I had seen Dr Akizuki 5 times in the past 5 years. The last time I went he changed his tax ID without informing me, so he is out of network expecting me to foot the bill. Do not go here. read more

See below for images showing my clavicle before and after Akizuki's surgery. The "after" image reveals what multiple surgeons have described an unnecessary and irregular bone resection. One renowned surgeon who reviewed the case stated: "The x-rays show no reason to do a distal clavicle excision and what he did was scallop your bone. I would never do this to a patient." When I confronted Akizuki about the damage and injury, he denied any responsibility and claimed that my body must have somehow spontaneously eroded the bone on its own, an explanation that is medically implausible. This outcome was never discussed or consented to. It reflects a profound lack of surgical judgment and care. I continue to suffer pain and shoulder dysfunction as a direct result. This was only one of a number of unnecessary procedures that he messed up. Since my procedure, I've learned that I am not alone. There are multiple ongoing lawsuits and medical board complaints alleging fraudulent and negligent behavior by Akizuki. Feel free to DM me to join a group of angry patients eager to make sure he poses a danger to no one else. read more

Kenneth Akizuki, MD - BEFORE - Sports Medicine Near Me - San Francisco, California

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Dr Akisuki, is the best! Professional, kind, respectful and a wonderful bedside manner. His staff, Alyssa, Katlyn, Alexa, Ellie, all staff, are wonderful! I highly recommend Dr Akisuki, with confidence, having had surgery on both right and left knee. read more

Longer overdue review. I saw Dr Akizuki about 2 years ago for a torn meniscus. He was honest in saying surgery was in the horizon, but a temp fix was a cortisone shot which he did. The shot worked for about 2 years and now it's time to either get another one, or surgery. I would not hesitate to have him as my surgeon, as I was referred to him by someone that had him as their surgeon and he's a great doctor. read more

Dr. Akizuki is a living legend. I am so honored to have been his patient for two ACL reconstruction surgeries (both knees), a rotator cuff injury, and a sprained ankle (all over the past 1-10 years). At this point, I feel like I should have a punch card for a free sandwich or something. He is the most talented and skilled orthopedic surgeon there is in the country and I feel so at ease knowing I'm being operated on and looked after by the absolute BEST. His office staff on Hayes is always kind and helpful and the staff at the Pacific Heights surgery center are wonderful and so friendly and have always taken such good care of me going into and coming out of surgery. It's apparent that everyone loves working for and with Dr. Akizuki and I feel I am one of the luckiest people to be able to have him repair my body. After all, you have only one body! Best to have it worked on by the absolute hands-down, no question- the most skilled orthopedic surgeon in the entire country. On top of all that, he's great at explaining what is going on with you from your injury, what you can/can't do, next steps, recommending PT's, and detailing what's needed to get you back into your sport and active again. Hopefully I don't need another surgery because that means I'm injured again, but if I was to have any need to be operated on again, I would absolutely go to Akizuki again. As a bonus, he has a great sense of humor and I always leave feeling better than when I arrived. Thank you Dr. Akizuki for always taking such good care of me. ~ (Twitchell/O'Leary) read more

update! It turns out he does take my insurance and will be repairing my bicep tendon and dealing with some bone spurs and other stuff this month! read more

DR Akizuki is the best! I had a fully ruptured Achilles required surgery and I was very fortunate to be referred to him via a friend. He performed surgery and post treatment for a nasty injury I sustained. I highly recommend him! read more

Dr. Akizuki is absolutely the best. He has done both my knees, one partial and one total replacement, as well as a rotator cuff. I need to drive a distance to see him but I would not go to anyone else. Simply the best! read more

Waited over 50 minutes for our appointment just to be called back to the room and told we had to wait another 30-40 minutes. So 1.5-2 HOURS JUST TO SEE A DOCTOR? WHAT? I understand doctors are busy, but so are patients. We have things to do on a Monday at 10a.m. other than spend 2 hours waiting for a doctor. It has been a long time since I have had to wait so long. If you tend to run late, schedule fewer appointments. RESPECT PEOPLE'S TIME! Cancelled and won't be going back. Front desk also shared he usually runs behind, so this was not a one off event. read more

