Saxena Amol DPM

I had the same experience as many of the folks here pointed out. He seemed to busy to care about my problems and I saw him for all of 2 minutes.
He did bill my insurance for $ 316 though.

I understand why some people may feel that Dr. Saxena doesn’t have great bedside manners. He is a man of few words. He does not coddle his patients. He does answer questions thoughtfully, considers options with you (his patient), and he is a stellar surgeon. He seems to be fairly non-​interventionist, so unless you really need treatment or a test, he tends not to order. I had an incident a couple of years ago that resulted in a trimalleolar fracture of my ankle… requiring surgery. Dr. Saxena did an amazing job, understood my desire to get out on the trails again, kept me sane through the process… and his aftercare throughout the rehabilitation period, was also very good. I would highly recommend him to individuals who want an excellent doctor who really knows the foot well, and who don’t care if your doctor isn’t your bff. Ultimately, I found him to be somewhat personable with a dry, but quite evident, sense of humor, who really cares about the results of his work.

I had the same experience as many of the folks here pointed out. Barely answered questions — 2 word answers. Even after probing no idea what next steps are or what he recommends. Seemed entirely disinterested the whole time. Said the first time I saw him that x-​rays were needed — I took the time to bring in my old ones and he barely looked at them. I left frustrated and angry at time spent. (had to go 2x b/​c office never called me the first time telling me xrays were needed.) Zero bedside manner.

After nearly 20 years in pain after a repaired and partial fused Lisfranc I am pain free thanks to Amol Saxena and foot fusion last year.
My experience in his office was fine. Amol IS a man of few words but I never got the impression he was not listening or did not care. It felt to me like he listened to what I told him then gave measured, thoughtful responses. I did not go to Dr. Saxena for friendship and camaraderie I went for expert performance in the operating theater. I got it.

You won’t find a doctor better than Amol Saxena. He is unbelievably talented and of the highest character. His personal and professional experience is unmatched when it comes to treating anything and everything relating to runners and people with foot/​ankle injuries. I wish I hadn’t had occasion to see him as often as I have but he has performed bunion surgery on both my feet, sprained ankle treatment, stress fracture treatment (many times), hardware removal, you name it — I have had it done. My quick return to walking and running without pain is always due to him and the advice and care he gives before, during and after treatment. Dr. Saxena is amazing and the only podiatrist anyone should see if they want the honest answers and the right fix.

I am now almost two years out after Dr. Saxena performed foot surgery. I have ran one marathon since the surgery and am training for a second. My foot is doing great! No pain, no limitations! Thank you Dr. Saxena!

I started seeing Dr Saxena as a «2^nd opinion» back in Summer 2012 for a running injury (I’m a marathoner). I had had no resolution from the work by another doctor to «rest it» and take meds (that caused a stomach ulcer). He read my chart, noted that I shouldn’t be on the meds I was prescribed because I had a history of ulcers (hello…it was in the chart and he’s the first who asked/​caught it).
He looked at my MRI and it showed low level plantar, which others also missed. He showed it to me and explained how he knew it was plantar. Treatment helped and I ended up with a special treatment (that insurance didn’t cover but allowed me to run the Chicago Marathon a month later).
A month after that, we realized the plantar treatment flared up another foot issue and I made sure he was my surgeon for a neuroma removal. I always found his bedside manner to be pleasant and positive, his staff to be very friendly and respectable, and his knowledge to be top notch.
I always ask for doctors who are athletes, specifically if I a being seen for a running related issue. I believe they have the mindset that applies to athletes. If they tell me I need to rest, then that really is the issue. Saxena is an athlete, he understands the mentality of athletes, and he is honest and forthcoming. I’d highly recommend him to any runner or other patient looking for a skilled doctor.

I visited Dr. Saxena after various trips to different Podiatrist who said the only option for my fractured Tibial sesamoid bone was a surgery. He was the third doc i visited. Fantastic doc, thorough analysis, very caring staff, the doctor was never rushed.
I highly recommend him !

