Kenneth I Light, MD

Waited one hour and 5 minutes when staff said it would only be a 20 minute wait. Office is stinky and has broken sunken chairs (a spine doctor). Bad service from the staff and a lot of workers comp patients is suspect. I bailed as if there is a need for surgery or further treatment, this office will not be able to provide the level of service and care I would need and is unprofessional. Clearly they overbook and make people wait since they are workers comp, they are not working and can wait all day.

I would not recommend going here for an MRI opinion. I felt rushed and that Dr. Light did not take a careful look at my MRI or movement patterns. Going to another doctor (Fred Naraghi) proved to be much more helpful. There the time was taken to understand my problem and look through my MRI carefully where issues were found that Dr. Light missed.

This was absolutely the worst experience I have had with any doctor in my entire life. Firstly, Dr. Light is rude and terse. He tried to get me out of his office as quickly as possible so he could see the next patient. I was in there for maybe five minutes, and he was visibly irritated when I asked follow-​up questions about my condition that took up his extra time. Furthermore, his office manager, Trudy Maurer, has been convicted of insurance fraud at her previous practice. These are not the kinds of people you want to be depending on for your medical issues.
As unpleasant of a person as Doctor Light is, his staff is by far the worst aspect of his practice. They are both incompetent and rude. Despite repeated requests and follow-​up on my part, they continuously forgot to submit a request for surgery to get it approved by my insurance company. They forgot so many times that I had to re-​start the evaluation process with them and get a new diagnosis. I repeatedly sent voicemails and emails letting them know that I was in so much pain that I was not able to go to work in the morning — that their negligence was having an adverse affect on my daily life — and never received responses.
Most recently, I have been trying to get my MRI’s and patient reports sent to another doctor’s office so that I don’t have to deal with them anymore. After submitting all necessary paperwork and following up without a response for over a month, I finally got ahold of somebody who said that they had lost my paperwork requests and I needed to start the process over. When I finally did get it submitted, they said they would not release my documents unless I paid a fee of $ 100. They are basically making me pay a fee to go see a better doctor. Please please please do not go to Doctor Light for your back issues.

i have been a patient of dr light for cervical and lumbar disc degeneration.
from the beginning before surgery i was seen by pain management doctors who started me on years of narcotic meds. looking back i realize the futility of those doctors, short term acceptable but not long term, simply masking the spinal issues and not a curative method. once meeting dr light after researching for a spinal surgeon, i knew i would only allow this man to perform surgery on such important details of my spinal corrections. over the course of several years, light, helped me greatly. he fought for the working man[blue collar] and not let me not get the appropriate medical assistance i
after 4 cervical disc implants and a fusion on the lower back i am getting stronger and have eliminated the pain meds that were slowly killing me. he brought back my range of motion cervically. i am now aware of the importance to exercise, keeping the muscles strong along the spine, he did his job, and i must do mine to achieve a high level of success. i am confident that dr light was the right choice.
i recommend this doctor highly.
george fleet

Dr. Light repaired the bungled spinal fusion done by a different doctor who really fouled things up.
He did a top-​notch job and was able to reduce my back pain and sciatica by better than 70% — which was nothing short of miraculous.
His staff did an excellent job of dealing with the dolts and trolls at the insurance company.
I strongly urge anyone with severe back, spinal, or related neurological problems to see this wonderful, brilliant, meticulous surgeon.