Dr. Akizuki is the best orthopedic surgeon out there. His knowledge is unparalleled. His staff (Kaitlyn in particular) is very professional. Dr. Akizuki is one of the nicest human beings. For illustration I broke my arm right before Thanksgiving. The day before Thanksgiving he was in surgery all day. He met me at his office after his last surgery to go over my images from the hospital. This was Wednesday evening. What doctor does that???? He also isn't one of those surgeons who go to is to cut. Thankfully to have him as my Orthopedic Surgeon!! read more

I had a knee replacement surgery with Dr. Akizuki and suffered in pain for one year before I could have reparative knee replacement surgery to correct what he did wrong. Very unhappy with the level of expertise I received from this man and his dismissal that something was wrong. read more

Dr. Akizuki has helped me and another family member through very serious orthopedic injuries. Dr. Akizuki provides the best of the best orthopedic care, His office staff are all very helpful. I am grateful for Dr. Akizuki's excellent care and dedication and am thankful that we have an orthopedic surgeon of his caliber in our San Francisco Bay Area. Additionally, I have a relative who travels from out of state to receive his orthopedic care from Dr. Akizuki. Dr. Akizuki is amazing. read more

Dr. Akizuki completely misdiagnosed a fracture, putting my wife in a cast when the bones were misaligned (he neglected to ask for a side view X-ray), he did not listen at all when my wife explained that she was in an increasing amount of pain each day, and his office was incredibly unresponsive (not returning calls is never acceptable in this field). We had emergency surgery yesterday at Stanford (which involved rebreaking the bone and inserting a plate) and we hope to be on the path for full recovery, although the nerve damage may never be reversed. My wife's description of her pain was an excellent clue as to the true condition - Dr. Akizuki did not follow up on that, but did suggest that my wife had a pain syndrome that is ill-defined at best. read more

I had ACI surgery with Dr Akizuki about 5 years ago and my knee is stronger than before. He was an amazing doctor and I could not recommend more. He visited me post surgery in the hospital and really cared about his patients. My mom, who's a nurse anesthetist, said she's never seen a doctor in her 30 years of nursing have as good bedside manner as Dr Akizuki did. Thanks Doc! read more

Doctors get behind sometimes - medical issues can be urgent. But that's not what happened here. Everything was already behind schedule, and then the patient before me (who was there for a follow-up) was very charming, I couldn't help but notice her in the waiting room. But she was so charming that I ended up just sitting in the room with the very thin walls the desk person showed me to for 30 more minutes, listening to the doctor jovially, loudly chit-chatting with that previous patient in the next room about life and what she was up to. They finished the medically related conversation in 5 minutes, the rest was all personal. Much laughter and camaraderie! Good for them, wish it hadn't been on my time. Almost an hour after my appointment Dr. Akizuki sauntered in and didn't seem remotely engaged in our merely medical conversation. I ended up switching to a female surgeon who seemed more balanced, less arrogant. Glad I did. Maybe he's a good surgeon, but I would have dreaded going there again. read more

6/17/19 - Two plus years post MACI surgery and my knee continues to be weaker than before surgery along with limited feeling in my right foot. My knee now literally gives out if I step on it just right - consulting now with other doctors to determine best next steps, including full knee replacement. I would NEVER have done the MACI surgery knowing what I know now. A total failure as I live the post surgery reality every day. 10/1/18 - 16 months post MACI surgery and over a year of physical therapy my knee is still HUGE with ongoing pain and weaker than before surgery - and to this day I still have limited feeling in my right foot. Knowing my experience now, I would never have done the surgery. Flash back to 5/31/17...I went into surgery with Dr. Akizuki for a Right Knee Scope MACI. The surgery started hours past the original surgery time. With the initial plan to stay three days in the hospital post-surgery, I developed a life-threatening illness, hyponatremia, and was in the hospital 11 days. A critical question that was never answered by the doctor or hospital was how does one develop hyponatremia when going in for knee surgery? I've spent countless hours in physical therapy, thousands on medical costs, and visited additional specialists to address my post-surgery issues. My results are not at all what I expected. read more

I can aonly say that he is amazing....more than excellent surgeon....10 years on and the knee is still in good shape.

