Paul J Brody, DPM

I came in with an injury that needed to be referred to an orthopedic surgeon. Brody seems to have a business relationship with the place he sent me to, P. Richard Emmanuel. I found Emmanuel to be competent, knowledgable and professional but his bedside manor bears too much resemblance to a sales approach for my liking. Also, in the interactions with the staff, the «nickel and diming» feel is kind of unpleasant. Brody knew that this doctor was out of network and that the initial consultation was going to cost $ 200, or at least that’s what i was quoted (Emmanuel’s office found reason to bump up to $ 300) but he was emphatic about the choice. All the while, I had what is widely considered to be the best option for Orthopedic Surgery, Kerlan Jobe, IN NETWORK. Kerlan-​Jobe handles injuries from the Lakers, Dodgers, etc and is THE place to go. Hope this helps you.

If I could I would give no stars. Let me start off by saying I have full coverage regarding insurance. I am so beyond disappointed in this doctor and his practice. I went to his office 10 days ago. He diagnosed that I had Gout. He had me do blood work and the blood work came out negative. He said that he still thought it was Gout. Over the weekend I got worse (swelling and pain). I called him on Monday and had to beg for a ultra sound, MRI and xray. He made me an appointment for the Ultra Sound which also turned out negative. I called his office to request that I get a xray and MRI. His assistant kept informing me that he was a podiatrist. After the forth time I told her that I was fully aware that he was a podiatrist and could he simply just make an appointment or give me a prescription for what I wanted. I ended up hanging up on her since she couldn’t grasp what I requested. I called another doctor who recommended a specialist. The new doctor immediately did a xray and then gave me a prescription for a MRI and also put me in a boot in the meantime. I just found out today that I have a Stress Fracture. We could have saved some days had Dr. Brody ordered the tests that I requested. If a patient is asking for tests run the tests do not just look at their foot and immediately think it is Gout without any other testing. I am so beyond disgusted with him and his office. I will never set foot in his office again. Be warned.

Do not go to this guy! I went yesterday and he was more worried about leaving work than my hurting toe. This guy is not warm heared. He was very cold and I didn’t feel like he cared all that much. I suggest going anywhere else but Brotman Medical Center in Culver City. I think that is where Dr’s go to die.
UPDATE, I just went to get a prescription that this AWFUL Dr just prescribed. It said to take one pill ever 4 hours or as needed. That medication would have KILLED me… This guy needs to stop practicing. I only gave him one star because you can’t give negative stars. If that was the case, he would have NEGATIVE 5 Stars.

RUN. Which you will find very difficult to do after visiting Dr. Brody’s chop shop.
Went back to Dr. Brody (after he performed a double bunionectomy about 3 years before) to remove calluses that were forming on the ball of my foot. His suggestion? Surgery. Really? For calluses? Yes, he assured me. The calluses were being caused by a bone pressing down on the bottom of my foot. Translation: Let’s perform some completely unnecessary surgery so that I can squeeze some more money out of that Cadillac insurance you got.
First of all, the bone in question (a ‘tailor’ bunion) wasn’t in the spot where the calluses were forming, so how removing it was supposed to work is a mystery. But of course it didn’t work. The calluses came back pretty much instantaneously. It also left me with tenderness for years. Years. Because of course, I didn’t need thousands of dollars worth of pointless surgery (other than lining Dr. Brody’s pockets), instead, I should’ve driven right past his office and into Sally’s Beauty Supply for a callus shaver that would’ve set me back about $ 9.00 and saved me years of pain and Quasimo-​toes. Yep, as a bonus, Dr. Brody told me I had hammer toes (false) and he’d also fix those right up during this bogus surgery. Oh, he fixed ‘em alright. My toes are now turned over on their sides (!) and drift away from their other little homies. He cut the tendons (oh, yes friends, you heard me right) so there’s nothing holding my little guys in place. How was this supposed to be an improvement when there was NOTHING wrong with my toes? Not one complaint. He CREATED problems where none existed. Any kind of shoe with a closed toe and heel means carefully coaxing them into place, often painfully. And my formerly rather adorable little toes are now deformed. I didn’t go back to have him correct it because A) it didn’t look like it could possibly be corrected B) I knew he wouldn’t take responsibility for his f — - up (immediately after surgery, he gave me some self-​adhesive tape told me to ‘tape’ them in the right direction) and C) by the time I realized that I was effed up (and should go see another doctor), I had lost my health insurance
Finally, I go back to Dr. Brody because I want him to see what he’s done. He looks at my toes. He argues with me that my little toes were above the line of my other toes a.k.a. hammer toes (they most certainly were not and how insulting that you are either accusing me of lying or telling me I don’t know what my own feet — feet I owned for 30 years at that point — looked like), then immediately goes over to my file. «Do you still have the Blue Cross»? Um, no. He LITERALLY threw his hands up in the air and said, «what do you want me to do? Surgery will require a hospital, anesthesia. You want your toes to be exactly like they were before». Says who? CLEARLY unless you have a time machine somewhere in this office, that is IMPOSSIBLE. Yeah, no more (barely) Mr. Nice Guy without that good olé’ PPO.
Please, at the very least get a second opinion before you let this man lay a hand on you.

