Lawrence Chen, D.P.M.
Dr. Lawrence Chen, DPM
Board-Certified Foot & Ankle Surgeon
DPM, ABPM · Fluent in English & Mandarin · Mountain View · San Jose · Los Gatos · Monterey
Expert podiatric care rooted in precision, compassion, and a relentless commitment to helping patients recover quickly, stay active, and live without pain.
Dr. Lawrence Chen, DPM, ABPM
Board-Certified · American Board of Podiatric Medicine (ABPM) Member · American Board of Foot and Ankle Surgery 🌐 Fluent in English & Mandarin ChineseAbout Dr. Lawrence Chen, DPM
Dr. Lawrence Chen is a board-certified foot and ankle surgeon with a clinical reputation built on meticulous surgical technique, genuine patient-centered care, and a comprehensive approach to even the most complex lower-extremity conditions. He serves patients at four locations across the Bay Area and Monterey Peninsula — Mountain View, San Jose, Los Gatos, and Monterey — and is fully fluent in both English and Mandarin, making him an invaluable resource for the large Mandarin-speaking communities throughout Silicon Valley and the South Bay.
Dr. Chen’s training spans the full breadth of podiatric medicine and surgery — from general foot care and preventive management to advanced reconstructive surgery, limb salvage, and cutting-edge procedures like Lapiplasty® 3D bunion correction. He is equally at home treating a child’s first walking abnormality, repairing a competitive athlete’s complex ankle fracture, or guiding a diabetic patient through a multi-stage limb salvage protocol that avoids amputation.
What distinguishes Dr. Chen’s practice is the intersection of technical excellence and genuine human connection. He brings the same precision and rigor to every case — whether a routine ingrown toenail or a complex Charcot foot reconstruction — and communicates with patients in a way that builds understanding, trust, and confidence.
Outside of medicine, Dr. Chen leads an active lifestyle — golfing, swimming, snowboarding, and playing tennis. These personal pursuits directly inform his deep understanding of what it means to be an active person sidelined by foot and ankle pain, and his commitment to returning every patient to the activities they love as quickly and safely as possible.
Dr. Chen accepts most PPO insurance plans and Medicare. Our billing team will verify your coverage before your appointment. If you have questions about whether your plan is accepted, please call our office and we will confirm prior to your visit.
Specialties & Services
Dr. Chen provides the full spectrum of podiatric care — from routine general foot health maintenance to highly specialized reconstructive surgery. Whether you are managing a chronic condition, recovering from an acute injury, or seeking a definitive surgical solution, Dr. Chen offers the expertise and treatment options to meet your needs.
General & Preventive Foot Care
General Podiatry
Treatment of everyday conditions including ingrown toenails, fungal toenails (onychomycosis), corns, calluses, plantar warts, and athlete’s foot (tinea pedis). Expert care delivered with precision and attentiveness to patient comfort.
Medical Pedicures for Elderly & At-Risk Patients
Safe, sterile nail trimming and debridement for patients with limited mobility, diabetes, peripheral vascular disease, or other medical risk factors. A critical preventive service that prevents hospitalizations and infections in vulnerable patients.
Custom Orthotics & Conservative Care
Personalized custom orthotic solutions to improve foot alignment, reduce pain, and prevent progression of structural deformities. Conservative care is always the first approach when clinically appropriate.
Surgical Subspecialties
Bunions & Lapiplasty® 3D Correction
Advanced bunion correction including the revolutionary Lapiplasty® 3D procedure — addresses the root cause in all three anatomical planes, with low recurrence rates and earlier return to activity than traditional techniques.
Diabetic Foot Care & Limb Salvage
Comprehensive management of peripheral neuropathy, foot ulcers, infections, and Charcot foot. Dr. Chen’s limb salvage expertise has helped countless patients avoid amputation and regain independence.
Foot & Ankle Reconstruction
Complex deformity correction, trauma repair, and sports injury reconstruction — including Achilles tendon repair, flatfoot reconstruction, high-arch correction, and fracture ORIF — using the latest minimally invasive techniques.
Sports Medicine & Injury Care
Comprehensive management of ankle sprains, tendon injuries, stress fractures, and overuse conditions with customized return-to-sport protocols designed for rapid, safe recovery.
