Melody Chong, DPM

«Bedside manner» is the demeanor that a physician assumes toward a patient. Melody Chong has the worst bedside manner of any doctor I’ve ever encountered. Interacting with her, you quickly become aware of a «personality problem,» tense, something’s wrong, vibe. Just terrible. A legitimate question gets this response: weird pause, a noticable exhaling that implies she’s put-​out by the question, and then an unhelpful, quick sparring response. It’s so sad that so many educational resources went into her: years of teachers-​doctors spending time to help her so that she could be a specialiist, and instead the outcome is this horrible doctor people will have to deal with for years.
I would have let the horrible bedside manner go, if she had offered ways to fix my Achilles tendons that worked. I had waited two months to see her, and was optimistic about a cure for my problem which were nodules (bumps) on both tendons from athletics. But what she offered didn’t work: 1800 Mg of Ibuprofen daily for a month, and contrast baths. I tried it. It didn’t work.
Her being noticeably put out by my questions works great for her: the visit ended early: it was over in 15 minutes.
Then I went to another podiatrist: Vincent Wong. What a breathe of fresh air in comparison! A nice podiatrist who offered solutions that she never mentioned: ultrasound and cross-​frictional massage by a physical therapist. These are starting to work.
You’ve been warned.

I have been seeing Dr. Chong for nine years. I think she is a very fine doctor and has helped me enormously. I have had various foot problems and she has always been very helpful. She has always been warm and kind. I find she has a very patient, good-​natured bedside manner. I have a morton’s neuroma, which she treated first with cortisone shots and then an adjustment to my orthotic. It has been under control since then. She has not pushed surgery and instead offers suggestions. I think she is an excellent doctor and recommend her highly.

She did a fine job. She’s patient, has a good character, is real nice, and took care of my calluses. I think that her patience speaks well of her personality, which was gracious, courteous and friendly. Her excellent training speaks well of her craft. I felt no pain, and have no reservations about giving her a 5 star rating.

If I could give this «doctor» 0 stars believe me I would. If you have any type of foot problem please stay away from Melody Chong. This woman is completely inept. I had THE worst experience with this woman.
I came to see her because my primary doctor made a referral for my feet. The left foot has a slight yet visible bunion deformity. I explained to her in our initial consultation that I do not intend on having bunion surgery as my problem is very mild. I don’t have any foot pain, inflammation, or any other inconvenience because of my bunion. I told her I came to see her because of the corns that I got on my foot that developed from a pair shoes that I bought that were too tight a few years back. I tried removing them at home but it made the worse. I have done a lot of research on this topic and saw that people can in fact have them surgically removed (stitches and all) not just temporarily shaven off. Instead of hearing my concerns she immediately tried to push me towards getting some orthopedic shoe insole. I said that would be something I’d be interested in but that wasn’t my major concern at the moment as I wanted the corns removed asap. She proceed to shave them off, which seems to be a pretty standard procedure, and even that she managed to butcher. She cut me pretty bad and didn’t even apologize. Instead she asked me to put on my shoes and if that felt better? Why don’t you tell me if your foot feels better after someone cuts you. She then said if I had any other questions… uh yeah how about the surgery to have the corns removed, my one an only concern. She then said she can’t give me any answers because she needs to look at an X-​Ray first. I was a little confused and even though I avoid x-​rays I went and got one.
Today was my second appointment, I had to leave work early, catch a lyft across town, pay my co-​pay for her to say «I looked at your x-​ray, it’s clear you have a bunion». Umm yeah we already established that… I thought the x-​ray was for you to determine how to best remove the corns. Her answer, «It’s a three month recovery». When I said that wasn’t a problem she just gave a blank stare and said okay any other questions. Well I’d like to schedule as soon as possible for the surgery to which she responds with «Well, I personally don’t do surgeries any more but I can refer you to my colleague». I don’t even want to get into what I was thinking when she told me this but instead of arguing with her about having her waste my time and money I said okay can I have a referral form. She then said well no surgery can happen until you get the orthopedic insoles (bunion preventative). I said fine I’ll schedule an appointment to come back for the insoles. She then sends her receptionist to make me a referral form to see her colleague about the surgery and under reason: bunion surgery! Are you kidding me? I told the receptionist that I told «Dr» Chong several times that I do not want the bunion surgery. Melody Chong then storms into the waiting room to yell at me telling me that I had to have bunion surgery as that is the only option to correct the issue and that the surgery that I want does not exists!
Maybe if «Dr» Melody Chong spend a little more time researching methods other than how to shave corns and sell insoles she would be aware that in fact those surgeries do exists. There are two little things called youtube and google, we are aware of how advanced science is (laser corn removal and regular surgery are both available) and therefore we know what types of services real doctors can perform and if you are not adept enough to do them yourself at least be informed as to what options are available to your patients and don’t go around getting people’s hopes up and wasting our valuable time. It’s no wonder she has terrible reviews already. I honestly feel awful for the young girls that have to work in her office.
She has no idea what she is doing and I sense she does this for the money. This woman doesn’t care about her patients or their well-​being. Please, I advise if you need a podiatrist stay away from Melody Chong.

Apart from being completely rude and unhelpful, this woman does not seem particularly adept at her job. I went to her for foot problems, obviously, and when it turned out I had bunions, she refused to give me solid advice as to what I should do about them. «Do you think it will get worse?» I kept asking. «Do you think I should get surgery?» All she could do was repeatedly shrug and tell me, «It’s up to you.» She refused to let me see my own x-​rays without scheduling another appointment (which she then proceeded to charge me for — exorbitantly, I might add). I basically had to twist her arm and do my own internet research to figure out what my options were.
In the end, I opted for orthotics instead of surgery, but not only did Dr. Chong get the fitting wrong (the ROCK HARD soles she originally set me up with did not reach the edge of my feet; they cut into my heels, leaving excruciating blisters), she attempted to charge me for her own mistakes, then became aggressively hostile when I expressed further concerns about the fitting. To this day, I still have foot problems, and I am paying my bill off, which amounts to over $ 1000. Less than a year later, the orthotics have worn through, so I haven’t even bothered keeping them in my shoes.
Somewhere along the line, Dr. Chong casually mentioned that she was redecorating her home in Pac Heights, which may explain her tendency to squeeze hidden fees out of unsuspecting patients. (She wanted to charge me $ 100 for an orthotics refitting until I protested.) I’ve tried to talk down my bill multiple times, but even her own secretary admits that she is simply «not a nice lady» and that there are no options for low-​income patients like me.
Upstanding doctor right here — not only does Dr. Chong fail to do her job properly, she has little to no interest in the well-​being of her patients. She clearly went into the medical business with the intention of funding a wealthy lifestyle, not with the desire to help others. I would not recommend Dr. Melody Chong to anyone — especially if you are looking for a doctor who can, at the very least, feign concern for your predicament. I feel like this lady took me for very long and expensive joyride that I have yet to pay off.

I’ve been to her many times with various foot problems. She has always taken good care of my needs and with a very warm, pleasant bedside manner. Her staff, however does seem to have turnover and not as familiar with the patients as one might expect. Overall, I have high confidence in this doctor and she makes the visits pleasant. My primary physician recommended her.