I’ve read these reviews. Some are on point but many are not giving an entirely fair review of one of the finest men I have ever met. Compassionate, funny, endearing, caring, EXPERIENCED and willing to spend time with his patients. His lobby is full not because of incompetence by his staff but BECAUSE he is a throwback to the time when a doctor cared about his patients. AND spent time with them.
I have been seeing Dr. Light since October 2000. That’s thirteen years for those of you who don’t understand why he asks you to walk on your toes or heels (this is the easiest way to observe nerve damage… but of course, you know more than he does.) He has decades of experience with patients like me who thought alternative therapies might be helpful (I’ve tried the full gamut of alternative therapies including homeopathic ‘medicines’, acupuncture, Feldenkraise, Pilates, yoga, healers, various massage therapies, etc.) Spent many, many thousands of dollars.
He told me it was a waste of my money. AND it was. In the negative reviews, I read so many patronizing comments. As if you know better than Dr. Light because some ‘other’ doctor told you what you wanted to hear. Bottom line is that once your nerves or back are damaged you have very few options and returning to the life you once had is extremely difficult. Dr. Light understands this, communicates directly and ALWAYS gives you an honest assessment of your options.
He does have CURRENT success in helping his patients. His track record both current and past stands on it’s own. If you need help he is your doctor (he’s not washed up) as some of negative reviews would have you believe. People fly in from all over the globe to see him along with their translators (I observe this routinely in Dr. Light’s waiting area.) That says very much.
One thing I can tell you is that Dr. Light is an ethical and honest man. He won’t perform surgery unless he believes it is helpful and communicates your options honestly and directly. Sometimes it rests upon US to accept his advice. But he gives pertinent and relevant advice. Presumably, because he has the years of experience.
That’s what I’ve most appreciated about him. He saved my life. I suffered from back and nerve injuries in my legs that four to five doctors (plus radiologists) misdiagnosed in ¹⁹⁹⁹⁄₂₀₀₀. After viewing my MRI on a Thursday, Dr. Light recommended surgery. At the time, he had a sixteen week wait list for surgeries but HE made it happen on the following Monday.
If you want a doctor who cares. Visit Dr. Light.
And don’t put to much credence on the negative reviews. I’ve read these negative reviews and they seem to come from amateurs who have not really experienced true nerve pain. It’s not about back pain as much as is it about nerve damage from the spinal cord. And he has never left a room since I’ve been seeing him in 2000 to look at an MRI film, Xray, CTScan or any other film.
Be wary of the negative reviews cause they are just not objective. And come from people who are looking to blame someone for their circumstances.

My wife has been seeing Dr. Light for 5 years now. He did surgery on her neck 4 years ago, successfully. He replaced two discs and «cleaned up» another surgeons mess. He has always been kind caring and compassionate. I am so grateful that she is under his care!

I have referred a few of my patients to Dr Light and seen great outcomes. A couple of patients got better under Dr Light’s treatment plan, without surgery. One patient had to have surgery but the next day she had minimal pain and went home in 2 days. Amazing.

Waited in the lobby for almost 2 hours past my scheduled time. They overbook their calendar every time and I end up waiting no less than 1 hour each and every time I see him. Dr. Light spent no more than 5 minutes with me, asked me to take another MRI «just to see if anything has changed» all while telling me he doesn’t think it will tell him anything anyhow. That seemed inexcusable after having me wait nearly 2 hours. Didn’t ask me a single question to try and discover anything, really quite disengaged. I don’t even recall him saying goodbye, he just muttered «sorry you had to wait» then wandered away. He gave me 3 different types of sample medications though, however he failed to take the time to help me understand how to take them (second time). I read such praise about this Dr. which is why I make the 2 hour round-​trip to see him. Very frustrating waste of time. I can’t recommend them.

I went to see multiple doctors this past year; including Dr. Kenneth I. Light. He is top notch! Dr. Light is honest, direct, caring, compassionate and upfront. He is not out to run up your insurance bills promising you the earth, moon and stars with medication, physical therapy or epidural injections that won’t help.
When I first met him he knew exactly how to help me but ordered proper tests to confirm what he thought. Some of the tests Dr. Light ordered weren’t ever considered by my other attending doctors. He was very through.
My symptoms were neck pain, arm, hand and finger numbness. I was waking up 5 – 10 times per night with numbness in my arms and hands that wouldn’t dissipate. I started dropping everything ! I had a cervical compression.
The biggest reason I chose Dr. Light is that I was impressed by how passionate he is about helping with spinal issues. He loves what he’s doing! I will never forget how happy and excited his face looked after my successful surgery; like a kid on Christmas morning!
I live in Livermore and it takes a good 1 – 2 hours of travel time (depending on traffic) to get to the city and not once did I have to wait long. I was always in and out within the hour of my appointment. However, parking could be rather tricky but it is San Francisco.
His office staff were all very professional, pleasant and caring. Karla went above and beyond with calling and texting to check up on me on the weekends before and after my surgery.

I have needed to update my initial Unilocal Review for some time! I have now been going for over a year and this man may be blunt, he is always busy.(eats lunch on the go!) and some may «think» he is too honest, but when you’re in excruciating pain and can’t feel your feet, get sharp twangs from your nerves that are damaged… you really DO want to know the truth! With Dr. Light, that’s what you get and with, I might add a nice dose of human compassion. He is on the patient’s side and will fight for what’s right and best for YOU, the patient. To those like Dustin S. …think about the words he said, as steroid injections do more harm than you think. If you already have the knowledge of alternative medicine, why go to an orthopedic surgeon in the first place? I have Fibromyalgia as well, so know I’m not an easy fix. I can only pray that my life will one day be ‘normal’… if that really does exist! Until then, I’ll continue to go to see this wonderful man that doesn’t have an ego problem, like so many others!

