Dr. John Christophe Herzog, DO

Had back surgery in 2018. I have not been able to work since. Every doctor I have seen since indicated the procedure performed was unnecessary and improper.

After 2 years of constant chronic lower back pain, Dr. Herzog was able to operate and relieve my pain. Excellent surgeon and his staff were fantastic with me. Listened to my concerns and answered all my questions. Would definitely recommend him to everybody.

I had a herniated disc at L5-S1 and I was in extreme pain for 3 months with no relief from other treatments. I saw Dr.Herzog and he did a discectomy/laminectomy. I had immediate pain relief from my sciatica/herniated disc!!!! I was so shocked that I was pain free. Dr. Herzog and his staff are amazing and so friendly. I would refer them to everyone with back/sciatica issues!!!

I have never dealt with a more unprofessional office. They lost my MRI, a receptionist mentioned that she had read my personal letter to the Dr, (probably legal but still made me uncomfortable), they forgot to submit for insurance approval for 10 days for a much-needed test, another receptionist questioned my injury’s validity over the phone, they farmed me out to pain management for 4 months, which ignored the real issue. And this issue was on the MRI I gave them before my first appt, if only they had actually read it as I had requested and found the shadows on it months earlier. It was four months with Saratoga Spine before I saw Dr. Herzog, who, actually read my MRI, seemed professional, caring and concerned, and told me if I had breaks as he suspected based on shadows he saw on the MRI and on my Xray, that I would need a spinal fusion to repair it. He sent me to Saratoga Hospital for CT scan. After CT confirmed the bilateral break and I saw Herzog again, he was a completely… different guy; he was cold, arrogant, dismissive, rude; he told me it was non-essential surgery, that I was rushing into surgery, and that I should just have another injection because he couldn’t operate for at least 6 months. (Awful lot of farming out patients for treatment to their pain management group) I left there and never went back. And to top it all off, 4 weeks AFTER the CT scan that confirmed my bilateral break, Saratoga Spine called me in a panic and said don’t have your CT scan done at Saratoga Hospital, your insurance won’t cover it. This is now FOUR weeks AFTER my CT scan. I don’t understand how this office is so dysfunctional. It certainly presents differently. Luckily I found Dr Shen in Latham and within a month of our initial appt where he said it is essential we fix this right away, he had scheduled and performed my laparoscopic surgery within 28 days. DO NOT GO TO SARATOGA SPINE.

At 66 years old, I sustained a complete vertebral fracture resulting from a fall. Dr. Herzog performed the surgical repair that involved a bone graft, plates and screws. He and his staff were extremely competent, professional and personable. I am not able to express my gratitude for the excellent care, compassion, and level of expertise that I experienced throughout my hospitalization and follow-up care at his office. Three months after my surgery, I was hiking in Ecuador and feel great!

I found Dr. Herzog to be very professional and very helpful in relieving my back pain.

I have been to many appointments with his PA with never meeting him. On this last appointment upon meeting him the first time. He was very rude and ignorant. He would not listen to his patient and is only in it for the money. He has very poor people skills and would not give his patient a straight answer. Only thing he said was to find another doctor when I asked him questions about what is going on with my shoulder. As thou he was bothered by me. Far as I am concerned the medical field should not be his profession. In my opinion it would a waste of time to go to the Saratoga Spine Institute. It was a total waste of my time and after four dr visits. I got no where with no answers. Also treated as thou I was lower than he was with no knowledge.

Waiting for appt

I injured my back and had radiating pain down my right let. I went to Dr. Herzog (who was an hour drive away) because of his reputation. An MRI showed a large, herniated lumbar disc. At the follow up visit to the MRI, Dr. Herzog told me that surgery was not necessary. This kind of herniation responds well to physical therapy. This response surprised me. Since his specialty is spinal surgery, I expected him to recommend surgery as the best/only option. That he recommended physical therapy showed me that he was committed to what was best for the patient, not the financial viability of his own practice. I did 4 weeks of physical therapy and have been symptom-free since then. I highly recommend Dr. Herzog to anyone who has back problems.

In my opinion, Dr. Herzog is a medical artist. He took my completely messed up spine and made it into a work of beauty.