Patient Testimonials

Dr Fritz and his staff took care of my partner, Julie,  in December.  They provided extraordinary care and service. We were very pleased with the replacement cast that was made and the therapeutic care to better reposition the wrist fracture. She had been in severe pain and these changes made a significant difference. We are grateful.

I have struggled with bilateral hip osteoarthritis for the past 7 years. I was losing my ability to walk and the pain was becoming intolerable when I met Dr. Jeffrey Mair, an orthopedic surgeon with TCO Waconia. Previous orthopedic providers had refused to treat me and simply provided bariatric surgery flyers and told me to come back when I hit the magic BMI. While BMI is a very important factor in success, it is not the only factor to be considered. Dr Mair, from the moment I met him, gave me confidence that he would do my surgeries, likely 3 to 6 months apart and he believed I could be successful. I had my first hip replacement in June. I was compliant in all the team’s recommendations for post operative recovery and was ready for my second hip in August. Just 2 months apart. The procedures have been life changing. I am no longer living with pain, I am getting stronger every week allowing me to get back to activities that I love. Dr Mair, Cody his PA and my PT champions Deb and Natalie have been my personal cheerleaders throughout the entire process. I cannot say enough about the treatment team that helped me find determination to succeed when I felt so hopeless about my physical future. If you are living with hip pain, see Dr. Mair. He will listen, he will care and he will find treatment that helps you get back in to your life. If I can do it, so can you.

If you are searching for a professional, highly skilled, caring, and thoughtful orthopedic surgeon, look no further than Dr. Leafblad. He replaced my shoulder this past fall, and it is improving daily. I have been very pleased with his care and would recommend him to anyone in need of orthopedic surgery!

I cannot say enough about how pleased and deeply grateful I am for Dr. Eggert’s expertise and care. I highly recommend him to anyone needing a knee replacement or knee surgery. From the first day I limped into his office experiencing intense pain and severely decreased mobility due to bone on bone knee joint pain, he provided clear and compassionate care. He listens and I felt seen and validated when explaining my situation. When it was time for surgery he recommended the EXCEL program for me. The pre-op and post-op education and support from the care coordinators help smooth the process.

I had my surgery one year ago and just completed the year check. Wow! I cannot be any happier with the outcome. Dr. Eggert knows what he’s doing! Having that chronic deep pain gone is a game changer. Truthfully, the surgery and post-op recovery is intense. My only focus for 6 weeks post-op was recovery and PT. Do the PT people! It creates a successful outcome.

I love to walk and hike. Within 6 months I was back to walking the trails in our area, walking to and from my workplace every day during the summer. A visit to the North Shore this past summer was enjoyable again as I could walk trails and mosey around Grand Marais. A little under one year from my surgery date I was walking on the beach in California and visiting museums. I would not be doing any of this if not for this successful surgery, Dr. Eggert, and the TCO team! Thank you for giving me my quality of life back. Keep doing what you do!

I tore my ACL and meniscus during the first football game of my sophomore year. Finding out I would be missing not only my football season but also basketball and track season too, broke my heart. I had so much that I was looking forward to.

I will forever be grateful to my TCO team of Dr. Ryan Hess, athletic trainer Christian Goetz, and physical therapist Thane Widmer. They were with me every step of the way. Christian and Thane were so awesome to rehab with. They supported and believed in me throughout the process, and I could always count on having fun around them.

One of my biggest fears after getting hurt was returning to my sports at the same level I was before. I would encourage anyone going through this to believe you can.

I’m a 66 year old female and my story begins when I had my left hip replaced at another facility in 2020. It came time to have my other hip replaced and a friend of mine advised me to have the anterior hip replacement done by this wonderful surgeon, Dr. Owen O’Neill. After talking with my friend for a while, he had me convinced to set up an appointment with Dr. O’Neill and I’m glad I did. The scheduling was quick and he’s a wonderful doctor with a wonderful care team.

It was a breeze. I had a one night stay at the EXCEL Care Suites and I was sent home with a packaged lunch the following morning. How wonderful is that? I had very little pain and one week later I was walking on my own without a walker or cane! I was shocked at how fast the anterior hip replacement recovery was compared to the posterior hip replacement.

If you ever need to have a hip replacement, don’t put it off. Choose the anterior hip replacement with Dr. Owen O’Neill. I can’t wait until this summer so I can get back to camping! Before my hip replacement, walking on uneven ground or even standing for any length of time was the worst! I thought my camping days were coming to an end. I’m here to say I had my operation in September 2024 and I already know I am not going to have that problem anymore with camping, as I’m already walking up and down my basement steps and dong all my house hold activities, including raking on uneven ground! I can’t wait to camp and enjoy life again pain-free. Set up an appointment with Dr. Owen O’Neill, you will be glad you did.

It was getting harder for me to walk and I was having trouble sleeping because of the pain. After I met with Dr. James Bircher, he recommended a hip replacement and it was the best thing I could have done. On the day of the surgery he talked to me and even said a prayer, which not only impressed me but put me at ease. I feel so much better. After a couple of months, I am walking and sleeping so much better. I am so happy I went through the procedure. I am eventually going to have the other hip replaced and I will definitely go back to Dr. Bircher. The only difference will be is that I won’t wait as long as I did with the first hip. I would highly recommend Dr. Bircher and his teams. They were great.

I am beyond grateful for my physical therapists and doctor here at TCO, especially Dr. Hess, Christian Goetz, and Thane Widmer. They helped me get back out onto the field/court.

Here is a little bit about my story. I go to Elk River High School, and play football and basketball. I tore my ACL in my first basketball game of the season in December of 2023. Dr. Hess performed surgery on my torn ACL and the entire process went very smoothly. We were very familiar with Dr. Hess because he also was my surgeon for my torn labrum just 9 months earlier!

The ACL recovery process was long and hard but Christian helped keep things fun through the ACE Strength and Sport program. I enjoyed showing up to it, even under the circumstances of being hurt. It also helped that I went through the whole recovery process with one of my best friends, who also tore his ACL.

By participating in the ACE Return to Sport program, it helped me get back on the football field in time for the season. Thanks to the guidance of Christian and Thane, I was able to play the full season, which culminated in winning a state championship!

I couldn’t be happier with the results of my total hip replacement. Dr. Bircher and his staff at Twin Cities Orthopedics along with the entire medical team at Maple Grove Hospital provided outstanding care. I received a thorough explanation of the entire process and all treatment options available to me. All my questions were answered, and I felt very comfortable moving ahead with the procedure. Thanks to the professionalism and expertise of the entire team, my hip pain has gone away, and I am back to living my normal life. Thank you Dr. Bircher and team!

Dr. Michael R. Johnson is a great asset to the TCO community. I immediately felt I was in the best of hands. He has extensive experience in hip replacement surgery, explains things well and has a caring bedside manner. Dr. Johnson gave me a hip injection to bridge me to surgery. The hip injection gave me immediate relief. I was able to put on 20,000 steps at the state fair the following day!

It was a great surgical experience from anesthesia, perfect spinal, pain control, physical therapy, and the overnight stay with the EXCEL program. I am six weeks post-surgery and thanks to Dr. Johnson and team, I’ll be out on the pickleball courts soon!