Here is my experience with Dr. Brody:
I had what I believed might be an infection under my toenail. I asked my insurance company for the names of doctors who could treat it. They sent me to Brody. When he saw me, he instantly fixated on what he said were my «bunions» (small bumps on the outside of my feet next to my little toes). He said I needed to get these fixed right away. I told him that I’d barely noticed them, that aside from the infection under my toenail, I’d never had a foot problem of any kind. He insisted that I was feeling pain because of the bunions but just didn’t notice it and told me I should have surgery. He insisted I would feel much better if I had the bunions removed and, what’s more, my feet would look so much more attractive. I left the office feeling confused about what I should do.
In the following weeks, Brody’s office manager called me twice and tried to talk me into having the surgery. She said my insurance would pay the entire bill. Finally, I relented and agreed to the surgery. On the morning of the operation, I walked in the office and it was packed with people who were getting the same exact surgery; I felt like I was on an assembly line. Then when I was on the operating table, a nurse talked to another nurse about criticism she’d heard from another doctor about Dr. Brody, in essence saying he shouldn’t be doing the surgery he was doing on me.
After I’d had the surgery, I was sent a bill by Brody’s office. I was really aghast, because the office manager had told me the entire surgery would be covered by the insurance company. I called her up and reminded her of this, but she pressured me to pay some sort of hidden fee that she hadn’t mentioned in the first place. I knew she was trying to shake me down. I put up a fight and she finally relented, saying that she would «waive» the fee.
And now the important issue: my feet. Do they feel better now that Brody removed the small «bunions»? Hell no. They feel worse. My feet, which had never bothered me before, now cramp up all the time. If I wear heels, they cramp up. If I walk a long time, they cramp up. I never had a foot problem until Dr. Brody operated on my feet. Not only did he pressure me into an unnecessary surgery and then try to shake me down for more money, my feet are now worse off. Do you think I’ll go back to him to complain or have him fix the problem? Hell no.
Here’s the big lesson I learned: Do not have unnecessary surgery. Period. And if a doctor gets aggressive about talking you into a surgery you don’t think you need and even has his office manager call to try to talk you into a procedure, and if that doctor is trying to take advantage of your insurance, then that doctor is probably more concerned with making money than protecting your health and well-​being.
I have to live with these feet for the rest of my life. Thanks a lot, Dr. Brody.
UPDATE:
I finally went to a reputable doctor to look a my feet. He said the surgery Brody did was unnecessary — and I knew that already. He took X-​rays and had me go do MRIs and he just shook his head. He said there was no need to cut my tendons and that if I did have a bunion problem (which I didn’t), the matter could’ve been handled without butchering my feet. He requested a surgery report from Brody. And here’s the funny part: Brody claimed in his report that I’d «complained of pain»! Flat-​out lie. I HAD NOT complained of pain! I’d simply asked if I had an infection under my toenail!
The new doctor said he wanted to take a conservative approach to fixing my feet, so we started with physical therapy. The physical therapist easily figured out that my tendons had been cut and referred to the doctor who did the cutting as «an assembly-​line quack operation.» She made me do exercises to strengthen my feet so I can maybe, possibly, hopefully not have my feet cramp up and — please god — wear high heels (the way I did BEFORE Brody).
In short: Stay away from this man. Whenever we drive by the street, my husband says, «There’s the butcher of Culver City!»

I had a series of surgeries last year performed by Dr. Brody, and not only was he amazing in ever technical way, he and his staff were also incredibly kind and reassuring, patient beyond compare. I would see them quite often– sometimes twice a week– and they were always friendly, kind, and helpful.
Dr. Brody himself is a funny guy and very knowledgeable. If I have any other problems, he would definitely be the first place I went for help.