Two bunion surgeries and a year and a half and very unhappy. Get more than one option. Very poor job read more

Timothy Blakeslee, DPM FACFAS - Podiatrists Near Me

I went to see Dr. Blakeslee in August, 2020. I had had pain in my feet/ankles for the past year and it was getting worse severely restriction my activities (gym, hiking with the dog, just plain walking). I had earlier seen a GP and nothing came of it save a referral to Dr. Blakeslee. I was actually very distraught by my condition as I thought it was degenerative bone disease or osteo-arthritis or a lack of cartilage, something that would severely limit my active life. After an examination and review of x-rays and review of my gait, Dr. Blakeslee told me the ankle joints were healthy and my problem was due to flat feet and a falling arch. The cure, shoe inserts and special flip flops, no surgery, no prescriptions, no end of my active life. The Doctor then provided me with a list of providers of the said inserts and flip flops of which I purchased. Three weeks later, the pain is gone and I am back to normal for the first time in ages! read more

KEEP AWAY FROM CHILDREN! My son was born with club foot on his right foot. He was also 8 weeks premature and spent his first 28 days in the NICU. Dr. Blakeslee casted him at two days old and treated him there after by re-casting him weekly. We saw Dr. Blakeslee twice after my son came home. The first time was a re-cast and the second time was a recast. Then he called me at home when my son was barely two months old and told me he needed surgery, immediately. I asked my primary for a referral for a second opinion and she sent me to Stanford where we saw Dr. Lincoln. Lincoln is world renown in this field and we were told. 1. Dr. Blakeslee was using an OUTDATED casting procedure. The new procedure would not have required my preemie newborn to sit in water for hours on end to soak his plaster cast off. 2. Blakeslee was using an OUTDATED placement procedure as well. 10 YEARS outdated. 3. Dr. Lincoln would never recommend surgery on a child like my son until he was at least 5 years old because of all the other less invasive ways to deal with it. My son is not 10 and has never had surgery or problems. After this news I notified Dr. Blakeslee of what I was told and told him we wouldn't be returning to his office. He told me I was a bad mom. He called me a week later to try to convince me to go ahead with the surgery and once again said he thought I was being a bad mom and making a stupid decision. I have spent the past 10 years feeling sorry for current young patients and their parents every time I have to walk by his office. BEWARE read more

Deserves zero stars for absolute lack of regard for this patient. Proceed with caution. I will not return to this office. After waiting 1 month for an appointment date Blakeslee was on call at the time of my 9am appointment. I checked with a cash co-pay and asked if the doctor was on-time. "Yes" was the answer. After a few minutes I was advised Blakeslee was 20 minutes behind schedule. By 30 minutes behind schedule I inquired again and the receptionists were not able to advise when the doctor would fulfill the appointment. At 60 minutes behind schedule I announced I had never been disrespected like this in a doctor's office before, that I was leaving, and requested the refund of my copay. I left without the cash copay because they did not know how to process a cash refund. read more

Doesn't listen to the problem, and the medical help which I request. Worthless appointment in that respect.

DO NOT SEE THIS DR.!!! It has taken me 6 months to write this review because I have been so busy taking care of my son and been too emotional to do this rationally. I am writing this not to bash Dr. Blakeslee because I realize people make mistakes and I realize nobody is perfect however I think I need to write this so other parents know to TRUST YOUR INSTINCTS even if a professional is telling you otherwise. My 14 year old son had a soccer accident in Santa Cruz. He was rushed to Dominican Hospital because his foot was turned sideways and he broke his tibia and fibula. Dr. Blakeslee performed the emergency surgery (put in a metal plate and some screws) and told us everything went fine. After surgery my son was in a (CAST). He was in horrible pain despite every narcotic under the sun. They could NOT get his pain under control. He also started losing feeling in his toes. Dr. Blakeslee wanted to release us home and was telling us that this was normal pain and he would be fine. I asked to stay in the hospital until we had it under control. We stayed for 2.5 days and the pain was getting worse. I started calling hospitals and orthopedic surgeons to figure out why this was happening and someone suggested that we 'bivalve' the cast because it sounded like he was developing compartment syndrome (his muscles were swelling and losing blood flow). I had to 'demand' that they bivalve the cast (had to get the chief of the hospital to get Dr. Blakeslee to come and do it). Dr. Blakeslee acted like I was ridiculous and was very rude about having to do it. He was also very rough and totally unsympathetic while performing the bivalve. He did it and it did not relieve any of the pain. He was kinda like, 'see', it didn't help! That night I demanded a second opinion. He 'finally' sent an pediatric dr. to come see us. The pediatric Dr. agreed with me that something wasn't right but he wasn't an orthopedic surgeon so didn't know what to do. He and I decided it was time to be transferred to UCSF. At 3:00 am an ambulance took us to UCSF and with 3 hours Dr. Diab and his team diagnosed him with Compartment Syndrome after they quickly took off his cast to see that there was ANOTHER bandage UNDER the cast that was SQUEEZING his leg. Immediately he was rushed to surgery where they had to open his leg from his ankle to his knee to release the pressure. His leg was open for 2 days before the swelling would go down and they could close it. He almost lost his leg due to Dr. Blakeslee's arrogance and unwillingness to solve the problem. We also learned that he had a staple going through a nerve from Dr. Blakeslee... and the plate he put in is too small. Parent's TRUST your kids and TRUST your instincts!!!!! read more