Amazing surgeon. Really thoughtful. Great hands. Fixed my partial Achilles tear. Explains things very well. Really cares about his patients.

professional but warm Dr Akazuki always makes it better!

Dr. Akizuki was highly recommended to us by a dear old family friend who is an amazing orthopedic surgeon at Cedars Sinai in LA. He literally said "if I had to have that type of surgery [knee surgery], there's no one else that I would trust besides Dr. Akizuki..." This spoke volumes to us as we know our friend has numerous friends and colleagues (that are also drs) that he thinks very highly of. Dr Akizuki operated on both knees of our 15 year old son who had pretty serious knee surgery at 10 years old while playing soccer and had been doing Brazilian jiu jitsu since he was 3. He previously suffered from cracked cartilage, torn ACL and a torn meniscus at 10 years old when he had the 1st knee surgery with another dr. So when our son expressed that he had been experiencing pain for more than 1 year (since he started his freshman year of high school) and conveyed that even walking caused great discomfort, Dr. Akizuki worked very well with our son, was highly knowledgeable, very encouraging, kind, humorous, efficient, and just an all around awesome doctor. It has been 4 months since Dr. Akizuki operated on both of our son's knees and we can't even begin to express just how thankful we are to Dr. Akizuki for giving our son his quality of life back. Bright, active, without constant prolific pain, our son is doing really well! Dr. Akizuki has been such a blessing to us! Thank you to Dr. Akizuki and the staff!!! read more

Dr. Akizuki wanted to repair the labrum and tighten the ligaments in my shoulder. I told him that I wanted him to repair the labrum and I did not want him to tighten ligaments. "don't tighten the ligaments". During the surgery to repair my labrum, Akizuki took it upon himself to tighten the ligaments while I was under. I did not know that he did this. I found out later when another physician explained to me that the surgery report says "labral stabilization", and that's what the ligament-tightening procedure was. My shoulder seems to be permanently affected by the surgery. The shoulder does not sit properly in the socket. Sometimes pain runs to my neck and up to my right eye. I cannot have my shoulders down and back. Only the left shoulder will go down and back. They have "Elation Passport" to message the doctor but they don't always respond. Communication was fairly bad. Dr. Akizuki said, prior to surgery, that he wanted to tighten up the ligaments. I told him not to do that; to just fix the tear in the labrum. The surgery had a horrible result. I asked many, many times for help finding PT but they would not help me find a good PT. It turns out, he did tighten the ligaments, even though I told him not to. I found a PT who was not helpful and who eventually gave up. Many weeks later, I found an expensive out-of-network PT who helped some. 24 weeks post-op and my shoulder had not recovered to its pre-operative state. I asked for Dr. Akizuki to do a Peer-to-peer with my insurance company for approval for PRP. The phone menus and long hold times and belated and useless messages back through Elation Passport resulted in nothing. I eventually got PRP through two different doctors. This helped some, but did not fix the issue of the shoulder being too tight in the socket. I had to pay out of pocket for the prp as well as for all of the massage that I had to get to that area, in addition to the high cost of the out of network physical therapist. 2 years post-op and my shoulder still has the same problem and it seems to be the result of the surgery -- it's too tight, too far in towards the neck. There is tightness and pain in my neck that radiates to my right eye. What can I do? They said I can go to another doctor. Who pays?! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EAxm7OkuTQU https://youtu.be/FQvxrlcL8Kk read more

I love Dr Akizuki. He repaired my right knee in 2003. Now I've ripped my left meniscus and my left shoulder labrum. He's kept me going with cortisone shots because I'm not ready for surgery. Very easy to talk to read more

