Patient Testimonials

I met with Dr. Deal on June 20th for a lower back pain assessment. Followed it up a week later after he was able to review an MRI which indicated spinal stenosis in the L2-L4 area. I had been in pain for several months and had an epidural injection that gave me minor relief of my symptoms. We were able to schedule surgery within a couple weeks of the diagnosis which was performed on an outpatient basis at Minnesota Valley Surgery Center in Burnsville. Dr. Deal’s Care Coordinator, Alyssa, was very helpful in answering my questions or getting the answers from Dr. Deal. I had relatively little pain and within 4 days was off heavy pain meds. Had a 2-week follow up appointment with Dr. Deal and I was able to walk and/or bicycle as much as I wanted. I am out 3 months from surgery and could not be more impressed with how this all turned out. I only wish I had gone in earlier to see Dr. Deal. I have and would highly recommend him.

Dr. Owen O’Neill:

I had my left knee replace on October 19, 2016. Recovery of the strength in the knee went according to the expected timetable of the therapy group at Twin Cities Orthopedics except for stretching the hamstring and calf muscles.

Because I had played tennis with pain and a bent knee for 15 years, the muscles wouldn’t stretch out to less than 6 degrees. You then recommended a Dynaflex brace to wear 6 hours a day (3 in the morning and 3 in the evening) for 7 weeks. With tightening this this brace each week, it said that improvement would be 1 degree per week.  After 7 weeks, my left knee was at -1 degree.

I stretch and exercise every day and it has helped improve my tennis game. Before my operation, I played doubles with a group of 12 people.  I was about in the middle of the pack playing with pain and couldn’t run.

With my new knee, my game has improved to where I am now at the top of the pack by about 20%. I can outrun most in my group and have full flexibility. I wish I would have done this 15 years ago.

Thanks for your operational expertise.

Ralph G.

My first experience with Dr. Saterbak was in 1999 for the repair of my left ACL. We crossed paths again in 2005 for a right ACL. In the meantime, the progression of osteoarthritis was being monitored in my left knee. I had gone through medications and variable injection treatments. I felt I had come to the end of the road in the fall of 2016 with the amount of pain persisting in my left knee. At that time, a visit to Dr. Saterbak resulted in an appointment to thoroughly investigate the possibility of a total knee replacement. All evidence pointed to that procedure and it was then scheduled for March 2017.

The whole procedure was to be performed as part of TCO’s EXCEL Program. The intro to final PT program that covered all aspects of the replacement and lifted concerns of outcomes.

Blue Cross Blue Shield had no issues with the funding. That was huge! Additionally, I felt as though I was number 1 on the list with the work that went into my case – the pre-op, surgery, post-op, follow-ups and PT.

Count me as a satisfied consumer of the program.

Charlie W.

I had a very positive experience with Twin Cities Orthopedics covering the period of time from urgent care to rehabilitation. I had the injury on a Saturday and requested that I might get my surgery scheduled as soon as possible with one of the most skilled and proficient arm and elbow staff surgeons there. They accommodated me quickly and on the Tuesday after, Dr. Bakker was recommended as my surgeon and he fit me into his schedule. He presents himself with very good communication skills and organization of procedures. It is about two months out, my surgery site is healing well and I thank him and his staff so much for their prompt and excellent care!

Dr. Norberg performed rotator cuff surgery on my right shoulder in April 2018. I am very pleased with the outcome – no pain and excellent range of motion. Physical therapy group at TCO Plymouth was great to work with. I highly recommend Dr. Norberg and his team.

Dr. Knowlan gave me my active life back. As an OR nurse I’m able to be on my feet 10 plus hours a day doing what I love and helping patients get back their quality of life back. Now as a knee replacement patient I can identify even more with them and give them my positive outcome story and the proof that they too will be able to do most of the things they’ve given up or sacrificed due to their knee pain. I get to do all the things outside of work that were either painful or I’d say I couldn’t do because of the anticipated pain that would come with it. It affects every aspect of your life when you can’t participate in activities that bring you joy and happiness! I have my life back again and gladly tell others how happy I am with Dr. Knowlan and his awesome team! It was the best thing I’ve done for myself!

I had a very painful left knee, I could not walk without pain or a limp. I went to Twin Cities Orthopedics and saw Dr. Arntson. He found that I had bone on bone in my left knee. Dr. Arntson helped me understand the problem, he was very compassionate and caring. He explained that I needed my knee replaced. Dr. Arntson did the surgery at Mercy Hospital and he did a wonderful job. My knee is healing wonderfully and I am able to walk without pain or a limp. My follow-up appointment went very well, he explained everything about the healing process. I would highly recommend Dr. Arntson, he did a wonderful job on my knee and I now walk without pain and up-right. Janet P.

I only have positive comments to say about Dr. Bakker. He’s an expert in his profession. His skill and advice on rehab were spot on. I was very fortunate to have found him to help me gain back my quality of life. I would “go beyond” highly recommending him to anyone who needs care in the area of his expertise. Thank you Dr. Bakker for getting me to where I am.

All activities were limited to places with no stairs. It hurt to step up on a curb. Now I don’t even think about it. I climb up bleachers to watch my grandkids play sports without a problem.

Dr. Arntson replaced my left hip joint 5 months ago with very good results. Before the surgery I had a lot of pain and trouble walking more than 100 yards. I trusted him so much that I had him perform surgery on my right wrist for carpal tunnel 6 weeks ago. Both surgeries were successful. He is a caring professional in and out of the surgery suite. He is also a sharp dresser when not in scrubs.