Diefendorf Dirk R MD

Great doctor! my son had a sports injury and Dr. Diefendorf was super attentive and very aware of an athletes body and movements.

Dr. Diefendorf was very careful to make sure he was the right doctor for her broken arm. He wasn’t about getting as many patients as possible! He just wanted to make sure my daughter was in the right hands. His whole staff was amazing! We landed at the best place and I highly recommend this doctor and his whole office.

I recently had three breaks, two lucky and one un. The un was a nasty fall, tripping over an errant piece of sidewalk, which shattered my right wrist. The first lucky break; I’m left-​handed. The second, much bigger break. paramedics took me to Mills Hospital where Dr. Diefendorf was on duty. Throughout what could have been a life-​altering experience, (I am no spring chicken) he was knowledgable, helpful and thorough. He fixed my arm with what my daughter in law called «your towel bar,» an extruding metal brace. Even the surgery, finally, to remove that and replace it with a cast was done brilliantly. Now that I am fully recovered, I am deep in gratitude for having lucked into Dr. Diefendorf. At all follow up appointments, not only he, but his office staff were GREAT. Lana is a love. Vicky, the x-​ray tech, is a gift to humanity. I cannot say enough good things about this very caring, capable and talented man. Trust me.

I rarely write «bad» reviews on Unilocal,especially for doctors, but this one had to be written. I originally saw Dr. D on July 14 for a 2:45pm appt (left achilles pain). I get to the office and Lana (receptionist, not really a fan) tells me he was behind in the ER and won’t see me until 4pm. Ummm… couldn’t she have called me to tell me that if he JUST got back to the office 2pm ish and had a SLEW of other patients waiting. Very frustrating, but I patiently waited. I was finally seen at 5pm and Dr. D was extremely rushed, told me to not do impact sports for 2 weeks, stretch my calves and take 2 aleves in the morn and night for 2 weeks. I asked about an MRI or images as my leg had been bothering me since May 30, and he said it wouldn’t be needed.
Flash forward after NO impact activities (only teaching spin classes 2x a week, water jogging with a buoyancy belt in the deep end with zero impact), I have an appt on Aug 13 at 2:45pm. This is the soonest I was able to see him after my initial appt.
Due to his tardiness at my first appt, I call Lana in advance at 1:30pm. She says it will be closer to 4pm. I explained last time she said 4pm, and I wasn’t seen until 5pm and very politely ask if she could call me a half hour or so before I would be seen (as he has MANY patients scheduled every 15−20mins). She said NO! I was very irritated at her disregard for a service I feel can be easily accommodated.
Finally at 4:45pm, I am seen. Now, Dr. D says I shouldn’t spin either. And continue to stretch. He offers no other advice. I ask about an MRI and he AGAIN gives me the cold shoulder, saying «it wouldn’t be very useful in your case. And most likely not show anything.» … after about 5mins of practically «begging» for one, he finally complies. He says to go to Mills, but I explain my insurance is with Sequoia Physicians Network, but he says «no Mills is fine.» Well, of course, next day Lana calls me and says she needs to resubmit the MRI order to Sequoia and this will take at least 24hour. Of course, it’s now a Friday which means I will have to wait until Monday to schedule.
Flash forward to Aug 21. I have my MRI done. Images on a disk are given to me. Today Aug 25, I talk with my WONDERFUL orthodic «guy» (Gary Berke) and he asks about a report. I call Sequoia and have them fax him the report. And about 3mins later, Gary calls me. CHRONIC TALOFIBULAR LIGAMENT TEAR and chronic syndesmotic injury! Thank GOD, I begged for the MRI back on Aug 13!!! Both Gary and my chiropractor (and I) are appalled that an MRI was not ordered sooner as a preventive precaution. VERY disappointing, aggravating, and frustrating.
I see Dr. D tomorrow Aug 26, to discuss these results and plan of action. My appt is at 4pm. I am guessing, I won’t be seen till closer to 5:30pm. I will add to this review once this appt is done.
And in the meantime, I am switching to Palo Alto Medical Foundation to see their orthopedic team, get a second opinion, and NEVER go back to Dr. D.
Although he is a very «nice guy,» I am so disappointed and frustrated about the events that have transpired. I write this review as a testimony of what I had to deal with, so that other patients suffering from orthopedic injuries may proceed with CAUTION.

I went to see Dr. Diffendorf for a second opinion on my partially torn rotator cuff. My first orthopedist instantly recommended surgery without hesitation. I have never had an injury like this and really am averse to going under the knife. My osteopath recommended Dr. Diffendorf and I am very glad I went to see him. He was very attentive and thorough explaining that he had seen many injuries like mine and that my tear was very small. He said I didn’t need surgery, prescribing four weeks of PT and stretching and strengthening at home. I asked many questions about the pros and cons of surgery now and later wanted to know what the future might hold. He very carefully explained his opinion but I still had a little doubt in my mind — should i just get the surgery done now instead of 10 years from now? Now 9 months later after my injury and 4 months later after I last saw him i have about 90% of my flexibility and quite a bit of my strength back. I am really glad I trusted his advice.

