Eli T ZiV, MD

A very generous and considerate Hand Surgeon
Dr. Ziv is a very good doctor with great behaviors and considerate talks. I took my Husband to him when he broke his Finger and had to undergo a surgery at West Hills. Dr. Ziv looked at the situation, said things will be much better, did the procedure and my husband is well on his way to recovery. The staff at Thousand Oaks are very nice. Van Nuys office looks a bit shabby but I got my Doctor nearby so I can’t really complain.
Dr. Ziv operated on my husband’s hand and put four pins. Right after he was done he was very sweet and came out right to the waiting hall and sat beside me and talked to me about the surgery and how things went perfect and that there was nothing to worry about and little things that I had to do to take care of my spouse. I was touched at this gesture.
His assistant Rachel is a very sweet lady and she was so considerate and accommodated us on an urgent notice and has been kind since. She is a soft spoken woman and we really like her.
Thank You Dr. Ziv and Rachel and all the other staff.

Office staff is very attentive and courteous.
Dr Ziv quickly had me feeling comfortable and at ease. He explains everything and even write down notes that he handed me after the visit.
He explained all the options and recommended a conservative approach at first. Home PT did not completely heal my arthritic thumb joint but it did help a lot. So I went in for my second visit and he gave me a shot of cortisone.
Very minor discomfort but no real pain from the injection.
I recommend Dr. Ziv highly.

This is the second time I saw Dr. ZiV and glad I did. First time was several years ago and for a second opinion… he was spot on, saving me months of grief. The second was very recent. His diagnosis and rehabilitation advice for my hand was perfect. He was also very considerate of the cost for my rehabilitation, saving me a considerable sum.

A Dr.‘s first rule is do no harm. I went to Dr. Ziv with a digital mucus cys. The cyst was not painful or inflamed only unsightly. He aspirated it which is a fancy word for poking holes into it. Before the procedure I asked the Dr. about the success rate of the procedure. He said 50% of the time it goes away. He said if it does come back 30% of the time it comes back smaller. I figured the odds were in my favor. Well, it came back far worse. Larger, inflamed and painful. I went back to Dr. Ziv for explanation and got nothing except a prescription for an anti-​inflammatory ointment which did zero good. Finally got a 2^nd opinion. 2^nd Dr. was perplexed and troubled by Ziv’s decisions. 2^nd Dr. performed in-​patient surgery. My finger is now almost completely healed and the cyst is gone. Also, on my second visit to Ziv I was kept waiting for an hour and a half to see the him. I say stay away.

First visit to this doctor … When my time came due, I was pleasantly brought into Room 6 and the PA looked at my chart and asked a few questions just to understand why I was there and some additional medical background. He didn’t ask anything that I already wrote down like some places do so often. For example, sometimes you fill out the paperwork answering what other medications are you taking. Then the nurse comes in and asks «What other medications are you taking?» C’mon for Pete’s sake! Anyway that did not happen. He looked at my hand which is why I was in there and he said we’ll get an x-​ray on that before the doctor sees you. He told me it would be a few minutes.
Sure enough a few minutes later the x-​ray tech came in walked me down the hall, sat me down, threw a lead blanket over my huevos and started the process. These guys are all very high tech now. No clunky films to deal with anymore. Looked more like a big iPad that I placed my hand on. The tech was very friendly and had a sense of humor. He took me back to Room 6 and said the doctor will be right in.
Sure enough a few minutes later Dr. Ziv arrived and had me sit in a different chair and asked me a few more questions. Really friendly, polite, not rushed, and seemed genuinely interested in this patient. Don’t get too much of that anymore. I didn’t feel like just a number. I explained to him my problem and we talked about various things. Anyway, he didn’t even look at my closely until we got all of the questions out of the way.
Finally, he looked closely at my hand and pressed here and poked there and everywhere (okay not «everywhere»). Where it hurt, where it didn’t … all that stuff. Looking at the x-​ray he said I had beautiful hands. :) My problem was maybe a slight «trigger finger» and something called Dupuytren’s Contracture. It needed a shot of cortisone to heal. He froze the area and said it would hurt but it really wasn’t that bad. I was hoping for a lollipop at this point! Anyway, this doc has a great sense of humor and is very personable. I’d recommend him if you need a orthopedist.
P. S. The ONLY issue I had was the time wasted in the waiting room. My appointment was for 10:40 and I didn’t get in to Room 6 until 11:35. Here’s the deal on that… 1) Monday. If you can plan your appointments later during the week. 2) They told me that they were very short staffed today and it would be at least 30 minutes. So, I don’t hold that against them this time.