Dr. Akizuki performed surgery on my 19 year old son's shoulder. Every aspect of our experience with Dr. Akizuki, and his office staff members, was very positive. We found Dr. Akizuki to be extremely personable , highly informative, and deeply committed to his vocation. Our son has a four year college scholarship for pitching, and it was crucially important that his surgery be performed with every aspect of professionalism that will assure his future as a pitcher. Dr. Akizuki was extremely thorough in his explaining what needed to be done , and conducted surgery without any complications. Emily , who works at his office, was super helpful in guiding us through all the pre op procedures. We are deeply grateful for our entire experience with Dr. Akizuki, and his staff. read more

I thank Dr, Kenneth Akizuki for orthopedic care for me for many years. He done both of my knees and that was 10 years ago and they are still working good. Just did my Rotator cuff surgery and it is healing. I am thankful for his good care. read more

Dr. Akizuki is incredibly knowledgeable, humble and has an excellent bedside manner. He is exceptional at explaining the diagnosis, putting the patient at ease and answers every question. He is very calm with a great sense of humor. His office staff was extremely kind and helpful. They worked diligently to get my daughter in quickly for her knee injury. We can't thank Dr. Akizuki and his staff enough for wonderful care. Thank you for all you do! read more

We went to him for a second opinion for my mother-in-law's knee and he quickly stated that she needed knee replacement before looking at the knee very much. When we had questions, he didn't really try to answer and was looking at his phone the entire time. read more

A Lesson in Humor for Medical Practicioners Category: Dental Specialty: Endodonty Patient Type: Squirming female, excruciating pain, streaming tears, diaphoretic, S/P intrapulpal injection (that's directly into the drilled root canal tooth-hole, folks!), still not numb despite umpteen attempts Humor Attempt: "OOPS!" Assessment: Infinitely inappropriate Recommendation: Check for old Swiss Bank accounts and remnants of teutonic accents in elderly relatives Category: Medical Specialty: Orthopedic surgery Patient Type: Jaded, somewhat exasperated 40-year old female with knee of 90 year-old alpine slalom skiing champ; gazing wide-eyed at light box as doc flips up MRI films Humor Attempt: "JESUS CHRIST!" Assessment: Fittingly sarcastic; evoking audible patient laughter Recommendation: Have Dr. Akizuki perform the exploratory arthroscropy STAT; and keep returning for excellent care without a hint of condescension or disregard for the reality of the patient's actual lifestyle Thumbs up, Dr. Akizuki! Thanks for speaking to me in the language of intelligent human beings instead of a First Grade teacher addressing the slow kid in class; thanks for acknowledging and augmenting my strengths while minimizing my limitations; and most of all, thanks for treating the whole person I am today instead of the ideal specimen most doctors insist I must become. **Helpful advice for new patients: bring some fascinating reading material and shut yer yap about the wait. Grin and bear it, or find a lesser doc and risk your health for less time flipping through the Ladies' Home Journal. read more

Dr Kenneth Akizuki is a top notch orthopedic surgeon. I should know. I've had 3 major joint surgeries in the past 2 years and Dr. Akizuki has now performed 2 of them. After having mixed feelings about the outcome of my first knee surgery with another orthopedic surgeon, I embarked on a quest to find the best of the best to repair my badly shattered shoulder (motorcycle accident). I had PPO insurance through United Health Care at that time that allowed me to see as many doctors as I wanted so I made appointments with and saw the top 7 highest rated San Francisco sports medicine doctors on Yelp. I was amazed at how differently each doctor diagnosed my complex injury. The first 2 Doctors I saw actually suggested that since it was my left arm (and I'm right handed) that I wouldn't need surgery and should accept that I'd just have a bum left wing for the rest of my life! I couldn't believe it...These are top rated Yelp doctors! Each subsequent doctor I saw diagnosed something in my shoulder that all of the previous "experts" had missed. Dr. Akizuki took the longest to get an appointment with as he is in very high demand. It was absolutely worth the wait though. Dr. Akizuki looked at my Xrays, MRIs, and CT scan and very quickly diagnosed important aspects of my injury that had been previously overlooked by 6 other experts. The entirety of my injury now seemed so clear once Dr. Akizuki had explained and showed me his analysis of my films. His bed side manner is the best I've experienced and I've seen many, many highly revered doctors. He is very friendly and actually takes the time to answer all of my questions and settle any concerns I may have. This is certainly why he runs behind but I wont hold that against him. I'll take quality over speed every day. Dr Akizuki clearly explained my situation and options and was confident that he could reconstruct my shattered shoulder and greatly restore lost range of motion and strength. He also painted a very clear picture of what my surgery and recovery would be like and gave me an accurate timeline as well. I have to say that Ken Akizuki performed my shoulder reconstruction flawlessly as I am now able to do pull-ups, swim, climb a ladder etc. . When I tore my ACL 8 months after my shoulder surgery, Dr Akizuki was of course my preferred surgeon. He handled that knee surgery with the same exceptional competency that has garnered the SF Giants trust in making him team doctor for the last few years. I also have to mention Dr. Benjamin Ma who was very helpful and informative when I consulted his medical advice though I personally preferred Dr Akizuki. I feel like Dr. Ma would have made the same repairs during surgery though Dr. Akizuki was able to read my film more completely in advance which earned my trust. read more

