Dr. Ariel Palanca, MD

Dr. Palanca operated on my dad, who is in his 80’s. She was very caring and took her time to diagnose the issue so that she could do the least amount of surgery needed, because of his age and concern about healing. He had a great outcome and we are so grateful for her caring and thoughtful approach to his care.

Dr. Palanca treated my son's elbow fracture in the hospital. I was so impressed by her bedside manner and expertise my whole family now goes to see her. She has treated me for my chronic plantar fasciitis and now I no longer have daily pain, and she helps my mother with her knee pain with cortisone injections as she is too old for knee replacements. She is always patient and explains things thoroughly. She also speaks Spanish which is a great bonus! 10 out of 10 recommend!

Saw the x-rays, of the prosthesis. Everything looks aligned. I was informed she is awesome; it's only week 2 after procedure and I am doing well. The real test is 5-6 months from now when I can operate at a normal pace. But so far, I am tracking this as a thumbs up.

Every appointment I had with her lasted 10 minutes and achieved nothing. She misdiagnosed my foot and I even asked her to double check the scans because her diagnosis didn’t make sense to me and what was going on. It didn’t take a medical degree to figure out that she was wrong. As she reassured me that she was right and that she sees this type of stuff “everyday” she offered no solutions and referred me to a pain management and osteoarthritis doctor. I am 23 years old and have no need to see these types of doctors when I could easily have been treated. Again, very unhelpful.

Was in severe pain. Dr Palanca was very quick to mention surgery without even looking at my foot. Was so disappointed at how fast the appointment went and no follow up or advice. Esp since I had to wait so long to get an appointment. I saw another podiatrist at a different office, who actually looked at my foot, ordered an MRI, gave me exercises, ordered PT,and followed up with me.

Dr. Palanca surgically removed cyst on both feet, and did an outstanding job. The entire procedure from being diagnosed at Dr. Palanka‘s office to the recovery room at Poway Surgery Center went seamlessly. I can’t say enough positive things about my entire procedure! First and foremost Dr. Palanca is an excellent Orthopedic doctor-surgeon. Dr. P is caring, listens to your concerns, and offers a solution to your problem.I regularly have Cortisone shots in each foot for extreme pain due to arthritis. I find myself asking her “Are you finished ?” ,she knows exactly where the injection needs to be injected for immediate relief! I can’t express how grateful I am to have found her. Not only is Dr. Palanca outstanding, but her entire team does an excellent job. This goes for her assistant Matt, the front desk assistants to Theresa Blach who coordinates and schedules surgeries.My experience with the Poway Surgery Center, was extremely positive! Thank you Dr. Richie and staff!Bonnie Tate

I found dr Palanca to be very short, curt, & overall dismissive of my pain. My exam lasted all of maybe 10 min and she gave me a cortisol shot & off she sent me. I had told her my foot pain was getting to be unbearable & that it was affecting my everyday life. She didn’t inquire further at all. I can’t even walk my dog and I’ve gained weight because it hurts to be on my feet to do anything. By the end of the day I was limping and barely able to get around. She asked zero follow up questions. She only asked if anything relived the pain & I told her no. That Ibuprofen was just not helping at all anymore She made zero suggestion about helping with pain. She made zero suggestion about anything that I could do at home. She made zero suggestion about footwear, braces, anything at all that could relive the pain. She said oh just keep using ibuprofen. She suggested PT and that would help after a few months. I guess in the meantime i suffer pain because my x-rays were “fine” I felt unheard

Dr Palanca has a very pleasant bedside manner. However, she was very quick to suggest a surgery that would only address part of a complicated foot and ankle problem. The exam just involved a cursory glance at my ankle and a request to attempt to stand on my toes. A subsequent second opinion was way more thorough and holistic in their approach. Ironically this came from a doctor of podiatry. In her introductory video Dr Palanca is keen to assert her superior qualifications in this area. Unfortunately, my experience was that a DPM better evaluated and addressed the entire situation.

Dr Palanca adressed what I was told as a fracture of an old fracture. Instead it turned out to be two bone spurs at the base of my big toe. Dr. P. listened attentively, explained three possible procedures/directions I could take. I appreciated her frankness in that I had choices to treat the pain in my big toe. She gave me cortisone shots and shared the next steps we would take.

Dr. Palanca listened and explained surgical procedures well, but was ill equiped to deal with complications. I had to find another specialist on my own to treat the surgical damage I sustained. Communications at her office are difficult and she does not use a patient portal. The majority of her staff is professional and helpful.

