Lamont J Cardon, MD

Angry… was supposed to have surgery tomorrow at 11:15. Arranged a ride to the surgery center for that time, only to be informed by the center this morning that the time was changed. No one at the dr’s office had the courtesy to let me know in advance, and there was no way to change my ride. Professionals keep their appointments! They don’t leave a client/​patient stranded because they want their day to end an hour earlier rather than keep their commitment. If I did this to a parent during my time as a high school Principal, the community would have fried me. I suppose I can live for now with my carpal tunnel syndrome, though I may never play the violin again!

A year later with almost full range of motion — and a better recovery then ever expected, I am very trilled to say Dr Cardin is my hero!
A great front office run with professionalism and compassion and an amazing team that stood by me through the ups and downs of the surgery and trauma. Deep sincere thanks.

Attentive, thoughtful, curious, good listener, engaging. My 2 visits with the Doctor were both helpful and satisfying. His office equipment, including a portable, high quality imaging device, were impressive and belied otherwise unattractive décor. Finally, the assistant –I’m sorry I don’t remember her name– was also diligent and skillful. Finally, I got 2 apologies today because the office saw me just 20 minutes past my scheduled afternoon appointment. In my experience that goes down as impressive punctuality. Very impressive all around.

Dr. Cardon operated on my broken wrist in 2009. I had broken it in NY and was referred to a specialist in Manhattan who said he wouldn’t know what he would do until he had opened up my wrist. This did not inspire confidence. My daughter in Oakland identified Dr. Cardon as the best hand surgeon in the East Bay, and two days later he operated. He knew exactly what to do. His warmth matches his skill. I felt cared for in every possible way, and the surgery was completely effective. Now, six years later, I broke my radius and phoned for an appointment – but, understandably, Dr. Cardon was completely booked. His colleague Dr. Rebecca Yu shares all of his qualities, and again I felt wonderfully cared for. Everyone who works with Drs. Cardon and Yu is of their quality.

I met with with physician’s assistant Broheen Elias and he was one of the most compassionate doctors I’ve ever met. He took the time to carefully explain my condition. I only wish other doctors were as caring and skillful as Broheen Elias. If you have any hand problem go to this office!

5 days after a percutaneous trigger release procedure on the middle finger of my right hand. You can’t even tell. And I golfed 2 days ago! Dr. Cardon did an incredible job. My sister had the same trigger finger but she had the more common surgery where a cut is made at the base of the finger, the sheath is cut and then the hand is stitched back up. It took her a couple of weeks to get back to normal. Dr. Cardon just cut the sheath using a 14 gauge needle under the skin. No sutures. No bandages. I’m so happy and free of pain!

THE BEST!!!
I had seen another hand surgeon for a condition called Trigger Thumb which I guess is more common than I realized. The experiences were like night and day!!!
The minute I contacted Dr. Cardon’s office to schedule an appointment, I was greeted warmly and professionally. The office was nice, modern and confortable (unlike the stodgy old-​school office the other doc had). And, they actually use technology to make communication easier — imagine that!
The other doctor told me that THE ONLY fix (since the two steriod treatments didn’t work) was hand surgery. For that reason, I put off dealing with it — hoping my problem would somehow go away on its own. When I just couldn’t take the pain and popping anymore, I decided to get a second opinion from Dr. Cardon and I am SO glad I did.
I was surprised to learn from Dr. Cardon that surgery was NOT necessary. In less than 5 minutes I was cured — no going under — no knives, just a simple (well, probably not simple) manipulation of the problem area and like magic I was cured. I could move my thumb normally for the first time in 8 months (I could actually move it during the procedure!) After a couple of days it was like I never had a problem. And, the doctor is super nice and very relaxed, which made a scary situation much easier to take.
If you want state-​of-​the art treatment and a highly professional and competent team, see Dr. Cardon.

Stellar experience with Broheen Elias at this office at the beginning of this year. Skillful, approachable, thorough, kind, and full of good humor. My fracture was well cared for, scheduling easy. Fully healed. Above and beyond medical care.

Anyone would be spectacularly lucky to have Broheen Elias take care of them.
My 6Y old son broke his wrist four days before our river camping, Lake Michigan swimming vacation. He was put into a cast and told that he couldn’t get it wet. What?!!
I was then directed, miraculously, yes I said miraculously, to Bro who made time to squeeze us in the day before we left. Bro explained the break in much greater detail than I had been told previously and then fitted us with a waterproof cast.
What really stood out is how great he was at talking with my son. They were laughing and he answered a bunch of questions about equipment… the whole visit was made into something fun.
We had a wonderful vacation and my kid was not slowed down in the least. Everyone was amazed that he could go into the water with a cast.
There are just not enough stars for a superstar like Bro.

