Brad Zwahlen, MD

Dr Zwahlen operated on my knee a 3 years ago. I was miserable, it kept swelling up on me with the most minimal of activity. After the surgery I got the ice machine and crutches to go home with. Within 48 hours I hardly needed the crutches and went off of all pain medication. He’s caring, competent and confident, I felt as if I was in good hands (literally and figuratively) and I was right. My knee has been great ever since and I owe it to his great skill. If my other knee goes, I’ll be sure to call on him again.

Simply the best doctor you could ever have. He truly cares about his patients and makes you feel relaxed. The world’s best doctor!!!

My experience with Dr. Brad Zwahlen was so far above extraordinary. He is an excellent physician and good communicator. He was clear about realistic expectations. He carefully listened to my questions, answering my specific query rather than handing out some pat answer. He was concerned with my particular list of needs and cared to make sure I was receiving the best care from all the professionals with whom I interacted in the hospital. He was always available. And I am healing at an astounding clip. Thank you, Dr. Zwahlen!

1 star based on office staff. Snippy & rude was what I read in 1 review & I do agree.
I tried to make an appt for my son who was injured in an accident & was told they don’t take accident victims. Wtf?!
I have private PPO insurance but nope no way, won’t see him. She even went as far as to say good luck, NO ONE will probably see him. Well, thanks Cal Sports. You’re a lot of help

It was 10 minutes on hold before they hung up. Then another 5 waiting again to reach a front desk person who was snippy and rude. All that to find out that this is not an orthopedic specialist. This doctor is part of Cal Sports Orthopedic who only see sports injuries. If the injury occurred in any other way this place is will not see you even if its an orthopedic specialists job. Their recommendation? See a PCP. If they understood the nature of these types of injuries they would know a PCP would tell you too see a specialist like them!

I have had an opportunity to engage with the practice of Dr. Zwahlen twice.
Himself he is quite a personable and friendly individual. However my experience with «him» as the practice was not positive at all.
First time, a few years ago, doctor did an arthroscopic surgery for me on my knee. in the next few days I was feeling an unbearable amount of pain that lasted way too long than anticipated. Every time I reached out to his office, I would get an extremely short response from his assistant — that instead of trying to assist me in my situation, gave me some guidance that I felt was not medically appropriate and actually prevented the proper recovery. Even couple years after, I had experience that the surgery was not fully successful.
Until the same issue appeared on the same knee couple of years later. However, this time I was abroad. I did an MRI and tried to reach doctor to get his perspective, as local doctors recommended urgent surgery. After two days of not returning my and my wife’s calls, I got a hold of the assistant myself. I expected that at minimum doctor would work with me through my options and risk — all I got was a short answer that i should have it handled locally and the doctor does not do urgent surgeries. End of the conversation or my ability to ask questions.
Two strikes and a similarities of experiences each time.
Caveat emptor.

My primary physician referred me to him after I suffered a freak accident resulting in multiple fractures of my humerus and a dislocated shoulder. He took a lot of time explaining my injury and what he thought we should do. He was a caring, compassionate, sincere, and knowledgeable physician. He was the first physician who understood what I did as a former educator. After returning for a follow-​up, he prescribed PT for me. Returning 3 mos. later for another follow-​up after some intensive therapy, he released me from his care.
I recently returned to seek his advice in providing more options in the rehabilitation of my shoulder. He appeared interested and concerned in my issues and tested my range of motion. He further explained how my shoulder worked and what were my options to further address my issues. He came up with a viable plan. I’ve had orthopedists throughout my life and he gets highest marks in how he treats and deals with patients and their issues with his gentle bedside manner. I would highly recommend him.

I sought out Dr. Zwahlen for a knee consult. I knew I had knee osteoarthritis and the pain in both my knees was getting worse. I wanted to find out if it was time to have knee replacement surgery. He was in a hurry, poked at my knees hard enough for me to cry out in pain and then he said he couldn’t do anything for me and I should go see his colleague for synvisc shots.
I didn’t feel he was compassionate at all. He almost seemed sadistic, poking at me knowing it was going to hurt and then had a flippant attitude when he said he couldn’t do anything for me.
What he was really trying to say I found out later was my knee arthritis hadn’t advanced enough (bone on bone) to have surgery. Although many people are having knee surgery before bone on bone occurs and he could have given me a more in-​depth explanation and a set of alternatives.
I was completely unimpressed.

