Charles Starrett, DPM

Excellent doctor and very knowledgeable. I first came in to see him with a long history of multiple ankle sprains seven years ago. He took lots of time observing me walking, made the determination that I needed orthotics and since using them I have only suffered a single mild strain instead of the usual serious sprain every 18 months that I had been experiencing over the years. Other doctors recommended ligament transplants but I was able to avoid this with Dr Starrett. He does have a spartan office setting, works directly with patients without a receptionist and does most of his diagnosis and casting in-​office. He has supplied me with all my orthotics over the years. My last visit included recasting my feet to produce a new form and I am now awaiting my new orthotics. I highly recommend Dr Starrett.

Wonderful – he did extensive observation of my walking gait as well as my feet for my plantar fasciitis, provided clear explanations, suitably critiqued unsuccessful prior attempts at treatment, and provided healing changes w. clear explanations (already effective) for a full hour!

I came here with my flat foot issues. Dr. Starrett was very attentive with my questions and spent nearly an hour trying to explain everything in detail. He didn’t push me to buy expensive orthotics and suggested to change my shoes instead. He even cut out inserts for my existing shoe. I would highly recommend Dr Starrett. Joy, the receptionist was very helpful and efficient too.

Very personable and knows his stuff.
Giving a 2 because he said he accepted Aetna insurance… even took a photocopy of my card. Weeks later got a call from a collector informing me he didn’t accept Aetna and I owe money. Seems dishonest to me for a guy that knows how things work.

Great doctor, but Be aware that he does not take any credit card which means you can not use your health benefits card directly if you have one. It is hassle to file the reimbursement through the benefit card. I wish that they informed me when I called to set an appointment up.

He was patient and attentive with my questions and gave a thorough check up and explanation. Dr Starrett is one of the best doctors I’ve met for a long time. Joy, the receptionist was super sweet and efficient too. Definitely a 5 star experience both doctor and office.
I came in for a sprain ankle.

Dr. Starrett was very professional, friendly, and thorough. He listened patiently to my somewhat complicated case, really gave me his full attention (a rare quality in many doctors these days!), and gave me excellent advice. I will definitely continue to see him and would recommend him highly to others.

One word, AMAZING!!! Dr Starrett is a one man shop for your feet. This guy really knows his stuff. He pointed out minor things in my feet that I had no idea was wrong with them, and had remedies for them all! He watched me walk around and showed me in detail the exact muscle which would be the cause of many of my problems. Dr Starrett even put together custom shoe inserts right on the spot.
I highly recommend Dr Starrett and I’ll never look at my feet the same way again!

Thorough-​watched my natural gait, felt my feet, explained what was going on. Used layman’s terms. Gave me foam pieces he cut to size while fitting them to my toe.
Not aggressive, but informative: I could’ve had an X-​ray w/​the possibility of surgery he explained the outcome and risk and how in need he felt it was.
Responsive: He called back after I left a message w/​in a day and I was able to get an appointment w/​in days.
Don’t be creeped out by spartan office, it’s better than pithy quotes and a pack of wolves. He’s a practical guy.
Even the Dr. I went to next door asked where I was coming from and I said the foot doctor next door. His response, «He’s very good, very good doctor.»
All health care professionals should take note. He was bedside manner, a total professional w/​none of the arrogance.

I can’t say enough good things about Dr. Starrett. Like other reviewers have said, he is a one man shop. If you call, leave a message because he is with another patient and he doesn’t have a receptionist. He called me back in 2 hours and I was able to get an appointment 2 days later. When you get there and if you don’t see him, fill out your new patient information and wait for him to finish. Again, hHe doesn’t have a receptionist and it will help speed things along.
As for his expertise, he was extremely thorough in describing the things that ailed my poor tootsies. Mainly that I was wearing the absolute worst shoe possible. He even drew the bones, ligaments and tendors on my feet to show me how the pain was happening. He spent a good hour going over all of my possible options, doing an X-​Ray of my feet himself, and cutting insoles for me to wear all by himself. To see him work is amazing. He even noticed I work out and asked if I did any sort of push ups or planks, then proceeded to scold me for doing planks and putting all of that pressure on my toes.
Face it, if you live in hilly and walker-​friendly San Francisco, you’re going to need to see a man about your feet. Take your business to Dr. Starrett. You won’t be let down. Just work with his schedule and lack of receptionist or assistant.

I am just home from an appointment with Dr. Starrett, and I must say I was impressed. I have suffered from ingrown toenails for as long as I can remember, and while I have had them removed permanently in the past, one had come back to haunt me. I thought I knew exactly what to expect – rushed service culminating in a mangled toe – but was pleasantly surprised to be wrong. Dr. Starrett took such good care of my ailing toe, really giving it the attention it needed so I wouldn’t have to return anytime soon. He was also incredibly straightforward about the entire process from payment to the operation to the pain and aftercare. I so appreciated it. It is always nice when you feel like you’ve found a doctor you can trust and depend on. Dr. Starrett is one of them.

Dr. Chuck Starrett is amazing. I have seen him a few times now for my ever-​ailing feet that have taken a life long beating from my years playing professional tennis. Oddly, most of my foot injuries have nothing to do with tennis but the strain hasn’t helped.
Dr. Starrett doesn’t have an assistant so he will be the one that you talk to to make an appointment. Because of this, don’t expect him to pick up the first time you ring, but he will return your phone call very quickly. He is incredibly professional, will let you talk about your problem without interrupting you, and is very careful when prodding your feet, which is nice when they are really killing you.
What’s great is he also doesn’t try to sell you anything. In fact, if you can go with over the counter drugs, he’ll go with those, instead of giving you a prescription. Also, if you are in serious pain, he will go through the effort to see you same day, even if it means him staying at his office longer.
Going to Dr. Starrett, you know you will come out knowing what is going on and have a plan on what to do. It’s always a pleasure to go and see him.

