Dr. Herron is a Great Doctor. I had a spine fusion of L 4-5 in 1984. I am now 72, and in the last few years, my back is weak in that area. He told me in 84, that it would last about 20 yrs., and the relief I received from this surgery has lasted a lot longer than that. I do have Arthritis through most of my body, so I'm sure that is a contributing factor.. I had moved out of the area and traveled back for my surgery, because he had done a spine fusion on my Daughter because of Scoliosis. He is wonderful, and gives great care. His Nurse at the time was Pam Weiner, and she also was a caring, valuable asset. Thank you Dr. Herron! read more

I'm not sure what all the negative reviews are about. Dr. Herron was able to see me within a week of being referred, was professional during the visit, explained things clearly, answered my questions, and referred me quickly to a surgeon. Had to do some brief physical tests that were painful, and he apologized and noted that unfortunately they're necessary. Great visit. read more

Great surgeon. The doctor to use for any orthopedic problems. Dr. Herron explains your prognosis and his medical plan in a language you can understand and answers all your questions and concerns. read more

I recently saw Larry Herron for a consultation for a ruptured disc, among other back problems. While he was not able to help me as I am not a surgical candidate, I was treated professionally. He was thorough in his examination. What he said about my back was not what I wanted to hear, but it was the truth. Don't expect him to want to be social or chatty. read more

Direct and honest. His office staff were accommodating and professional I would definitely recommend him

I want to thank my angel dr herron for taking such quick action and believing in my pain when no one else did,acting quickly he referred me to another angel by the name of dr kissel who quickly explained to me the surgery i must have and got me in there and did an awsome job...thank u thank u both of u make an awsome team...thank u dr herron for believing in my pain...god bless u always. read more

Excellent, no nonsense doctor who knows his stuff. His diagnosis and treatment plan (after a year of going from doctor to doctor and given prescriptions for narcotic pain meds without a treatment solution) has turned my husband's health around, from almost completely disabled to his active, healthy lifestyle. Thank you, Dr. Herron. read more

Dr Herron is the best! He is no nonsense and to the point. He is going to tell you like it is and if you don't like the truth he is not for you, but if you want the best, he is it! I first saw another doctor that told me honestly my case was too extreme for him and sent me to Dr Herron. I first saw Dr Herron in 1998. I have scoliosis. Within 4 weeks I was in surgery at the age of 12. It is now 16+ years later and am doing great! I play sports and have remained very active. Thank you Dr Herron! read more

Dr. Herron came highly recommended by local people when I was researching orthopedic surgeons after discovering I needed major back surgery. I shopped around including a visit to Stanford. I am very satisfied with my decision to have him perform a laminectomy and fusion L2 to L5. It is now 4 months post op and I am relatively pain free, walking 3 to 5 miles a day. read more

He is rude and inconsiderate . I had a cyst on my overies in 2013 on March 29th. He was awear that I was pregnant with twins but overlooked that. So he continued to cut into my overies and only relive the pressure , well meanwhile he caused me to misscarry twice. He is very lucky I'm not taking him to court read more

After 15 plus years of conservative pain treatment, physical therapy. pain management and diagnosed with degenerative disc disease Dr Herron wanted to treat me with more pain management treatment. When asked about surgery options he completely treated me with no respect and said that 90% of online information is false and surgery is not the answer. He did not go over my MRI report with me and would not give me a copy of the report. He wasn't interested in looking at my xray or previous MRI report that I had with me. A complete waste of time, which was all of 10 minutes. read more

I am a very active overweight woman who was referred to Dr. Herron after a lumbar MRI showed degeneration and other problems at one level. Dr. Herron would not discuss my back. He told me to have gastric bypass to lose 75 pounds and maybe then my back pain would go away. When I tried to discuss specifics, he said "I'm not here to debate." He makes you strip down to your underwear for the consult. After Herron, I went to on to see two other surgeons, both of whom were very kind, spent time with me discussing the MRI, my pain level, and treatment options. I wound up at Stanford for minimally invasive fusion and was told that my condition is congenital, was not caused by being overweight, will not go away from loss of weight, and will only get worse if I don't have surgery. A friend of mine had the same experience with Herron and later, after consulting with another surgeon, found out he has stage 3 bone cancer. Herron also told him weight was to blame and loss of weight would solve his pain troubles. Good thing he got a second opinion from someone who cares. If he'd listened to Herron, he'd be dead. read more