Dr. Kenneth I. Light Is 1 of the finest surgeons around. It does take a while to get into to see him and you may wait for hours because he is at the hospital. It’s worth the wait That’s why your doctor referred you to him. He is upfront very honest and blunt about what needs to be done. I personally would much rather have that than a doctor blowing sunshine up my back side. He’s not the type of surgeon to cut on you unless you truly need it. Most doctor’s walk away from you when the insurance company start denying things he will fight for you more than any doctor I’ve ever come across.
Just need to say to say to Frank S. Dr. Light was the president and founder of San Francisco spine center and is chief of orthopedic surgery at Saint Francis Hospital. He would send your records to your new doctor and when now you have gone with a new Doctor.
I have found it’s normal to take about three months to see a good surgeon.
The reason your having to wait is because he has emergencies come up at the hospital. I recommend being the first patient of the day.
Parking in the city is a nightmare, pay close attention to all parking signs make sure your not parked in a street cleaning area for that day. The City love to tow cars.

I have only been to Dr. Light once so far. I haven’t had a good experience with any doctors in SF so far. Dr. Light exceeded my expectations. He’s genuinely wants to help you and he takes time to listen to what you say. I had one instance where I told him how I hurt my back and he’s been the only one who hasn’t treated me like an idiot because of it. His staff is nice and helpful. I really liked the office too. As I have only been to him once, I can’t really say anymore, but I am very please. Perhaps I will update my review after more visits.
ALSO: The address on here is not correct It’s
1700 California Suite 340

I consulted with Dr. Light twice and ultimately did not use him as a surgeon but I don’t think the other reviews are fair. Dr. Light is one seriously competent surgeon. He may have an understaffed or poorly managed office, but he’s highly skilled and highly regarded as one of the top people in SF for the surgeries he does. You probably shouldn’t be picking your surgeon on the basis of office staff, anyway.
Unlike treating doctors (who manage you through pain and suffering), surgeons all pretty much see if surgery will help you or it won’t, and if they think it won’t, they are not going to do much for you and you should not expect them to. There is not a surgical cure for every spine problem. Surgeons who don’t have an option for you will send you to a physiatrist/​PMR doctor to manage your pain and do rehab. So just because they don’t help you doesn’t mean they are bad surgeons.
Dr. Light came highly recommended from a doctor I trusted. He was the most experienced in his field (artificial disk replacement) in the City by numbers of procedures done, including those doctors who did the medical trials for some of the artificial disks he implants. He was thorough, precise, and insightful in his reading of my tests, very clear, and very fact based. His communications were crystal clear and there was a reason he said everything he did. He had a lot of integrity when it came to not over-​promising. He did not sugar coat what to expect from surgery. When I was on the OR table at St Francis waiting to get a long and painful diagnostic procedure called a discogram, I asked about Dr. Light. There was a shudder like he was a tough guy to work with because he was a perfectionist with zero tolerance for mistakes, but when I asked which surgeon they would have operate on them, both of them said Dr. Light with no hesitation. Other patients in the waiting room who had seen him for a long time were very complimentary. I decided to go ahead with him for surgery, but his office did not handle the paperwork well, he couldn’t work through the insurance issues when other people I consulted did, and when I spoke to his insurance person I thought she dropped the ball. Truthfully his staff made me pretty angry with their lack of responsiveness.
I thought Dr. Light was trustworthy, and while he’s not a warm and fuzzy guy on the surface because he is so precise and analytical, he did give me good counsel and as I moved closer to surgery he did warm up and have good bedside manner. I felt Dr. Light was deeply concerned about me.
Now I will agree his office admin is terrible, not because the gent at the front desk or the main nurse are not lovely people, but because they take a long time to get back to you (like 2 weeks when you are in pain waiting for a return phone call) and the back office is inefficient and do not communicate well with each other. I suppose his insurance person is ultimately the reason I did not go with Dr. Light for surgery.
Whether or not you choose to have him be your surgeon, he is one astute diagnostician. I had no concerns about moving forward with him after reviewing a competitive field of other doctors for a long time. I learned a lot from consulting with him. I would not have hesitated to have him perform my spine surgery for an instant.
On some of the other comments… orthopedic surgeon’s offices are all filled with people who are looking for dope or a fat legal settlement. Don’t hold that against Dr. Light. By the way, if you want non-​surgical options, see a physiatrist (or PMR/​physical medical rehab) doctor first and only see a surgeon if a physiatrist tells you to.