Bait-​and-​switch! We made an appointment to see Dr. Cardon, only to arrive and discover that he wasn’t in the office and, because of a long waiting list, we’d be seeing a PA instead. If we’d known, we could have made earlier appointments with other equally qualified doctors.
I appreciate that Dr. Cardon is very good at what he does, and I understand that he has a lot of demand for his time, but the office could have told us this ahead of time. We have had great PAs in other Dr’s offices before, so that’s really not the issue. The real issue is lousy business practices.

I have only good things to say about my experience with Dr. Cardon & his office.
In short:
1. Professional, skilled, efficient, friendly, caring doctor and staff
2. Satisfied with medical treatment and service.
3. Seen and helped/​treated very quickly. Same day appointment
4. Surgery soon after with good results so far
5. Would highly recommend.
I broke my shoulder (distal clavicle fracture to be exact) on a bike ride and was seen the same day.
I didn’t wait long before being seated in a room, when a very friendly, upbeat nurse (wish I could recall her name!) entered. I was already ultra-​sedated on narcotics and really appreciated that she could skillfully and quickly do her task while at the same time showing concern. Loved her.
She returned with Dr. Cardon moments later. From past experience with a hospital surgeon, I was expecting to be a task item checked off by a brusque, too-​important-​and-​busy-​for-​you doctor bent on moving to the next thing ASAP.
Well, Dr. Cardon was exactly the opposite. He smiled, sympathized, made a connection by revealing he does CX too. He took time to explain his recommendations, literally paint a picture of the procedure, and answer my questions. I felt more like I was talking to a benevolent friend than a far-​and-​removed professional.
After the appointment, the front desk staff accommodated me in arranging/​waiting for my ride, as I’d lost my phone the day before as well.
It was 3pm and I hadn’t eaten or had a drink since 6am, as advised by urgent care in case surgery would happen that same day. As I sat shifting uncomfortably in the waiting room, pain meds wearing off, the PA stops by the water cooler. He smiles and hands me an bottle of Odwalla and lime juice drink, wishing me luck and hoping that they’d help make a bad day better. I was so grateful I could have given him a one-​armed hug.
Operation a few days later was just as smooth, and the follow up calls were just as friendly and personal. The surgery results seem excellent and I am returning to normal much, much faster than expected.
So, if you’re choosing an office for orthopedic care, I’d recommend Dr. Cardon and his staff in a heartbeat. Anyone can take care of your injuries, and maybe even do it with professional service and skill. But I think that you don’t just get medicine here — you get medical CARE. You get that often overlooked nuance that reminds us we’re fellow human beings.

Staff were all very courteous, scheduling was quick and all the forms were sent in advance via email (don’t know about you but providers who can’t deal with email these days are quickly being replaced in my list of caretakers).
Front desk staff quite friendly (ok one person might have had a difficult day when I went in, but another quickly stepped in and everything was fine).
I didn’t see Cardon but his PA, who was great: very knowledgeable an experienced, spent a lot of time listening and then educating both on the issue and options and steered me to least invasive option (they try to keep people out of surgery is what PA indicated, which is fine by me!!! will try anything and do that only as last resort!) Nurse also very good. Xray equipment in office so a one-​stop place which is really nice.
I hope no one ever has to see this type of doc… but if you do, the quality of my experience was excellent and would highly recommend.
(Now if I could find a GP where the experience was only 75% as good… it would be an improvement)

Dr. Cardon and his staff were all extremely friendly and helpful. So friendly that my meter almost ran out during one of my appointments and his assistant offered to go feed it for me!
Aside from the friendliness, Dr. Cardon made me feel very comfortable and confident in my injury and healing. He took xrays each time I visited and did a great job explaining how my body was healing, what the xrays showed, as well as what to expect in the near and long term with regards to my injury. His demeanor is awesome — very patient, calm, and knowledgeable. I would absolutely recommend him to anyone who needs to see a specialist.

Almost a year ago, I broke my scaphoid and my collar bone in two separate accidents. I had surgery for the scaphoid and rest for the collar bone. His staff were great at informing me of what to expect and answered all my questions. Now I’m playing guitar, lifting weights, doing yoga, sailing, skiing, etc. Dr. Cardon is an excellent surgeon! I have him and his very competent staff to thank!

I’ve been waiting to write this review for about four months since I I broke my wrist, but I figured I should wait until it is fully healed. Which it now is.
I crashed by bike and broke my scaphoid bone. The scaphoid is both the most commonly broken bone in the wrist and the slowest to heal. I went to my regular doctor first, they had X-​rays done, and when the doc saw it was broken, she had her office call Dr. Cardon. It was 5pm and his office was closing, but since it was two blocks away he offered to wait and see me that day. He explained the options between casting and surgery, and took the time to answer every question I could think of, with exceptional clarity and the occasional citation to scientific studies and literature. You could tell that he’s the kind of guy who got A’s in every class in his life, but he was also very personable.
Dr. Cardon had a slot to do the surgery the next day, but I waited a few more days to do research. I wasn’t terribly interested in having any titanium in my body if it could be helped, but after reading on the subject for a while generally seemed that with the kind of break I had, surgery and a titanium screw just worked better. Essentially what Dr. Cardon had said.
The surgery was at the Surgery Center on Telegraph, which was surprisingly friendly and nice, which seems to be the experience that others have had also (
). Dr. Cardon again answered all my questions on the day of surgery very well. The surgery went quickly (I was out less than three hours after arriving) and as non-​unpleasantly as I can imagine surgery going.
Since then I’ve been back for a bunch of follow-​up visits, monitoring the progress. It was nice to have the use of my hand for light-​duty stuff — surgery means just a supporting splint instead of a cast. And it slowly got better; after three months Dr. Cardon cleared me to do all activities, although I still had some pain in some more strenuous movements (rock climbing and bench pressing in particular). But even that has gone away in the last month. My wrist is still slightly stiff at the ends of range of motion, but that seems to be going away over time.
So, overall a really good wrist break fix-​up.

