Jaivin S Jonathan, MD

I went to Dr. Jaivin for a second opinion. Big mistake! I should have gone to him first and saved a lot of grief. I was a bit apprehensive because he is part of a huge medical group (SCOI), but everything turned out well. Parking was bit daunting, but I was able to find a spot on the roof, which allowed me to take the bridge to the medical building. Immediately inside was a reception desk where I was directed to Dr. Jaivin’s reception desk. After completing the usual paperwork, I had a short wait in a nicely appointed and uncrowded waiting area. A short visit by his nurse was followed by a visit from Dr. Jaivin. He was cordial and attentive to my concerns. Best of all his prognosis and treatment was a huge improvement over the first doctor. Everyone was friendly and professional.

He does give you a lot of time during a consult, and I do agree that’s not overly common. But on my second visit, he was quickly dismissive when I didn’t latch on to his recommendation for tarsal tunnel surgery. I wanted to hear other options to consider, and he said there were none. After explaining this all to my regular internist, he told me that this was incorrect and prescribed Neurontin — a commonly used nerve pain medication. It’s worked wonders, which makes me wonder about the motives of Dr. Jaivin. A surgeon who’s first instinct is to operate instead of exhausting other options first? If this is the case, I don’t think that’s very ethical.

I found it so interesting that a fellow patient/​poster experienced the same problem i had — NO Physical Therapy prescribed. I asked Jaivin repeatedly about strengthening my ankle after his surgery. He got annoyed and told me to just function as normal. Huge mistake –3 months later i tore the peroneal tendon. He is a good surgeon, but doesn’t care about the pain or the long term problem.

Dr. Jaivin rules. Even when he’s got an office full of patients, he still will give you the right amount of attention. This award winning surgeon receives accolades for a reason. He’s just an all around great guy.
He answers all questions and explains everything really clearly. I went in to have some 15-​year-​old hardware removed from my ankle. Everything went EXACTLY as he explained. His nurses and staff are incredibly friendly and will make you feel comfortable at all times.
After surgery, I was worried about being able to walk, but as he said: I’d be back on my feet in a few days. And I was. The worst part? The drug hangover, but that just comes with the territory. Three weeks out, my ankle feels amazing and isn’t swollen for the first time in a couple years. I can’t thank Dr. Jaivin and his staff enough.
(I should thank Dr. Sheh at the Toluca Lake Health Center for referring me!)

Really liked Dr. Jaivin!
6 weeks, 4 days ago had a trimalleoral fracture of my left ankle (broke tibia, fibula and the some back part of the bone), dislocation, smashed up ligs and needed 2 screws, so I was a mess. Had surgery up in San Fran where I live but came down to LA so my family could take care of me.
Luckily stumbled upon Dr. Jaivin, an ankle specialist and first saw him about 3 weeks post-​op through 6.5 weeks post-​op.
Great doc. His bedside manner was impeccable. He was personable, answered questions and never made me feel like he was in a rush and I was just a number (my parents also are in awe of this, they liked him a lot, too). Whenever I called with questions/​concerns, he was easily reachable via his practice coordinator. Oh, and he explained the xrays, showed the break and how it was healing, etc.
Also want to say thanks to Vladimir and Taryn in the cast room… they were great, handled me and my ank with care and were so helpful.
Kinda sad I’m going back up to SF and will be working w/​my surgeon up there going forward, he was THAT good.

Dr. Jaivin was a beacon of hope for me. After making MANY mistakes (too personal and upsetting to publicly vent) about the care for an ankle injury, I headed to a specialist to mend my wounds. Sure, he’s got plenty of accolades on his walls, but that isn’t important. He knows his stuff and got me back on my feet… for the most part. As much as I appreciated his care, he failed to prescribe Physical Therapy.
In hindsight that appears to be a huge mistake on his part. My right ankle remained weaker than it should have been and may have played a role in my re-​injuring it several months later. Yes, this is not a black and white case, however, this oversight is worrisome when I look back at his treatment. After a third similar injury to the same foot, my doctor (Waldman this go-​around), made sure that I got PT. He was very upset that my previous doctor had not done the same. Yes, hindsight is always 20/​20, but I always thought that doctors these days over medicate and take extra precautions so such allegations are never made…
Despite the PT issue, I would still recommend Dr. Jaivin.