My son broke his wrist and Dr. D immediately took him in and had his other patients wait (I apologized to them). He was thorough, knowledgeable, and got him in a cast and in good spirits in a jiffy. He explained things in clear terms and has an excellent bedside manner. I cannot thank Dr. D enough.

My daughter saw Dr. Diefendorf last spring for what we thought was a broken thumb, but ended up being trigger thumb. I don’t entirely blame Dr. Diefendorf for not knowing it was broken, but the multiple x-​rays and multiple castings to be told at the end to see a specialist, who diagnosed trigger thumb immediately, was frustrating. Bedside manner and care from all staff were great, though.
My biggest issue is with billing. I received several bills from the office which is out of network for us, which I knew, but we needed to be seen and a friend recommended him. I expected to get these bills, but what frustrates me is when I looked at our EOB, we were double charged for every single thing-​meaning there was a charge for each cast from both Dr. Diefendorf himself and from the office. She only had two casts, yet they were paid twice for each casting. Same for the visits, casting process, x-​rays, etc… If the office and the Dr. get to charge, it irks me that I still had to cover so much. I understand this may be common practice, but when I called to ask about it, I was told by the receptionist that she would call me back the following week after looking into it, and I never heard from her.

Was referred by my primary Dr. Shah to see Dr. Dierendorf. He was great, friendly and informed me on what was wrong with my elbow. X rays were taken right in the office by Vicky and results indicated that I have tendinitis. He went over the Dos & Don’t ’ s and made me feel satisfied with my visit. I will listen to his instructions and be back in 6 weeks for a follow up.
Staff was friendly and office is clean. A wonderful experience.
Thank you!

Helped my son with a very nasty leg fracture. Surgery and all. I would recomend him to everyone. Really knows his stuff.

Dr Diefendorf performed two surgeries on me. He is a wonderful surgeon, doctor, and individual. His is caring and no-​nonsense, pushing the patient (me) to perform 100% at my part of the process. Noticing I was upset at one appointment, he took time to listen to what was happening. (It was a situation with another doctor. When that issue «blew up» and I needed guidance, he and his staff worked with me address the situation.)
Yes, I have spent a lot of time in the waiting room. To me that is a small price to pay for the skills, care, and personal assistance I have received from Dr Diefendorf. I recommend him whenever I can.

Very non attentive and completely lacking concern for his patients. I had to repeat my issue twice because he failed to listen the first time. Seemed totally pre-​occupied. Then cancelled my follow up appointment due to a surgery and his office did not even call back to reschedule. Vote of no confidence based on my woeful experience.

I did something out of the ordinary for me the other day. When someone tapped my shoulder and said, «Looks who’s here!», I almost jumped up to hug him. How could I be so emotional and who was this person? It was Dr. Diefendorf, who replaced my two knees couple years ago. He is a very skillful surgeon who did wonderful work on my knees and provided good post-​op care. I am so grateful and I was so happy to see him again!

5 stars!
I had a «trigger finger» that has been bothering me for quite some time. While it didn’t necessarily hurt per se, it still was uncomfortable time to time and I finally decided to take the leap and get it fixed.
My first impression of this office was when I called to schedule an appointment. Yes, it’s hard to tell over the phone for sure, but I had an inkling that the lady on the other end was… nice. This was confirmed when I actually went to the office for the said appointment. You know, you walk into a doctor’s office sometimes and some mean person greets you… I realize that it’s not a restaurant business where service of a office staff has a HUGE impact, but it still has some impact. Nicest front office person at the doctor’s office by far.
The nice staff didn’t end there… it seemed like everyone there is really friendly. It’s the way they talk… way they strike a conversation… it’s the sense that you are a person visiting, not simply a subject of medical procedure.
But wait… this review is about the doctor! I have nothing but GREAT things to say about Dr. Diefendorf. He’s extremely professional, fantastic at explaining things (no medical jargons), and no BS attitude. He’s super friendly and caring, and he even apologizes «I’m sorry for this» whenever he has to cause you some pain (for diagnostic purposes or during surgery).
Everything from pre-​op, surgery, to post-​op has been perfect. Highly recommended!!!

Dr. Diefendorf is a great surgeon. According to the physical therapist, his patients all recovered very fast nicely. I will have left knee repalced by him as soon as I recovered from my right knee. He did a great job. Thanks. Dr. D.
Amy C