Plantar Fasciitis & Heel Pain
Targeted therapies including custom orthotics, corticosteroid injections, PRP, shockwave therapy, and stem cell injections. For chronic, treatment-resistant plantar fasciitis, Dr. Chen offers stem cell regenerative therapy as an advanced alternative to surgery.
Flatfoot & Pediatric Foot Conditions
Early intervention for pediatric flatfoot, gait abnormalities, and developmental foot conditions. Treatment within the critical developmental window promotes proper long-term foot mechanics.
Neuromas, Neuropathy, Tarsal Tunnel & CRPS
Expert treatment of Morton’s neuroma, peripheral neuropathy, tarsal tunnel syndrome, and Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (CRPS) — a chronic nerve condition causing severe burning pain, swelling, and hypersensitivity following injury or surgery. Dr. Chen provides comprehensive, individualized CRPS management using conservative care, injections, and surgical decompression.
Arthritis, Gout & Forefoot Pain
Management of joint pain, inflammation, stiffness, and metatarsalgia to improve mobility and quality of life. Treatment options range from lifestyle modification and orthotics to joint-preserving and joint-replacement surgical procedures.
Complete List of Conditions Treated
Lapiplasty® 3D Bunion Correction
Among the advanced surgical procedures in Dr. Chen’s repertoire, Lapiplasty® 3D Bunion Correction stands out as a transformative technique that has redefined outcomes for bunion patients. Dr. Chen has achieved a high success rate with Lapiplasty®, reflecting his broader philosophy: correct the root cause, not just its visible manifestation.
Why Lapiplasty® Is Different
Traditional bunionectomies address the deformity in one or two planes — shaving or shifting the prominent bone — while leaving the underlying unstable tarsometatarsal (TMT) joint untreated. Because the root cause is never corrected, recurrence rates with traditional surgery are significant. Lapiplasty® corrects the bunion in all three anatomical planes and stabilizes the unstable TMT joint with titanium fixation — eliminating the deformity at its source and dramatically reducing recurrence risk.
Dr. Chen performs a thorough pre-operative evaluation — including bilateral weight-bearing X-rays, intermetatarsal angle measurement, and TMT joint mobility assessment — to ensure every patient receives the correction most appropriate for their specific anatomy and goals. He counsels patients transparently on realistic recovery timelines and what to expect at every stage.
Limb Salvage & Diabetic Wound Care Expertise
Dr. Lawrence Chen is a leading specialist in limb salvage and diabetic wound care, recognized for his ability to manage some of the most complex lower-extremity wounds in the region. He has helped countless patients avoid life-changing amputations — and treats every case with the same urgency and determination.
Teaching & Mentorship at Hospital Wound Care Centers
Dr. Chen serves as a surgical and clinical instructor at three hospital-affiliated wound care centers, where he actively teaches and mentors physicians. He works closely with Stanford Hospital podiatric and medical residents at O’Connor Hospital, guiding them through advanced limb salvage techniques including surgical debridement, biologic graft application, and reconstruction for severe diabetic foot complications.
Daily Multidisciplinary Collaboration
Wound Care Expertise
If you or a loved one has been told that amputation may be necessary, Dr. Chen strongly encourages a consultation before that decision is finalized. His limb salvage expertise — combined with access to the latest biological therapies, vascular surgery partnerships, and hospital wound care resources — has enabled successful preservation of limbs that other facilities considered unsalvageable. A second opinion may save your limb.
Foot & Ankle Reconstruction & Surgical Excellence
Dr. Chen’s surgical expertise spans the full spectrum of foot and ankle reconstruction — from acute trauma repair to complex multi-stage deformity correction — with a strong emphasis on minimally invasive techniques whenever possible.
Reconstructive Procedures Performed
Dr. Chen places strong emphasis on minimally invasive treatments whenever possible — smaller incisions, less soft tissue disruption, reduced post-operative pain, faster healing, and minimal scarring. When open surgery is necessary, it is performed with the same precision and commitment to preserving function.
Hospital Affiliations & Teaching Roles
Dr. Chen holds active staff privileges and clinical instructor roles at leading hospitals across the Bay Area and Monterey Peninsula, providing patients with access to comprehensive inpatient and wound care resources when needed.