Word on the street is he's arrogant and has no bedside manner! IT'S TRUE. Don't waste your time - go find a different surgeon. He read my MMR and X-rays incorrectly. It was quite clear he had no interest in meeting with me, I saw him for 10 minutes and was literally throwing questions at him as he walked away down the hallway! I asked him "When can I have another baby?" and his response was ( word-for-word): "Why would you want another baby?! You already have two! Besides, if you had another baby you wouldn't be a good mum to the third one like you're trying to be to the other two!" He also said "You will always be in pain, take anti-imfIamatories - its all you can do." When I told him I can't take them as they upset my stomach - he shrugged his shoulders and moved onto the next useless piece of information. I was devastated. I cried solidly for 3 days. I felt humiliated for even wanting a third child. I went and got a second opinion. Im SO glad I did. I learned the pain I was feeling was NOT from the discs as incorrectly informed by Dr Herron, but from the ligaments surrounding the SI joint. Dr Herron is an arrogant jerk and I would warn anyone to stay away from him. There are plenty of other surgeons to choose from in the area. For my second opinion, I saw Dr Blackburn in Santa Maria and he spent 3x as much time with me and actually got the the root of the problem. Also - He was SHOCKED when I asked him if I could have another baby...."Of course! Why wouldn't you?!!" At the end of the appointment he hugged me and gave me a high five and said "Go make some babies!" read more

He's definitely no nonsense. No sympathy also comes to mind. Why a man would be in the back pain business when he hates whiny old people I have no idea. I certainly am fat and acknowledged it after he pointed it out. He suggested gastric bypass surgery wanting to ignore the fact that I have had colon resection surgery. He also wanted to ignore the fact that my two sisters -- not fat -- have had to have major back surgery though they are not overweight at all. "I didn't say it would cure anything," he said after saying it would indeed help. read more

Dr. Herron should retire horrible manners short and aloof wouldn't answer any questions I had. Then he has the nerve to say I was out of shape and that was the reason my back was in pain. I will need a lamenectomy soon this guy's is old and outdated read more

Recently my wife ended up with spine injury (fractured L1). We were referred to Dr. Herron. My wife was suffering from an excruciating pain and we had visited another doctor who had suggested an Kyphoplasty had to be done immediately. We were indeed fortunate to visit Dr.Herron. He thoroughly examined my wife, studied her medical background and despite being a highly experienced spine surgeon with over 3 decades of experience and outstanding credentials, he suggested that we needed to visit an interventional radiologist. Moreover, he was very honest, forthright and no non-sense doctor. He stated the in his opinion the surgery may not be a good option. Although this was our first visit and we had never been to his office before, he made all the arrangements for referring my wife's case to two specialists, one an interventional radiologists, whom we later found to be a very competent and honest doctor, and an osteoporosis specialist. We were amazed that all arrangements were made so promptly and his office staff, whom we found equally competent and caring (Kathy and Pam), followed up all the arrangements so professionally. In the following days they sent us an extensive and thorough letter describing the assessment of Dr. Herron, without any questions, they sent that evaluation to all doctors whose list we had given them, Kathy called me several times during the following days to inform us about the status of approval of the referrals, and moreover, every time I called their office they were available to talk to me and answer questions, etc. My wife has been under treatment at outstanding facilities like Mass General, May Clinic, ... and we have seen over 100 doctors, including several in San Luis Obispo, for various reasons. We found Dr. Herron among the best, most caring, and most professional doctors we have ever met. If you are looking for an honest, thorough, professional evaluation and/or treatment, we recommend Dr. Herron without any hesitation. read more