Dr. Starrett is awesome! He called me back right away and I got an appointment for the next week. In my appointment, I was impressed by his attentiveness and the time he spent with me. He correctly diagnosed my problem that had been mis-​diagnosed by another doctor and then fixed it. What more can you ask for? I only wish he had every other specialty too, so I could go to him for all my health care!

I’ve been going to Dr. Starrett for the last 6 years. He’s probably the best podiatrist in the Bay Area.
He always tells you everything you need to know. He doesn’t try to «sell» you on any procedures. He understands biomechanics and how you walk, etc.
I’ve had an extra bone in my foot and he recommended orthotics vs surgery (more than one surgeon/​podiatrist before I met Dr. Starrett has wanted to cut me).
I’ve moved out of the city and I still drive in to see him. I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend him to anyone.

Dr Starrett saw me same day when I was in SF for work — my foot was so pained for a week by that point! His instructions and diagnosis helped me greatly. What a great dude!

Dr. Chuck Starrett did a procedure in the office a few times to relieve my ingrown toenail pain.
He advised me to do a more radical partial removal of the nail to alleviate the pain for the future.
He numbed the toe and very gently removed a chunk of the nail that was giving me pain.
No pain was involved.
His manner, touch and expertise is splendid.
I would recommend him most highly.
He also has a great head of hair.
Nice friendly and very adept practitioner.
Go see him if you have foot problems.

I have to give much kudos to my fellow Unilocalers for picking out a really great podiatrist! I went to see him for some inner ankle pain due to marathon training. Similar to what others have mentioned, he’s a one man show, no receptionist or anything.
The day of my appointment his door was open and I just went in and started filling out the initial forms (which were already on the desk). The office is clean and orderly and oddly enough his exam bench is a dentist chair. There were absolutely no other patients which was nice. The wait was short and I have to say in all my years of visiting doctors I’ve never had such individual attention given to me! He was extremely knowledgeable and tagged my diagnosis right away. He took the time to explain the diagnosis to me and even showed me exercises that I could do to help alleviate the pain.
Unfortunately, he said the best cure for me would probably be custom orthotics, however he recommended first trying the over-​the-​counter stuff. He even went the extra mile and took my current insoles and tried to alter them in a way to better help me. He even called On the Run for me while I was there to see what they had in stock to help me out! He never made me feel rushed, nor was he out to get my money, he’s the real deal and genuinely wanted to help me out!

I had been having an issue with the bottom of my feet for a while. I had seen a doctor who had told me that my options were over-​the-​counter products or surgery. Having already tried the over-​the-​counter stuff for months, this didn’t make me too happy. So I went for a second opinion.
Dr. Starrett saw me in a timely fashion and gave me some unexpected but much appreciated home remedy advice. Much less expensive than the over-​the-​counter products I had been using that didn’t work. He said that if after 30 days, if the remedy didn’t work, to come back and we would go for the more painful removal. During all this he was quite well-​versed on a variety of topics, including travel and film. Definitely a good doctor experience. He’s your guy!

I got a referral to Dr. Starrett from Dr. Savant (my recent great find!) and I totally love him.
When I got to the floor, his door was open and the front office was empty. Very tidy but unpopulated. The new patient forms were out and ready for me and I had everything put together for him when he came out to get me. As Dave P said before, he’s a one man show. Efficient and effective.
I was actually kind of scared to go in. It didn’t help that his exam table looks more like a dentist’s chair – I’m terrified of the dentist. But Dr. Starrett listened patiently as I told him the stupid accident that wound me up in his office in the first place.
Now, I’ll save you all the gory details but the procedure necessary required needles. As he prepared them, he started in on a conversation about books that quickly led to movies. He kept the conversation rolling during the whole procedure, deftly doing what he knows while keeping me calm.
The whole thing was done in about ten minutes. But I learned much about his cinematic tastes, traded recommendations, and found a wonderful doctor!
If you ever find yourself in need of a podiatrist, he’s your guy. Don’t be put off by the answering machine you’ll undoubtedly get – he’s probably in the back with someone else. He’s quick to return your call though and you won’t be sorry that you had to wait.
Thank you Dr. Starrett!

Got referred to Chuck after I went to my sports medicine guy with runner’s knee. He took one look at how my feet splayed as I sat and said, «Step 1 — Bypass me. You need to see a podiatrist.»
Chuck is personable, funny, smart and works as his own full office staff as well as having everything crammed into a two room suite in a building next to Saint Mary’s — Xray machine, grinder for orthotics, and a bunch of other stuff that I have no idea what it does other than I shouldn’t touch it. Flexible and easily available too — he saw me in the initial appointment, then since he had an extra 45 minutes fitted me for orthotics the same day.
Probably as a result, he was about the lowest billing per hour I’ve had submitted to Blue Cross. I don’t have a good frame of reference, but I think he’s also pretty darned good — he spent an extra year after podiatry school doing work on bio-​mechanics.
I like Chuck. Just make sure you know your stuff if you start talking real estate with him!