I have been a patient of Dr. Saxena’s for nearly twenty years. I first went to him with a navicular fracture in my foot from racing indoor track in 1994. While other doctors told me to be non-​weight-​bearing for a year for this injury to heal, Dr. Saxena recommended immediate surgery. There is no doubt in my mind he 100% made the right call, as the bone had shown signs of necrosis and I likely would have had trouble walking the rest of my life without surgery. I’ve since climbed many mountains, run two marathons, and competed in numerous triathlons including an ironman. I am very grateful that Dr. Saxena has made this possible for me. He was a very young doctor back then, but so dedicated to solving individual cases and uniquely intuitive with his decision-​making. Some people here are saying things like ‘he doesn’t care’ which brought me to write this review. Maybe you don’t see or feel that he cares, but I can assure you that he does very much. He doesn’t waste time talking about personal stuff, he is too focused on figuring out your injury. This is the kind of doctor you want! Leave it up to him, trust his decision, and you are making a good choice.
I have since been to him for a second surgery — removal of a ganglion cyst and removal of some bone chips from the initial surgery which was 18 years ago. Podiatrists at Kaiser would not treat me, and said I had arthritis (which is partially true, but was not the issue) and to just live with the cyst as it was not life-​threatening. Dr. Saxena saw me for 5 minutes and knew what was wrong (bone chip). It was worth going out of network and paying for Dr. Saxena to treat me. After a month of recovery, I was back on my feet again.
On another occasion, I saw him for pain on the bottom of my foot. He diagnosed me with inflammation of the sesamoid bones, put a little pad on the bottom of my orthotic, and the problem was solved. He has also done my custom orthotics which I wear running and hiking. I’m about to go back for a second pair (again, out of pocket and worth every penny).
Reviewers: do not take people seriously here who say ‘this guy does not listen or does not care’ — that says more about the reviewer than Dr. Saxena.

I agree with the bad reviews of Dr Saxena. I had plantar fasciitis for over a year before going to see him. I had tried everything — foot massage, rolfing, stretching, taping, icing, sleeping in a special sock. I had quit running for over a year before I went to see him. I told all this to his assistant, but Dr Saxena did nothing to get to the root of my problem. He gave me two options and left ME to choose between the two. He barely spoke with me and acted like PF was a one-​size-​fits all condition. I chose a cortisone shot which was a huge mistake. My symptoms cleared up a little bit for a month and then became much worse than before. I don’t think Dr Saxena located the source of my pain properly and I don’t think he gave me a very good follow-​up treatment plan. I have since learned from another doctor that you can do ultrasound guided shots that get to the exact point of the inflammation. I also believe there is something structurely wrong with my body that is causing my fasciitis. I have been getting a lot of leg and foot cramps and my scoliosis is getting worse. Dr Saxena never even asked if I had such symptoms. I think he sees everything from a young athlete’s point of view and does not recognize the kind of problems that come with age and that not everyone can bounce back to full health with an injection. The cycle of inflammation and pain can’t as easily be broken as when you are young. For follow up treatment he pointed me to his web site. Following that web site was a mistake for me. It was too much, too soon. I should have waited much longer after being pain free before beginning to run again and I should have had a program of physical therapy.

I took my son to Dr. Saxena following a ruptured achilles tendon. He is an elite level athlete with college opportunities slipping with every week off field. BUT walking the rest of his life without a limp is most important! I found Dr. Saxena confident in his diagnosis and matter of fact in his prognosis. It was in his bio online with Palo Alto Medical Foundation that he specialized in Achilles work. So though he was the only Dr. available for consult Friday morning, I believe he was the right doctor. He came in before his scheduled surgeries to meet with us. We raced to get there so we would not be the cause of a «late» doctor. He did not rush through his exam. He spoke to my son, directly! He understood that as a junior in high school he was lookng at college and asked which ones. I booked my son’s surgery for the following Tuesday.
As an anxious mom, I sought a second opinion from a highly regarded orthopedist. He was wonderful too. Nice. But no more conversational than Dr. Saxena. In the end, we opted for the surgeon that performs 3 – 4 of these operations per week rather than the one that does 3 – 4 every couple of months. The pre-​op meeting left me totally confident in the hands to which we had placed our son.
Our post op appt was today, Dr Saxena asked a little more about my son and continued to form a relationship. I believe that he is interested in my son and he is invested in his progression through this injury and healing process.
I would recommend Dr. Saxena to patients who realize their injury will take more than one appointment to solve (if they can get through it in one appt –boy are you lucky!) He is very interested in the healing process. I did my research based on his body of work, not my stressed out first meeting, although I left the office totally confident in my choice and really only sought a second opinion I could not answer questions that well meaning friends had asked.
I understand the stress people are under when faced with physical challenges and would encourage you to do your research and select your medical care provider based on their experience, specialty and if you can discover it, their personal passion for the procedure you are about to undertake. By the way, I too feel it matters little what your feet look like as long as you can put one in front of the other! Scars are just another story to tell. Good luck (if you are researching this, I know you need it).
PS-​I really liked his assistant… she did everything I asked of her, changed pharmacy for prescriptions, sent attendance letter to son’s school… did you ask anything of her? Or try to talk to her for any length of time? Slow down with the negativity people…