Kenneth Akizuki, MD - Dr Akizuki explaining my rotator cuff injury. Check the SF Giants world series ring on his finger. His first of two - Sports Medicine Near Me - San Francisco, California

It's been a while since I've seen Dr. Akizuki but when I thought about doctors that I can write reviews for, Dr. Akizuki was first on my mind. I injured my shoulder and went to my primary car physician, who referred me to Dr. Akizuki as a really good doctor that I will need to make an appointment for months in advance. They weren't kidding! I called and the next appointment was in a month an half! BUT I was already in pain! I decided to make an appointment anyway and ended up seeing two doctors in the mean time, only to spend extra copay money for medicine I didnt need. Both doctors told me it was a pinched/bruised nerve. When I finally saw Dr. Akizuki, he knew right away after telling him my symptoms that I had a fracture. He made me take an MRI right away and low and behold - FRACTURE. I can totally write poor reviews for the other doctors, but I will refrain from doing so. Not only is Dr. Akizuki a GOOD doctor, he's very personable, friendly, smart, funny, and genuinely cares about you. He genuinely cares about you and your well being. I remember one time I was having dinner with some friends around 8pm and I received a call from Dr. Akizuki. I remembered looking at my phone - what doctor calls so late? Well, he was working late and called me to tell me about my MRI results and gave me instructions on what to do next. I got off the phone thinking - "Wow, there are some really good people in this world". read more

If you ski, you need this guy. Period. If you are wondering about his credentials, he's the Giants baseball guy (and sadly we know how many injuries they've had). He did that experimental procedure that reattached Benitez' hamstring (now is it just me or does that sound horribly painful) He did an incredible job on my knee and he fixed my mother's knee even though her other doctor said she could "live" with it. His assistant Gina is the best. They get you everything you need and will battle the insurance guys until they give in for every kind of brace, etc. (415) 563-2600. read more

