Gotham Footcare - Downtown — Local services in New York

DO NOT GO TO THIS PLACE !

On November 23 2021 I had a minor issue with my foot hiking but I continued to hike and walk for 2 weeks after that.

I had very minor pain, but since I was going to travel on Christmas I decided to go to a doctor. On December 8th 2021 I went to see Dr Kim in Gotham Footcare. She took X-ray’s and told me I had 3 fractures on my foot. She gave me an ankle brace. On the 13th of December she gave me a walking boot in addition to the ankle boot and advised me to walk on an I-walk (crutches) and not step on it for 6 weeks. I followed her advice for 6 weeks.

I went to see her on January 19th 2022, after not stepping on my foot for 6 weeks. She asked for an MRI and continue not to step on it for another 2 weeks. I went back to her on Feb 02, 2022. She said that the fracture on the ankle was healed but now there was edema and the 4 toes were fractured. She asked me to think about what I had done wrong and continue not to move/ not to step on the foot for another 6 weeks. She added that I should look into bone infusion therapy but since my insurance didn't cover it, it would be + $5,000 per session.

I was quite shaken by this news since this had already taken a significant toll on me both physically, emotionally, and financially.

She told me not to go to work, work from my bed and do as little movement as possible, not even to massage the area.

I couldn’t understand what was wrong and decided I needed another opinion.

On Feb 04, I went to see another doctor who took another set of X-rays and looked at the MRI’s and told me there was nothing wrong with my foot and that it had simply been in the boot for too long . He took blood tests that came back normal and advised me to start Physical Therapy to strengthen it from the damage Dr Kim had caused. Additional to the lack of sensation on my foot he said it might be nerve damage caused by the ankle brace that was too tight. So I had nothing wrong with my foot and I had to pay countless doctor visits, 2 sets of MRI’s , 3 sets for X-rays, blood tests, physical therapy, countless Uber rides, a canceled trip across Central America, declined mental and physical health, 8+ weeks of immobilization all because Dr.Kim’s diagnosis was completely wrong. I have suffered significantly because of her and would not wish this happen to anyone else.

Its been 4 months and I am suffering from poor circulation, nerve damage and doctor visits exceeding $1,800 for now which doesn't even include the 8 weeks of PT I am doing...

Hi! Welcome to New York, the land where walking is an unavoidable and an arguably critical form of transportation. Also, you can’t forget the 40+ minute commute on the subway, and typically on your feet because chivalry is dead and no one stands up for anyone on the train anymore. Now let’s throw in some cute but subpar (as far as support goes) footware and/or heels deemed necessary to wear to work because “dress code”. This my friends is a recipient for sore feet but add in some unexpected plantar fasciitis and you have my friend, a LITERAL NIGHTMARE.

I’m in my 20s still (barely, but STILL) so had not anticipated that foot pain would really truly be an issue just yet. I’m active but not THAT active and running is the worse so again, not anticipating any issues. I have flair and an excellent taste for fashion footware, but I’m on a budget so a girl’s gotta cut some corners when it comes to where to purchase shoes.

Now that you have a clear picture, suffice all of the above to say that I’m suffering from continual foot pain but almost not mad about it because my experience at Gotham Footcare has been such a dream. This is a whole-hearted, unprompted review for all you folks out there that are unsure.

Selfishly I want to tell no one to come here because I don’t want to have any issue getting an appointment. Unfortunately its always busy here but the badass ladies that run this place run such a tight ship I have never had to wait longer than 5 minutes. So seeing as they can clearly handle the onslaught, COME HERE to get your foot/feet problems solved. (Also the music selection in this place is A+)

The Medical Assistants khere will get you in and out of therapy with no issue and feeling comfortable and taken care of. (They are also delightful to talk to, so if you have any interest in chatting that is an option but they don’t make you feel stupid if its 8am and you prefer to sit in silence and pretend you are still in bed asleep.) I see Dr. Lobkova and she is intelligent, thoughtful, patient, and answers any an all questions I have. She volunteers information about what is happening, what I am dealing with, and keeps me in the loop on what the procedures are and what value they have etc.

As I mentioned before, foot pain is not something I had a second thought about dealing with, but after the care I have received I would literally go nowhere...

AS any individual in the hospitality industry for 40+ years will tell you, we "know" feet. And ankles. And knees. We know about bandaging, braces, orthotics, band-aids, shoes, socks, pretty much everything. My appt with Dr. Sooji Kim resulted with her suggesting surgery for my Fred Flintstone feet. I was nervous and excited. With toes curling up, under, growing sideways, and so forth I can barely get shoes on. With Dr. Kim's lovely assistant Anastacia, I booked the surgery several months out, put my affairs in order (work schedule, family schedule, travel schedule) and followed instructions as Dr. Kim said anywhere up to an 8 week post-op time. When I arrived at the office today, Dr. Kim didn't seem to know who I was, "what foot?" uhm...both? and was flummoxed by my presence. She wanted to do x-rays again as it had "been so long." This was my pre-op appointment. My surgery had been "on the calendar" for several months and was scheduled 34 days from now. Surgery was to be done on both feet with an approximate 8 week recovery time. After a wait, Dr. Kim came back in the room and announced that "I should be happy" as she was no longer going to do the surgery. She whipped out some tape and asked if I had ever taped my feet. Uhm, yes, we went all over this... Dr. Kim is a smiley, effusive young lady, but she just literally "pulled the rug from right under my feet." I do not believe she knew who I was, that she had seen me before, that I was on her schedule to have her do surgery on both my feet per her original diagnosis in 34 days, and now she wanted to simply throw tape & band-aids at me. This is after I had family, friends & work rearrange their schedules all to accommodate lil ol' me and my "feet surgery." Oh, and I should buy "bigger shoes" now. Gee, why didn't I think of...