I am new to Unilocal so this review is a couple years old. I have suffered from chronic mid back pain for years. Dr. Light just told me that I was going to eat anti-​inflamatory meds for the rest of my life. He did not talk about steroid injections, physical therapy, acupuncture or any of the many alternatives that can be used to treat facet arthritis. Pitiful!
I did not give up and now I am doing great. He might be a great surgeon (I have no idea,) but his bedside sucked that day. Dr. Light, stop sucking!

Dr. Light has been more than just a great doctor and surgeon to me and my family for over 6 years. In my opinion there is no one better and I have seen a lot.
I was injured after falling over a hand rail in 2002. After several less than successful surgeries by other Doctors, I was referred to Dr. Light and am thankful everyday for it. I am not one of his many prominent clients or miraculous stories. I am just a guy who got injured at work but he treats me with the same respect and dignity as he does everyone else. His expertise, compassion and support are phenomenal.
Dr Light has been there and continues to be here for me through a very rough time in my life and I have seen him be the same for many others.
I have referred and would refer anyone to Dr. Light. He is, if not the best, one of the best .
If not for Dr light and his staff I truly don’t know what I would do.
I know that when you live with constant pain it is hard to not be scared and feel like everyone is against you. I hope that «Frankly S» has a successful outcome and if not I am sure that Dr. Light will be there for him also. It is just who Dr. Light is.

Dr. Light was a great surgeon for me in 1992 when he enabled me to have a life free of pain and paralysis, and he is still a phenomenal healer in 2009.
My husband was recently hit by an SUV while riding his bike and received a core spinal cord injury, initially losing use of his hands. Ken and his capable team treated my husband and have guided him back to regaining the use of his hands and almost a complete recovery, with no surgery so far.
It is too bad that «Frankly S» was disappointed. Hopefully his surgery will be successful and he won’t have to go to Ken to have it repaired as so many others have had to do. Yes, the waiting room is busy — I found out about the failed surgeries by other surgeons talking with Ken’s other patients.
I found Ken’s staff to be really on top of it, a blessing when one is going through the scary situation of spine problems. I have sent many people to Ken, and most were told they did not need surgery and were encouraged by the outcome. Those who did have to have surgery, like me, feel, as I do, that Ken quite possibly saved me from a life of constant pain and disability.

HORRID!
Once upon a time, Dr. Light was THE ‘go to guy’ for back surgery in the city, not so anymore and is no longer with the Spine Center at St. Francis Hospital.
My doctor referred me to him noting that he was the best. First, trying to make an appointment was like trying to make an appointment to see the pope. His staff were completely unorganized and RUDE on the phone demanding forms faxed back to them before I even stepped in the door and were not helpful at all. The day of my appointment, I was kept waiting for over an hour, in a packed waiting room in his office on California street. There were many ‘shady’ people in the waiting room talking about their pain pills with one another and I’m guessing they were ‘workers comp’ people because his office staff asked enough times on the phone and in person if I were a ‘workers comp’ case…
I finally get to see Dr. Light with my MRIs. First he tells me to walk across the floor in the examination room. He seemed completely un-​phased with my difficultly walking, and asked when I hurt my back. When I told him he stated ‘it wasn’t that long’. I totally got the vibe that he thought I was ‘faking’. He left the room to examine my MRI and his tune COMPLETELY changed. He said I needed to have surgery right away because it had been this long already with absolutely no guarantees that I would ever walk normally or regain feeling in my leg.
I told him to go ahead and move forward with surgery and getting the approval from my insurance company.
I went for a 2^nd opinion of course and found a GREAT surgeon at the Spine Center and went with him instead.
Still to this day, I have not heard back from Dr. Light’s office if my insurance had been approved for the surgery or setting a date for the surgery… I or my doctor never communicated to him that I went with another doctor.
Just because someone WAS the best, doesn’t mean they still are.
VERY bad ‘bedside manor’ and completely unprofessional office and staff. If you proceed with Dr. Light, GET A SECOND OPINION!!!