O’Connor Hospital
San Jose, CAActive surgical staff privileges. Collaborates with Stanford Hospital residents in advanced limb salvage training.
O’Connor Hospital Wound Care Center
San Jose, CAClinical & surgical instructor. Mentors residents in debridement, biologic grafts, and complex diabetic foot reconstruction.
El Camino Hospital
Mountain View, CAActive surgical staff privileges. Serving patients in the heart of Silicon Valley and the greater Mountain View community.
El Camino Hospital Wound Care Center
Mountain View, CAClinical & surgical instructor. Advanced wound care services for Mountain View and Peninsula region patients.
Community Hospital of Monterey Peninsula
Monterey, CAActive surgical staff privileges. Serving Monterey, Carmel, Pacific Grove, and surrounding communities.
CHOMP Wound Care Center
Monterey, CAClinical & surgical instructor. Advanced multidisciplinary wound care for patients along the Monterey Coast.
Dr. Chen holds active certification with the American Board of Podiatric Medicine (ABPM) and membership in the American Board of Foot and Ankle Surgery — the two primary certifying bodies for podiatric surgery in the United States.
Education & Training
See Dr. Chen at Four Convenient Locations
Same-week and next-day appointments are frequently available for new patients. PPO insurance and Medicare accepted.
Frequently Asked Questions
Dr. Chen specializes in the full spectrum of foot and ankle care, with particular expertise in Lapiplasty® 3D bunion correction, limb salvage and diabetic wound care, foot and ankle reconstructive surgery, sports medicine, stem cell therapy for plantar fasciitis, CRPS treatment, and pediatric foot conditions. He serves as a surgical and clinical instructor at three hospital wound care centers.
Yes — Dr. Lawrence Chen is fully fluent in both English and Mandarin. He is able to conduct complete clinical consultations, explain diagnoses, discuss treatment options, and answer questions in either language. For Mandarin-speaking patients throughout Silicon Valley, the South Bay, and the Monterey Peninsula, Dr. Chen offers the rare combination of subspecialty surgical expertise and native-language communication.
Yes. Dr. Chen accepts most PPO insurance plans and Medicare. Our billing team verifies your coverage before your appointment and walks you through your specific benefits. Please call our office if you have questions about your specific plan prior to your visit.
Yes. For patients with chronic, treatment-resistant plantar fasciitis who have not responded adequately to conventional therapies such as orthotics, injections, or shockwave therapy, Dr. Chen offers stem cell regenerative therapy. Stem cells are injected directly into the damaged plantar fascia under ultrasound guidance to stimulate tissue repair — a powerful non-surgical alternative before committing to surgery.
Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (CRPS) is a chronic nerve condition characterized by severe burning pain, swelling, skin changes, and extreme sensitivity following an injury or surgery. It most commonly affects the foot and ankle after trauma or surgery. Yes — Dr. Chen provides comprehensive evaluation and individualized management for CRPS, using a combination of conservative therapies, nerve blocks, and surgical decompression when indicated.
Yes. Dr. Chen has extensive training in Lapiplasty® 3D Bunion Correction and has achieved a high success rate. He performs a thorough pre-operative evaluation — including bilateral weight-bearing X-rays and TMT joint mobility assessment — to determine whether Lapiplasty® is the most appropriate option for each patient. He will discuss all available bunion correction options and help you make an informed decision.
Dr. Chen holds affiliations with O’Connor Hospital and O’Connor Hospital Wound Care Center (San Jose), El Camino Hospital and El Camino Hospital Mountain View Wound Care Center, and Community Hospital of Monterey Peninsula and its Wound Care Center. He serves as a surgical and clinical instructor at all three wound care centers and mentors Stanford Hospital residents.
Appointments can be requested online at footankledocs.com/contact or by calling our scheduling team. We offer appointments at Mountain View, San Jose, Los Gatos, and Monterey. New patient appointments are frequently available within the same week. We accept most PPO insurance plans and Medicare.
About This Profile: This physician profile is provided for informational purposes to help patients learn about Dr. Lawrence Chen’s training, specialties, and clinical approach. It does not constitute medical advice. For questions about specific conditions, please schedule a consultation at one of our four locations.