Dr. Blakeslee diagnosed my foot pain as plantar fasciitis (PF) without an x-ray or MRI even though with PF, other than having foot pain, my other symptoms didn't match up. I tried at several different visits to get him to hear that I didn't have worse pain in the morning, and that the pain was in a very different spot than PF but he insisted that it didn't matter. After steroid injections, physical therapy and other measures didn't alleviate the pain, I insisted on an MRi only to find out that indeed I didn't have PF at all but in fact, had Baxter's Neuritis. He seemed irritated that I wasn't responding to the treatment he prescribed and unable acknowledge that his diagnosis was wrong. I've since sought treatment elsewhere and now that I'm getting the proper treatment, I'm seeing improvement. read more

I had a bad slip and fall, tore a ligament, dislocated my ankle and broke my fibula. I was sent from my doctor's office to Dr. Blakeslee whom I had seen once before. He performed surgery to repair my ankle and I'm doing very well. He's thorough, very professional and has a great sense of humor. His office staff has been very responsive and helpful as well. The only reason I didn't give him 5 stars is because I'm still in recovery, but I fully expect everything will be fine. I would highly recommend him! read more

Dr. Blakeslee was such a great choice. My son, 11yrs old, had severe flat feet and was having all sorts of health problems that had stemmed from his feet being flat for so many years. We saw Dr. Blakeslee over a period of 1 year and during that 1 year period my son had both feet surgically reconstructed. Now, his feet are great!! His last surgery was in July 2011 so, walking too much can still be painful but, it is healing more and more everyday and everyday his complains less and less about the pain. I would recommend anyone to see Dr. Blakeslee, especially for their child's foot issues. He was very sweet with our son and explained everything in patient terms, not Doctors terms. read more

Broke my ankle and went to Santa Cruz for a second opinion because pinning was not completely clear to my first doctor. dr B had no doubt that I should do the surgery and got third and fourth opinions from his group. Back together and walking, suoer happy and scar is fading! read more

Dr B recently cared for my special needs daughter after she broke her foot. He was so kind and compassionate with her. Not only did he spend time explaining the treatment and reviewing all possible instructions with her and I, he followed up with a call to check on her progress. She is healing beautifully. We are so grateful for his excellent care. read more

Took my special Daughter back to Dr Blakeslee to have her cast taken off and have a check up and cannot express how attentive the staff and doctor were to her needs and fears. They were simply stellar. Dr Blakslee called me the next day to see how she was doing with the walking boot. Simply the best care. read more

As an RN, I am very impressed with the time and care Dr. Blakeslee gave my husband. He was not only very personable and genuinely interested in his patient's issues, but his assessments and treatments were also astute and professional. He's clearly up to date on all the latest treatments and methodologies, and my husband left his office feeling pain-free and tremendously relieved. We don't hesitate to recommend him as an excellent choice to to help you with your podiatry woes. read more

Wow, just wow! What an experience. My first time seeing this doctor he introduced himself very rudely (most likely because my sexual orientation) but I tried to make the best of the situation. During my procedure he began with inserting large needles into my neck which injected an unknown fluid to this day I am unaware of what it was. I can only imagine this substance was a form of painkiller because once he started repeatably hitting my leg with a metal mallet I lost all feeling in my legs. After this procedure I had to preformed self amputation on my right foot with a spatula because of the immense pain I was in. Looking back this was probably a very poor decision to go with this doctor and I do not recommend anyone going to see him. read more

I went to see this podiatrist on a referral. He did not do much of an exam, told me to buy a particular shoe, a good one that he displays in his office, and an over the counter insert and a small heal lift for my effected foot. He also gave me a referral to the PT dept. When I ran out of PT visits I asked for more via Dr Blakeslee. He denied ever giving me a PT referral, and said he would have never sent me there. He suggested very expensive non insurance covered acupuncture, which I did do with very little results, but much pain. I have recently seen another podiatrist and he started with xrays, and physical exam of my feet. His diagnosis is quite different and more professional. read more

I visited Dr. Blakeslee in great pain. I had been fortunate enough to get an appointment very quickly due to a cancellation. Dr. B immediately diagnosed my problem and took care of it at that same appointment. I saw him once more and the problem has been completely resolved. I highly recommend him read more