I saw Broheen yesterday for tendonitis that had gotten out of control. My wrist was unusable for nearly 3 weeks. I’m a law student and play guitar, harp, and banjo so not having a functional wrist is a non-​option. Broheen was literally one of the best medical professionals I have ever seen. He talked to me about the full scope of my options, listened to my needs and concerns, and took good care of me when I nearly fainted after my cortisone shot.
One day later (today) the pain has gone down from an ⁸⁄₁₀ to a ²⁄₁₀. I expect to be fully healed within the week.
The energy in the office was great. They were organized, efficient, and had great staff.

I suffered a left leg quadricep tendon tear on 3.31.12 and was treated by Dr. Cardon within a week of the accident.
I feel very fortunate to have had him for the surgery, but must point out that his entire office was equally excellent to work with.
this injury is painful, and the recovery times are long, up to and including a year.
Dr. Cardon was very direct, and communicative on what i should expect and did not hold back from the information that i needed to understand this was not going to be a simple stitch and go like all my other injuries.
Knowing what he armed me with, enabled me to not lose hope during the months since.
I am still getting better, but i am most grateful for his and his team’s care.

I fractured my wrist trying to box without any hand wraps or boxing gloves, stupid I know. I sought a specialist from the Berkeley Tang Center and they referred me to Dr. Cardon who saw me at the Tang Center. Apparently, he also works at the Tang, which is super convenient, although his office is close by to Alta Bates in Berkeley, just off of College. Both at his office or at the Tang Center, I’ve never had to wait too long and he always seems to remember my issue and who I am, it could be because no one is as stupid as I am but I’ll let him chalk it up to personable service.
The only thing that I dislike is that he takes quick five second x-​rays in his office sometimes, which he charges my insurance company and I a lot for. I have the Berkeley health plan which limits my expenses and claims and while I do not foresee myself getting injured in the future, thank God, I do like the piece of mind that I won’t be reaching my lifetime or annual limit anytime soon, especially with all the treatments and consultations that I have to check out for my wrist!
Regardless, he is helpful as is his staff. He also has a ²⁴⁄₇ phone line to make appointments that seems pretty useful and amazing, although I’ve never really had to use it. He was helpful before surgery, during surgery, and after surgery and still remains so. I also like that he doesn’t mind when I sometimes, randomly call in for a quick question about whether I can write or do XYZ. Hey, it’s the life of a Berkeley student!

Dr. Cardon and his medical staff are first rate. Very pleasant to work with, knowledgeable, communicative and empathetic. My issues were (fortunately) resolved without surgery, and I would not hesitate to recommend Dr. Cardon.
One note that ties in to Raylene P’s review: I would have given Dr. Cardon five stars, but his front office staff generally is not up to the standards of the medical side of the office. Specifically, they are efficient enough but as a group they are, for lack of a better term, not friendly. This is in stark contrast to their medical staff, and also to the front office staffs of just about every medical/​dental practitioner I’ve had to work with. Not so bad as to get me to find another doc, but noticeable and notable.

Reposting for my girlfriend who apparently gets filtered by Unilocal.I met him too and he seemed like a good fellow. My girlfriend is mostly recovered now and feels great, so kudos to Dr. Cardon.
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Dr. Cardon did an amazing job putting my clavicle back into place after I broke it in a biking accident (he showed me the images of my post-​surgery clavicle, and all of the pieces are now perfectly aligned — yay!) Dr. Cardon offered to do the more traditional metal plate procedure if I had wanted it, but he is also skilled and experienced with a newer, less invasive technique that involves using a suture to put (and keep) my bone in position. Given Dr. Cardon’s recommendation/​superb track record with the latter procedure, I went with it and am very pleased with the result — there is no foreign object protruding from under my skin like there often is with the metal plate procedure.
Outside of the operating room, Dr. Cardon has been really great about explaining what he’s doing and why he’s doing it, answering all of my questions (including promptly returning my phone calls without implying that I’m a nuisance), and seems to genuinely care about my recovery. It is no wonder that the ER doctor who originally saw me after my accident said that he’d go to Dr. Cardon if he were in my position.
5 stars for Dr. Cardon!
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