Bruce Abbott

"He did surgery on both my feet years ago and did a great job. Never had a problem since."

"He took care of my feet, I would never go to anyone else"

"I was not offered any of the following treatments for severe plantar fasciitis: INJECTIONS, ORAL STEROIDS, PHYSICAL THERAPY, PRESCRIPTION STRENGTH IBUPROFEN, STRETCHES, OR EXCERCIES. I had 7 visits with Dr. Abbott over a 9 month period for severe plantar fasciitis. Of the 7 visits he only did a physical examination of my feet 2-3 times. On visits 1-3, I was offered PowerSteps, OTC naproxen, told to get better shoes, RICE, continue using a night splint, all of which helped one foot. On the 4th visit I had severe pain aggravated in one foot, he immobilized it with no warning, taking my livelihood away from me and effectively putting me on disability despite it not being an urgent situation. On visits 5-6 he told me to RICE and continue to immobilize. By visit 6 my foot pain had been reduced to a minor amount wearing the boot, but my recovery had effectively stalled. More than two months in a boot was starting to do more damage than good. The walker boot threw my back out of alignment and now I'm in a ton of other pain. My calf and ankle started to swell and get stiff. I became increasingly inactive. On visit 7 I left with a script for imaging (which I feel could and should have been provided during an earlier visit in advance of immobilization especially after I mentioned in my first visit prior issues with a bone spur), an agreement for a second opinion, but no instructions as to whether or not my foot should continue to be immobilized, literally! LITERALLY! If they told me, I didn't hear them! At my appointment for a second opinion, a more aggressive doctor wasted no time in giving me an injection into my heel, an oral steroid methylprednisone pack, prescription ibuprofen 800 mg, a script for physical therapy, print outs of stretches and exercises, print outs on plantar fasciitis info, print outs for after care instructions, info on other products similar to PowerSteps and where to purchase them, took me out of the walker boot, got me back to work, and gave me the best prescription of all: "It sounds like you need to get back to your life." And guess what. I'M FINE, back at work, and 99.5% pain free within 2 days of seeing a different doctor, not 10 lousy months! I have my physical therapy consult in a few days! I've been stuck in the healthcare system for 20 years now, and this is one of the handfuls of times where I can say with 100% certainty that this doctor COULD have and SHOULD have provided better treatment, but did not use all the tools in the toolbox! As the healthcare industry advances and their technology grows, it's pretty standard now to print and provide patients with office visit summaries including biometrics, after-care instructions, appointment reminders, etc. Dr. Abbott's office is in the dark age with no legitimate computer system, and it really puts him behind other doctors' offices. Other discomforts: Thin walls, loud voice, no privacy. Cash only. I was double billed for cash payments despite there being a physical carbon copy of the transaction and only one claim submitted to my insurance. They charged $5 per page of disability paperwork, would lose it, then filled it out wrong, and faxed it to the wrong number (I only lost $900 because of it, no big deal or anything!!!)."