I came to Dr. Blakeslee for a second opinion. I had received perfunctory care and a lot of pressure to have surgery from another doctor, so I asked an anaesthesiologist friend of mine for a recommendation. How refreshing - Dr. Blakeslee is a "surgery is a last resort" kind of surgeon. He suggested we try some conservative strategies to see if surgery could be avoided indefinitely. I saw him several times over a couple of years to evaluate, and we finally decided - together - that I should go ahead with the foot surgery. My problem was deteriorating and he was afraid over time it could take other things down with it. He was straightforward with my partner and me about the procedure, what to expect and possible outcomes. He did this with thoughtful intelligence and gentle humor. He is very experienced and has a crack team at Sutter Surgery Center. I don't like to get anywhere near a scalpel but they made the whole experience very comfortable. He phoned the weekend after my surgery, and - get this - I had to go to Urgent Care a few days later for an unrelated matter, and when he saw my name come up in their system that I had been to the clinic, called me at home again, worried that there may have been a problem with my foot! Who does that? I trust Dr. Blakeslee and recommend him without reservation. read more

I highly recommend Timothy Blakeslee as an honest podiatrist who has your best interest at heart. The long waits are worth someone so trustworthy for such important issues. I fell in October and sprained my ankle. After being on crutches for 3 months expecting it to heal, I realized that there was something more going on. I went to see Dr. Blakeslee and I liked his honesty and felt safe, as in he wasn't going to recommend surgery if I don't need it, like a lot of doctors do these days. He gave me the right recommendations for physical therapy and after viewing the MRI and telling me I didn't need surgery, advised getting a boot and a scooter which saved a lot of stress on my body. He had a lot of different ideas for my healing, and I genuinely felt heard and appreciated. I highly recommend Dr. Blakeslee, and if you have to wait, its because he's in high demand and genuinely takes the time to listen to his patients. read more

As a PAMF patient I was referred to him by Urgent Care when I broke both my knee and ankle. I had to see an Orthopedist (Spiegel) for the knee and Podiatrist (Blakeslee) for the ankle - that's the way PAMF here works. I had to wait almost two weeks to get in...with a broken ankle. They provided different treatment modes - didn't work together whatsoever. Blakeslee sold me a walking boot, while Spiegel, seen a couple days earlier, missed the broken knee, saying it was twisted. Suffice it to say I bailed on both of them and went to an ortho in Los Gatos (Cohen) who saw me the same day I called, found the break, and treated both. He junked the ankle boot for a small stabilizer and prescribed a strong knee brace, which was fitted by an outside vendor. I stayed off of everything for 2 months and am fine. I didn't like Blakeslee's demeanor or attitude, and the boot he sold me for $350.00 retailed at the vendor I used for $85.00. read more

I was referred to Dr. Blakeslee after an ER visit with a broken fibula. The surgical consultation was promptly scheduled the next day and surgery was done within 24 hrs. Dr. Blakeslee's demeanor during consultation was cold and gruff. Post surgery was worse. Dr. Blakeslee went on vacation during my recovery and left me in a boot for 8 weeks causing permanent scar tissue to develop in my ankle joint. When I returned for the follow up visit he questioned why I was still in the boot and told me that my inability to use my foot (which was completely atrophied at this point) was all in my head. When asked prior to surgery if I would feel the hardware in my ankle he replied that "a thin person might." During my final visit Dr. Blakeslee declared everything A-OK despite the limited range of motion in my ankle. I can no longer do squats and climbing stairs causes shooting pain. Dr. Blakeslee told me that his desire was that my husband and I would argue over which ankle it was that I had broken. I can assure you that will not be the case. read more

I cannot speak more highly of Dr. Blakeslee. I saw him as I was leaving Santa Cruz. I have seen many orthopedists and a couple podiatrists. Each always told me I had one leg longer than the other - slightly. I have complex spine issues. He paid attention and advised that while not always a succcess, orthotics would be a good possibility since I had become nearly completely flat footed. They are also expensive he pointed out. I went ahead and I love the orthotics. Worth every penny. He also made some reccommenations for other practitioners that I am awaiting appointments. He works efficiently and quickly so one needs to have questions lined up. If there was any reason to drop to four stars it would because of speed of the visit, albeit focused. This said, follow-up appointments were scheduled and I had the opportunity to get my questions asked. Sometimes questions percolate so I hold to the give stars which I rarely give. I am a hard marker. The orthotics have made a major difference in my life. He did get them right for me. He has a nice nurse or medical assistant. The staff does their best. When I called to compliment and say that I was cancelling my next appointment, the person taking the call was flabbergasted saying what a bad day he had with people complaining. I am am guessing at the reason for the bad day but people in pain do not like to wait and may have other pressing appointments (people who are driving them also have appointments or get back to work) and in general people in pain are grouchy. I have never experienced such bad foot pain and I can tell you that it was very painful and caused great worry. I also credit Peggy Chen for picking up on medical issues heretofore addressed in a cursory manner. read more

i had heel pain for 2 years. plantar fascitis sucks. i couldn't surf or play tennis. i saw 2 other docs in santa cruz and 1 in san jose and was still in pain. i was terrified to get a cortison injection but it actually didn't hurt - dr. tim blakeslee was great. he explained everthing so i could understand and make some daily changes, stretching and better sandals worked. i have no pain since march '11 and am back running and surfing. i have recommended dr. tim blakeslee to co-workers as well who had very positive results. thanks. read more