It gives me no pleasure to write this review, and please understand that every single word has been carefully considered. And, for the record, I have never written a poor review for anyone, or anything, but this is different. This is much too important. What Akizuki did to me is equivalent of indefinite torture or the most heinous crime one human being could inflict on another. That is not an exaggeration. To make matters worse, he took zero accountability after performing such a disastrous surgery. Here's what happened... I hurt my shoulder in 2016. I had NO resting pain prior to seeing Dr. Akizuki but I had activity based pain (with things like lifting weights or riding my bike for extended rides) so I agreed to let Akizuki perform surgery. I had turned 60 and wanted to get into incredible shape by doing long bike rides, yoga and weight/resistance training. Here are the "cliff notes" of the damage he created. He significantly damaged critical peripheral nerves and also damaged important parts of my shoulder joint. As a result of the surgery, 1) I have a grade 4 chondral defect which appears to other skilled orthodpedic surgeons to be a drill mark from Akizuki's surgery. 2). Akizuki inexplicably screwed an anchor into my corocoid (where it should never have been drilled) and it is now protruding outside of the bone and in a locaton where it can't be removed without creating even more damage to my shoulder. When I showed Akizuki photo's from my revision surgery clearly depicting the damage he created, Akizuki couldn't (or wouldn't) explain why those mistakes happened. The photo's are quite revealing. The worst part, which you can't see from the surgical phtos, is the damage he did to my peripheral nerves that run from my wrist to my arm pit. Akizuki's surgery turned into a medical cocktail for torture with burning searing pain from wrist to shoulder since 2017. I take nerve drugs, strong pain meds and need to ice constantly. I have very limited use of my right arm and have literally lived in bed with ZERO quality of life for nearly five years. i have fought very, very hard to try and get better. I've seen the very best peripheral nerve, pain management, neurologists and orthopedic doctors and therapists from across the country (I've had multiple corrective surgeries, hundreds of hours of PT, mental health therapy, peripheral nerve stimulation implantation, multiple nerve blocks and steroid injections, ketamine infusions and been to Mayo, UCSF, Stanford, U of Utah, Kerlan Jobe/L.A.. I participated in a clinical trial studying new ways of tracking pain with PET radiology. I spent over 100 hours at Stanford, in the last 18 months alone. Nothing has helped. And, despite my best efforts and a very talented team, my pain is not bearable. It has been 5 years of agony and it took me so long to write this because therapy taught me not to look back, because it served no purpose in trying to help me move on with life. I have learned to accept my loss of essentially all quality of life because I have no choice. I don't write this review out of anger, but I suppose I wouldn't be human if I didn't feel some of those emotions as I write this. My intention is to cast a light on a doctor who damaged me badly and took no accountability. I hope he reads this and thinks deeply about what he did to another human being. I hope others read this an make informed decisions about both having surgery and choosing the right doctors. I had a perfect life until it all went away in a flash. Be well and be safe. read more

Love this doc! My father had excruciating shoulder pain. He was misdiagnosed repeatedly and treated accordingly (by other doctors) After three series of injections in his shoulder, he scheduled surgery with a different doctor. I was telling a friend and former client of Dr. Akizuki about my father and his upcoming surgery and she recommended we see Dr. Akizuki for another opinion. We brought the MRIs and scans and Dr. Akizuki diagnosed the problem immediately. It was something weird called Calcific tendonitis that causes knife stabbing pain. We canceled his surgery with the other doctor for the wrong surgery and Dr. Akizuki got him in for surgery. My father walked out of the surgery center a different man. His pain was gone. He had been suffering for months and almost went under the knife with another doctor for the wrong surgery!! Thank you so much Dr. Akizuki!!! We also like that he is extremely personable, very funny and explains everything.... and that he works with the Giants.. even though my dad is a Dodger fan. Go Giants!! read more

I went to Dr. Akaizuki to have my right knee looked at. I was 67 years old and had injured both my knees with years of soccer, running, biking, and beach volleyball. Pretty much worn out. My right knee was constantly swollen and even though I continued to exercise never got really strong. I was having to limit my usual level of walking to flat surfaces and less than a couple miles a day. Unacceptable for me. My right knee was replaced - TKR that year. I got out of the hospital and immediately went to a skilled sports rehab specialist - I cannot overstate how important it is to go into rehab and work through the pain to straighten and bend your knee after this type surgery. After a couple of months you can start seriously on strengthening, but you must go through the agility phase with someone who really knows what they are doing, and you must be dedicated. Anything else and you will fail and never get back to max strength. I worked on both knees for a couple of years but my left knee eventually detiorated. A week before turning 69 Dr A replaced the left knee - TKR - and again I went into rehab. It has now been 9 months since the second surgery. I worked out on a bike, rowing machine and eliptical this morning, then lifted weights for an hour. This afternoon I went for a couple mile walk or a flat trail. I am still looking forward to getting back on mountain trails, and have already bought the shoes. I currently can press about 400 lbs with both legs on a leg press machine and do regular exercises weekly to continue strenghening my legs. I also take gentle yoga to maintain agility and range of motion. The reality is Dr A is an excellent knee surgeon. He can get you the best treatment in the medical industry. But you must work with him, the other doctors and the rehab folks. Do not kid yourself or believe the advertisements - this surgery delivers exactly what you put into it. If you think you can sit around for six months afterwards and avoid the pain or dope up on opiods - you will fail and it will be no ones fault but your own. read more

