nurse explained and it also had anti-​fungal medication. Neither of those were a concern to me, however it felt good.
Finally, Dr. Hurt arrives. After telling him about my injury, he tells me that none of the revolutionary amazing physical therapy methods that they advertise on their website apply to me, because I have metal in my leg. So what does he do? Of course! Try to convince me to get surgery to take the metal out of my leg, which my world-​class surgeon informed me could never come out. I told him this, and Dr. Hurt said that my surgeon was wrong and that I didn’t need it and if I kept it, there would be no hope in alleviating my pain. That as a 25 year old girl, who is in otherwise perfect health, I would develop arthritis and my pain would only get worse if I didn’t get surgery. Hmmm, don’t doctors usually try to avoid unnecessary surgery? I guess, unless they need to pay their mortgage for their summer home in the Hamptons. When I began to cry from the dim prognosis that Dr. Hurt gave me, he got quickly and noticeably frustrated, put IcyHot on my leg and wrapped me up in an ACE bandage (which, my surgeon also said was not good, as it cuts off circulation, lo and behold when I got home and took the bandage off, I was more swollen than I have been in months). He gave me a prescription for basically Motrin and IcyHot and told me to come back every week so he could monitor my progress and give me «whirlpool therapy.» Yeah right, I’d rather get OTC and a foot bath.
Icing on the cake… after my appointment I get a call telling me that I needed a referral. The girl that was supposed to call me and tell me this before «didn’t for some reason» and can I make an appointment with their affiliate PCP to procure said referral, if not my insurance won’t pay for the visit today, which I already went to and paid a copay for!
I have never written a review for anything before. However, after the unprofessional manner that I was treated in every step of the process, I was absolutely disgusted that these people were somehow allowed to receive degrees from a school of medicine! Please, do yourself a favor and DO NOT GO HERE!!!