Dr. Palanca performed tendon repair surgery on my ankle 6 months ago. Since then, I've been able to walk again without pain and limping. She is straightforward, honest and an extremely knowledgeable and skilled surgeon. She's also super nice and easy to talk to. I'm lucky I found her.

Dr. Ariel Palanca performed surgery on my right ankle on January 5, 2021 for chronic ankle instability, including dealing with ligament issues on both sides of my ankle and bone spurs. My problem had been going on for several years and was affecting my regular mobility, especially walking and hiking. The surgery went well and my after surgery consults were easy to plan and valuable. She always addressed my issues in a friendly and timely manner. Her team were also available to help me with questions. Dr. Palanca explained that my complete recovery could take a year, maybe something that people don't want to hear, but honest. I followed her recommendations, completed my physical therapy and worked hard. I am now (one year later) working with a trainer and back in my hiking boots! I am grateful for Dr. Palanca's skills, professionalism, willingness to answer my questions, and moral support. I definitely recommend Dr. Palanca.

Dr. Palanca preformed surgery on my foot to remove an annoying large bunion on my big left toe and corrected two painful hammer toes on the same foot. She was outstanding. The surgery was a wonderful success. Now I am back to walking 18 holes of golf four times a week with NO PAIN. She has excellent sincere thoughtfulness for her patients. All of her estimates for recovery time were on the mark. She explained all the benefits and potential downside problems of this surgery before I decided to go forward. I am so thankful to her. Anyone considering foot surgery would be very lucky to find her.

HORRIBLE SERVICE! While Dr. Palanca is skillful and professional, when you finally get to see her, but her front office is the most unprofessional, disorganized, disrespectful, non responsive, and poorly managed I've ever encountered! I'm finding a new Ortho doctor.

After consulting with a Podiatrist, then a Foot and Ankle Specialist at Sharp (disaster!) I am so very grateful to have found Dr. Palanca. She is very personable and takes time to really listen and I never feel rushed by her. I had a very complex and persistent wound infection requiring surgery on my toe with subsequent IV antibiotics via a PICC line. The wound, which wouldn't heal even with going to a wound clinic, healed right up after surgery, as did the other incision and 6 months later remains fine! I highly recommend this doctor!

The check in staff was extremely helpful and went above and beyond to get me set up for my appointment. Dr. Palanca was very professional, thorough and while she couldn't make the final diagnosis during the first visit, I trusted her instincts after asking her many questions about potential diagnosis and treatment plans. The staff was very quick to set me up with a temporary booth and clearly outlined the next steps.

Dr. P was my surgeon while at Stanford, and she was fantastic. She removed a bone spur on my left foot and replaced my right ankle. While the surgery itself went great, quite honestly, the recovery was not for the faint of heart -- it was slow and pretty darn miserable. But 13 months and lots of hard work later, I am walking without pain or a limp for the first time in at least 10 years. I'm hiking, biking, gardening ballisticly, and even dancing again. Wow. No meds, not even ibuprofen. I feel GREAT. Dr. Palanca is smart, kind, encouraging, realistic, and an excellent surgeon. San Diego is lucky to have her.

Dr Palanca is pleasant and is patient with all my questions. I never feel rushed. I find her very compassionate and would recommend her any of my friends and family. She always has a smile.

I went to see Dr. P on a referral from my Dr. I have pain in my big toe joint, ankles, knees, and hips. When I was in the exam room, I overheard the nurse discussing my responses to her questions with the dr. and the office staff. I overheard them all laughing about my case. I don't see anything funny about my answers, I felt very embarrassed and self-conscious about my whole visit after that. Dr. P. entered the exam room, asked a few questions, then basically told me when my pain got bad enough, (this is why I'm here. look at my records! I don't go to the doctor very often!!) schedule the surgery, which by the way, might not even take care of the pain. She said I had fallen arches, but did not offer any advice on what I could do for myself for that problem. She did not even address my concerns with my ankle, knee and hip pain. She was dismissive and not helpful at all. I have NEVER complained about a Dr. visit before. I'm shocked at how unprofessional her staff was.

The office was always very prompt, friendly and helpful. One time I arrived 30 minutes early since I was coming from another appointment that finished early. Instead of making me wait, they did my X-rays and got me in and out early. Dr. Palanca also was helpful and gave me context around my injury. No complaints!