As a medical provider myself, I have NOT been impressed with medical doctors in general. Without going into personal details, I can honestly say that our experience with Dr Akizuki has been first class. I believe that it is well known that he is a top sports orthopedic surgeon in the area but his staff is as much more informative than the other surgeons we visited and spoke to However; one huge difference between Dr Akizuki and many other "top" orthopedists is that he lacks the "god complex" often seen in surgeons He possesses a silly, comforting, sense of humor that helped put our terrified 13-year old at ease. YES , we waited a long time on several occasions but the guy is busy for a reason. Despite his obvious busy schedule; he did not act rushed and answered all of our questions thoroughly. Also, despite our daughter not being an elite athlete, he treated her as if she were which is one common complaint I hear about other top orthopedists. FYI. Our 13 year old daughter had a hamstring (since still possibly growing) ACL autograft read more

How can I forget. I'm coming up on 10 years post - surgery (Jan 2012) with Akizuki. I'm sure he will remember me as the diehard A's fan. Later during a follow up visit, he made me wear his Giants WS ring! I had a torn quad while running. Was hoping for an ACL and fairly short recovery time, but this was serious. I didn't get surgery for 4 months, hoping to recover. His assistant couldn't believe that I didn't do this a day before, when I went there 3 months later! I had even danced in Vegas, with abbreviated moves of course. Because he was confident and dealt with athletes, that put me at ease. He asked about goals, and as a runner, I told him I'd like to go about another 15,000 miles. They like peeps with goals. The recovery took patience, as after surgery, I didn't walk unassisted until early May. By July, I had run 8 miles, 3 days in a row. Today, nearly ten years later, I've logged about 13,000 miles. No swelling, no problems. I don't do the 1/2 marathons anymore, but have no problem with my 5 mile runs, and occasional 3 mile runs. I even ran 27 days in a row last year (pandemic Gumpian moment). I've also lost 34 lbs., that helps. Thanks Doc! I know I'll have to hang it up someday and get a bike, but I just turned 56, and I'm a happy guy! read more

I hate going to the doctor. When I'm going to the doctor I always vascillate between one of two irrational fears. Either 1. I will find out I'm dying, or pregnant, or both. 2. I will find out I'm a huge wuss because nothing is actually wrong with me. Usually when I go to the doctor it ends up being something in the middle. Actually it's almost always strep throat. I seem to get that a lot. Although monogamy seems to have cut down on the strep throat incidences. ANyway. Dr. Akizuki might not be the best person to go to for strep throat. He is a great person to go to for knee pain. A few months ago, soon after a painful encounter with my TV stand, I got this shooting pain in my left knee. I figured I just had some sort of bruise, and fearing that I was a wuss (see #2), I continued to run (okay, limp) in spite of the pain for a few weeks, until I realized that it wasn't going to get better. So I went to see Dr. Akizuki. He was so friendly and talkative that I didn't have time to get scared that I was maybe dying of knee cancer. While we were talking, he poked my knee in a few places: Dr. Akizuki: Where are you from? (poke) Me: Pennsylvania Dr. Akizuki: Oh, what part? (poke) Me: Southeastern Dr. Akizuki: That's a nice area (poke) Me: AHHHHHHHHHHH! Dr. Akizuki had me all figured out in like 2 minutes. It was deadly knee cancer! I mean, strep throat! I mean, IT-band syndrome. The upshot was that I had to go 6-8 weeks without running to allow the tissue to heal. I was NOT happy about it, but that's not Dr. Akizuki's fault. I probably could have figured that out on the internet, but I doubt I would have stopped running for 6-8 weeks if a doctor hadn't told me to. And the best part is I have officially been running for 2 pain-free weeks now! Yay! read more

