Patient Testimonials

Dr. Simonet did my hip replacement five weeks ago and it couldn’t have gone any better. He has a great bedside manner, he answered all of my questions thoroughly prior to surgery, and everything went as I expected. His entire staff is great! They were very professional, especially his assistant Jane. Another thing to note is when you go back for a follow-up appointment, you are called in on-time and are not expected to wait. All in all, I would totally recommend Dr. Simonet!

I have been seeing Dr. Bakker for over 5 years. He is always very patient, kind, and explains everything in Layman’s terms. I have sent both of my parents to him and they were both very impressed by his bedside manner and his knowledge. I highly recommend Dr. Bakker.

Dr. Dick really helped me get my life back. I’ve always been very active: running, biking, hiking, spin classes, but the aging process — specifically, the pain caused from a pinched nerve in my lower back — was preventing me from enjoying the things I like. Over the course of many months and a lot of physical therapy, I was referred to Dr. Dick to explore the options for back surgery. The first thing I noticed about Dr. Dick, was how direct his questions were. He tried to understand my pain and symptoms and had very thorough questions. He was not in a rush to get to the next patient. Rather, he explained in detail what my options were and provided illustrations and models so I could better understand where the pain was coming from.

Before meeting with Dr. Dick, I had met with two other back surgeons, neither of whom took the time that Dr. Dick did. More importantly, they didn’t inspire any confidence that they would be a good choice for my surgery. Dr. Dick did inspire that confidence. In November of 2018 he performed my surgery and gave me my marching orders: walk, walk, walk, and walk some more.

Six months after the surgery, which included fusing two vertebrae and strengthening them with rods and screws, I was riding my bike, going to spin class, and walking without pain. In my mind, the surgery was a total success. The recovery required patience, discipline, and lots of effort. Dr. Dick and his staff supported me every step of the way. I’m very grateful to Dr. Dick for helping me get my life back. He’s a great surgeon and a good man.

This review will be somewhat different from others as my history with Dr. Cammack goes back nearly 15 years and 4 surgeries, with a 5th planned. I met Dr. Cammack after a suicide attempt in February of 2005, which resulted in significant injuries; including a pelvis broken in 3 places, 3 vertebra in my back fractured, and both heels were completely smashed, along with quite a bit of internal bleeding. Due to my injuries, Dr. Cammack was assigned to me to oversee my case. I liked him straight away, he reminds me of Doogie Howser – a mix of extreme intelligence and genuine ‘aw shucks’ personality. He went through my injuries and talked about the surgeries I would need to be fixed and what to expect.

TCO is a large practice with doctors, specializing in all kinds of surgeries. Dr. Cammack did not pass me over to another member of the practice. He felt that I really needed to see dedicated specialists who focused exclusively on the pelvis and lower back and that he would do the research and would know more the next day. The next morning he informed me he had narrowed it down to two different teams and would have the answer the next day. Thursday morning he walked in, made sure I was okay and had everything I needed, then told me that he had spoken to the other surgeons and I would be going to HCMC early Friday morning to have the surgeries. He did the research himself (no assistants) and spoke to the surgeons so that they could clear their schedules to see me right away.

The surgeries went well except for the fact that I found out I am immune to morphine. On Monday I was back to North Memorial and back under Cammack’s care. Every day that I was in the hospital he would come and see me, regardless of which ward I was in. Including the psychiatric ward after finding out I am type 2 bipolar. If he was out of the hospital then one of his colleagues would see me. He performed both ankle surgeries at the same time (I figured it was best to get it all over with at once). He was always positive about my recovery and honest about what I could expect.

In the decade and a half that I have known him, he has gone from supremely talented doctor, to a learned friend who helped to take care of me at the worst moments of my life. If you give him a compliment, he gets genuinely uneasy but in a down-to-earth manner. He is humble, genuine, and nothing is forced about him. What you see is what you get. I am extraordinarily grateful to him for his years of taking care of my battered feet. I can honestly say that I can walk because of him.

Dr. Moeller is very knowledgeable and takes the time to truly listen to her patients. I am very grateful for her thorough examination of my injury and ongoing care to assist me in reaching maximum potential with a post right wrist fracture. She explains things in detail and provides realistic options for treatment with comprehensive follow up to measure progress.
I definitely feel that she has my best interests in perspective. Thank you for your ongoing expertise and care.

I have just recovered from my second knee replacement by Dr. Szalapski. I had such good results 8 years ago with my first surgery, that I elected to have the other knee done when doing all my usual activities became almost impossible without much discomfort. After 7 weeks, I am so good that I can’t believe it. I am going up and down stairs like a grown-up for the first time in over 2 years. I can do everything I use to do, but better. Having only one day in the hospital this time was okay. I had help at home for a few days but I was driving myself to PT one week later. I elected to not take any pain meds after the surgery so I didn’t have to recover from that either. Dr. Szalapski knows exactly what to do and my knee did not have staples or stitches this time, so that was also good. The scar has healed beautifully. Thank you to the fine team that cared for me, including Traci and Jessica.

It had gotten to the point that the bunion and two hammer toes on my right foot made it very painful to walk, especially in closed shoes. Based on my family history of bad feet, I knew I had to do something because if they were left unchecked, it would only get worse. I decided to see Dr. McGarvey based on the number of bunioneictomies he had performed (more than 8,000) and patient testimonials. Dr. McGarvey is a very direct, no nonsense physician, with clear expectations of his patients’ post-operative recovery activities. I have faithfully followed his guidance and seven weeks after surgery, healing is progressing as expected.

Last October, I decided it was time to get my knee fixed. I met with Dr. Ciegler at the Osceola, WI hospital. From the first meeting, he and Shaun we’re impressive. The answers were great and the risks and options were carefully explained to me. I proceeded with my surgery on October 14th. Everything was amazing within a couple of days of surgery and I was far better off than before my replacement. Unfortunately, things went sideways due to issues that we’re no fault of anyone. It was an infection. I was then part of the 1% club that picks up an infection from somewhere. Dr. Ciegler and Shaun sat me down and told me what we needed to do right away to aggressively treat the infection. Although there were a few scary days for my wife and I, things got better fast. Dr. Ciegler and Shaun kept me informed of every detail, the problem, the treatment and the risks. His aggressive approach, while rather painful, resulted in me healing up fast. I cannot say enough about Dr. Ciegler and his team. They are great communicators, caring and professional. I would highly recommend them to anyone looking for orthopodic work. They are simply the best!

After four years of gradually decreasing range of motion and increasing hip pain, I found that Dr. Horazdovsky was very supportive once I decided to have surgery. He told me what I could anticipate and provided help and resources in my healing. In retrospect, I should have done it much earlier. I would heartily recommend him.

Dr. Szalapski replaced both of my hips. The first hip was 4 years ago and the other was in November 2019. Both times I could not have been more satisfied. My friends were amazed at how fast I was recuperating. I never used a walker and I only used a cane for one day. I recommend Dr. Szalapski whenever I can.

Thank you, Doctor!