At the referral of my primary care physician, I called in early April to try to schedule an appointment with Dr Zwahlen for my hip. The first available appointment was 5/​8, so I scheduled the appointment. On 5/​7, I get a call saying that my appointment would be cancelled because he had an emergency procedure. Ok fine. So I rescheduled for 5/​29, which again was the first available appointment. Just today (⁵⁄₂₈), I get a call telling me that my appointment was scheduled in error and that my appointment was cancelled. I called the office to inquire about why it would be cancelled, and was given a vague response of «Dr Zwahlen decided to cancel because he does not specialize in hips.» Unfortunately, now I’m delayed 2 months in seeing a doctor and have wasted far too much time.
Clearly, that was a blatant lie. They knew I had a hip issue when I scheduled, and the profile online (
) clearly states that he specializes in hips.
If you are going to cancel my appointment, at least give me the real reason why and not some obvious lie. Please respect my time and intelligence. I expect professionalism and truthfulness, but that’s not what you will get here. I don’t know anything about Dr Zwahlen’s skill as a doctor, but the office is unprofessional and appointments are impossible to schedule. I would give 0 stars if I could.

Dr. Zwahlen is fantastic! He did the second meniscus repair on my husband. The first surgery actually just made it worse. With Dr. Zwahlen, everything from start to finish was exemplary. We were so pleasantly surprised by how on time, efficient, accommodating and super friendly he and his staff were. He is very kind, compassionate and skilled and all that you would hope to find in a surgeon.

Dr. Zwahlen operated on my left hip May 13, 2013. I cannot recommend him strongly enough. He was compassionate, kind and talented. He explained everything, took as much time as I needed to be reassured and checked on me post surgery. Our goal was to get me walking for my daughter’s wedding June 23, 2013. Thanks to him, I will need – or not – only a cane. The pain before was excruciating. Now a muscle ache after three weeks is the most I deal with. His assistant at the office, Brenda, could not have been kinder or more efficient. This group is great. And I highly recommend them. Oh, and age? I am 68.

Dr. Zwahlen is an incredible surgeon. I have had multiple knee reconstructions and I finally felt comfortable with him.
I also ended up with a post op MRSA infection. Dr. Zwahlen hung in there with me through the entire process. His bedside manner was incredible. He made me feel good because I knew he was going to be there. So many people/​doctors will bail if things get challenging, but Dr. Zwahlen proved his character.

Okay, he seems like a very nice doctor when you meet and talk with him. Very caring. But he did my total knee replacement and total hip replacement, and within one year of the latter, I ended up needing to have them both redone by another orthopedic surgeon. The knee was by Dr. Zwahlen was too wobbly and the hip was not fitted correctly so my leg ended up being significantly longer than the other. Revision surgery corrected both situations, after months of pain and discomfort plus the revisions were much harder than the original joint replacements. Was it slipshod surgery on Dr. Zwahlen’s part? That’s my conclusion. All I know is that I would have been better off in life had he never operated on me. I don’t like to speak badly of people but feel that I need to share my experience.

Dr. Zwahlen performed a micro fracture surgery on my knee while i was a college athlete. He saved my senior year with the successful surgery allowing me to play once again. 2 years after surgery, i’m still doing much better than i would have without. He is an excellent doctor who always makes sure your comfortable and knowledgeable about the procedure before it happens. I would highly recommend him, as well as the whole office who is also very helpful.

The most important thing: He performed shoulder surgery to fix a shoulder joint that was loose and kept dislocating. The surgery was a complete success, and I recovered fully, ahead of most time estimates.
He took his time explaining the procedure, and explaining the followup, and had a very good «bed-​side manner». I was especially appreciative of his willingness to explain the different types of surgery and recovery methods, and why he choose the types he did, as opposed to just saying «I did this.» His staff is quite good — he’s in the same office as (the more famous/​well-​known) Dr. Eppley, whom I also have only good things to say about. They did an above-​average job dealing with my insurance, as well.
When I needed a physical therapy recommendation in the South Bay, he (or his staff) actually called around and found me a great recommendation. Also, a while later, when I needed an emergency orthopedist wrist recommendation (for a family member), his staff was willing to both slot her in on two days notice and also referred us to another good expert.

I recently had my ACL reconstructed, menisectomy and meniscus repair. Dr Zwaheln is a skilled surgeon with a terrific bedside manner. Unlike the first doctor I saw, he explained my injury to me in great detail and set correct expectations for my recovery. He also went out of his way to accomodate my schedule when planning a surgery date. I highly recommend Dr. Zwahlen!

What a great Doctor! I am a 50 year old woman who slipped and fell in soap and water on my kitchen floor from a dishwasher leak. I dislocated my hip and my leg was facing a very odd direction. Pain can’t even describe what I felt. After being rushed to Alta Bates in an ambulance, they were unable to fix my hip and called Dr. Zwahlen who took me to surgery right away and was able to fix my hip. He is a great Doctor, very nice and caring, has a great bedside manner and I just can’t say enough about him. His staff is equally as nice. Thank you Dr. Zwahlen.