I didn't see him, but his unprofessional treatment of my wife made things really difficult and annoying for us. She scheduled surgery 6 weeks ago, dealt with the crap that others deal with in these reviews(subpar office staff, etc) and proceeded nervously towards the surgery date this Friday. She arranged the time off. My MIL took time off, and I arranged my schedule around this surgery. The doctor CANCELED her surgery so that he could attend the Giants playoff game this Friday. WTF is that? You have a job AND like baseball? Wow, so do lots of people, and they don't have the luxury of disrupting the lives of others by choosing not to do their job so they can watch other people play sports. There's a reason that orthopedic surgeons have been stereotyped as the dumb jocks of the medical world. So I ask you, is this the way you want to be treated by a surgeon? Do you want to have to set aside time to have surgery done, have your family set aside their time, and then have the doctor treat it like the least important thing in their schedule? Then see this guy. And remember, if he thinks you, and your time are so unimportant, how much care do you think he takes in the operating room? read more

Dr. Akizuki worked on fixing my left knee which I had ruined from running and extensive day to day use. He was really thorough at explaining the surgery and recovery process to me in terms of implications and consequences. He is very approachable and has a great sense of humor. I really appreciated his expertise. Definitely an amazing doctor - highly recommended! His office staff is very friendly and prompt. Jen and the team work really hard to keep the busy schedule in check. read more

Never again. My first appointment I waited for 45 minutes while people who came in after me were seen and left the office. When I asked how much longer I would have to wait, the receptionist (who was very nice) went to find out and told me that I would be seen right away. I was seen right away after that but Yolanda seemed very put out that I had the nerve to complain about the wait. I understand that doctors run behind and I plan on having to wait when I go to a doctor. But I don't expect to sit in an office while multiple people who came in after me are seen while I'm ignored. When I tried to pay the copay, the receptionist was very nice and said that it was waived. I was very unhappy to get a bill in the mail last week for the copay. Anyway, saw the doctor. He's awesome. I'd love to go get a beer with him. He scheduled me for an MRI. Before getting the MRI, Yolanda called to schedule my surgery, including pre-op and post-op appointments. We chose a date six weeks out. I confirmed that the appointments would be at the Sutter Street location. I showed up for my pre-op appt last Friday and was informed that the person with whom I had the appointment worked in Redwood City on Fridays. This would have been nice information to know! So I wasted an hour of my time going to the San Francisco office for nothing. I considered canceling the surgery at this point. If the staff is so inept that they send me to the wrong location, how can I trust the doctor to do my surgery? I decided that the doctor had little to do with his staff and that I still wanted to proceed. I ended up doing the pre-op with Maggie over the phone. She was wonderful and did everything in her power to to accommodate me and make up for the scheduling mistake. On Tuesday the 5th, I got a message from Yolanda saying that Dr. Akizuki was rescheduling my surgery from Friday the 8th to Wednesday. Today she explained on the phone that Dr. Akizuki has "something to do with the Giants" on Friday. I looked up the Giants playoff schedule and learned that the Giants have a playoff game on Friday. My surgery was cancelled for a baseball game! This has been scheduled for 6 weeks. I planned my work schedule and time off around doing it on Friday. I do not appreciate being jerked around like this. If there was an actual emergency I could understand and would be flexible. But I do not appreciate the lack of respect that was shown for my time (the third time now) and the doctor's willingness to blow me off for a baseball game. I got the impression that no one cared one bit about me or my surgery. This is not a good feeling when you're scheduled to be cut up. At this point, I have no more faith in this doctor. I gave him the benefit of the doubt multiple times but this is the last straw. I will be seeing someone else. It's a real bummer though because I've now wasted about two months and have to start over. read more

The Doctor gets 5 stars.... his administrative staff get 0. Never in my life have I encountered such rude, unhelpful, unsympathetic women as the two/three different women I spoke to over the phone. They seemed to resent me for being in pain and for calling to disturb their day. I'd fire them stat if I was Dr A. The Doctor himself is awesome. Immediately made me feel comfortable, cared for, properly diagnosed and calm, despite waiting over an hour to see him. He made me laugh and I felt in good hands. The coven of witches he has working for him need to be replaced asap........... and I really hope they read this. Hey ladies? In this economy you should be very grateful for your jobs, and if you don't like dealing with patients... DON'T WORK IN AN EFFIN' DOCTORS OFFICE!!!!!!!! hiss. read more