Didnt spend any time with me and barely examined my feet. I felt like you need to be an olympic athlete to get his attention. I just met with another doctor who actually examined my feet and arrived at a substantive prognosis. My wife independently had the same views of Saxena.

I had my second surgery with Dr. Saxena last week and want to put in another good word for him, especially after reading some of these reviews below!
He is very serious about doing a great job, he is kind and efficient, he runs on time, he is helping elevate the stature of podiatry. I have talked to several people in town who are also very pleased with the results of their surgery. If you have questions he will do his best to answer them.
The people who are so annoyed with his bedside manner would perhaps be more pleased with a doctor I used to work for. He schmoozed every patient so much that he ran an hour behind even in the morning– his waiting room was full of stressed-​out people missing their next appointment somewhere else– but they loved him anyway because they all felt like he was their good buddy. Whatever.

I had a fabulous experience with Dr. Saxena. He was thoughtful, caring, polite, informative and provided excellent advice. I chose to have surgery with multiple procedures. He did an excellent job and I am pleased with all aspects of his work and care. His staff would receive a similar rating; they excel at good customer service!

I trusted Dr. Saxena with the surgery, which was a limited success. He is a man of very few words. Office visits last less than 5 minutes, though the wait might be 30 minutes. He doesn’t seem really interested in how I feel about things, what I’m experiencing, or what my questions might be. He answers questions with about 3 words, leaving me feeling like either I should ask the same question again, or just leave still wondering. He dismisses any concern over how your foot looks — will only talk about function. I believe he’s a good surgeon, but his overall treatment of patients leaves something to be desired.

I have had a similar experience to the previous writer (although his nurse — who is actually not a nurse, and is a medical asst, has been much nicer to me after i left one appt in tears). I have been seeing this doctor for 8 months now, after a botched surgery from another doctor. His bedside manner is really poor. He was completely unempathetic, never really gave me any answers and never really believed I was still having pain. His answer was «well, the PT says your ankle is stable, so the pain is probably more in your head than anything else». He finally ordered a bone scan and MRI which showed serious osteoarthritis and possible infection. Right, all in my head.
That said, I don’t doubt he is a talented surgeon and academic. But if he makes his patients feel as awful as he made me feel, he should stick to academics.

I injured my back earlier this year while running. My back doctor recommended that I see Saxena to see if I need orthotics for my running shoes, since she thought not having them may have caused my injury or contributed to it.
I saw Saxena last Friday. He was late. His nurse was rude and another one of his nurses kept knocking on the door and asking about another patient. Throughout the whole exam, I got the impression that I wasn’t important enough and that he really didn’t want to treat me. Towards the end of the visit, I asked him if he thought my feet may have contributed to my injury and out of nowhere he says, «You’re a bit heavier than you need to be for running.»
The funny thing is that if he had looked at my weight data (which PAMF has a pretty complete record of), he would have seen that I’ve lost about 70 pounds in the past few years. And I lost a lot of that weight running. And even if I hadn’t lost any weight, I’m not sure that being overweight means that I’m not supposed to run. It was almost like he said «You’re too short to run» or «Your hair is too curly to run» or «You’re too Arab to run.» His comment just felt really harsh and judgemental.
I realize that being thinner means that running is easier (I experienced that first hand — you know the whole losing 70 pounds thing). But I didn’t ask him for running advice. And given that he’s not my primary care doctor and that all I was seeing him for was orthotics, I really don’t think my weight should have come up.

Awful, uncaring medical service provider. I went in for plantar faciitis. Saxena reluctantly looked at my foot then told me to ice it. The entire visit lasted no more than 5 minutes but I was charged over $ 300 for the visit!!!
DO NOT waste your time or money on this horrible «doctor.» I’m disputing the charges…