Patient Testimonials

Dr. Mair – I want to thank you for fixing both of my hips! I was pretty lost and disillusioned when I came to see you and you helped me through the process twice. I didn’t think I was up to the challenge but you were really kind, encouraging, helpful and honest about what I was facing. You made a difficult situation possible. I was really fortunate to find you and your whole team and I just want to thank you again.

This is a very invasive surgery with a difficult recovery. The care I received from Dr. Mair and his staff was exceptional. The team at Ridgeview Medical Center was outstanding. Dr. Mair showed genuine care for me through the entire process. And while the first month was a challenge, I am now nine months after the surgery and living without any knee pain! Thank you!

Having no pain has allowed me to return to normal life and activities. I am able to do housework and work in my vegetable and flower gardens. I am able to enjoy our grandchildren and participate in their activities.

Dr. Deal is my hero. I suffered from a herniated L4/L5 disc which resulted in extreme lower back and left sciatic pain for nearly a year before working my way through the proper insurance channels to receive a discectomy. It was a very long road I traveled in seeing multiple doctors, x-rays, an MRI, ten weeks of physical therapy, an epidural injection and pain medication. After meeting with Dr. Deal he said that a discectomy was the best course of action, and the procedure was scheduled. The folks at Twin Cities Orthopedics (where the surgery was performed) couldn’t have been nicer or more helpful. And the results of the surgery couldn’t have been better. I’m typing this three weeks following the surgery and I currently have ZERO pain, which is a huge difference considering a few weeks ago I couldn’t walk more than a few blocks nor could I stand still for more than a few seconds. In all sincerity the surgery by Dr. Deal was one of the best things to ever happen to me. I am very grateful for his services and I would recommend him to anyone. Thank you, Dr. Deal!

Dr. Deal did surgery on my back twice for herniated discs and he is the best. I was in so much pain for a pinched nerve that my leg wouldn’t even work right and for the second time I am pain free. I am thankful I found Dr. Deal because he did a great job getting me fixed from the worst time of my life. I would highly recommend.

I broke my ankle about 35 years ago and have had arthritis and pain that limited my participation in sports.

When I went to Twin Cities Orthopedics, Dr. Chris Coetzee told me I was a good candidate for ankle replacement. Within a few months of the surgery, I was given the OK to play again. I played nine holes and had two birdies in my return to the golf course! The next day, I played handball and won both matches. The guys said they thought I moved as well or better than before my ankle angioplasty. It really helps not to have the pain anymore.

I am thankful for Dr. Coetzee and his team who have made it possible for me to play sports and move through life without pain.

I broke my ankle on the playground in fourth grade. Little did I know trajectory at that time. I competed in gymnastics in high school. I learned how to play handball and golf. Some 40 years later, my ankle started to hurt.

Eventually, I visited a noted sport medicine doctor and was told that the early injury brought about an early onset of arthritis. Nothing I could do; maybe wear a brace. Five years later, I visited other specialists, and they all told me I could have my ankle fused and I’ll know when. Another five years, and I was limping so much everyone asked if I hurt myself. I worried I was throwing everything in my body off kilter.

I decided “it’s time” and made an appointment with Dr. Chris Coetzee to get my ankle evaluated for a fusion. After his review, he said I was a candidate for either. I looked at him confused and he explained he could either fuse my ankle or replace the joint. I asked and he explained that everything I had heard about ankle replacements not going well was old news. He said I would be able to run, play handball and golf as much as I liked. I turned to my wife and we decided to go for it. I never looked back!

I used to walk around looking at the ground. We would go on trips and I could describe the sidewalks and streets but not the buildings or landscapes. I was terrified I would stumble and hurt myself. Now, I can walk anywhere without this fear.  Forward, backward, up hills and down hills. My first ankle was more than 10 years ago and my second almost three. I won both the single and doubles Minnesota State Handball Championships in my age division this year. Everyone says I am moving better and better all the time.

Dr. Coetzee and his team at TCO gave all of this back to me. If you are a candidate for an ankle joint replacement, you can’t do better than TCO.

Photo caption:

This summer, at the World Handball Championship held in Minneapolis, four of Dr. Coetzee’s patients gathered for a photo – there are seven replacement ankles on the four handball players (from left), Arnie W., Sheldon S., Scott S. and Larry L.

Handball became my competitive game of choice in the Marine Corps, but by age 60, my body started showing its age. I had both hips replaced in four years, so my handball game started showing its age as well.

When my left ankle started giving me trouble, I went back to TCO and was informed that the arthritis from multiple sprains from various sports had caught up with me and it would have to be fused or replaced.

When Dr. Chris Coetzee said the replacement would take 35 minutes, I asked how an ankle replacement could be done in half the time of a hip. The answer was that no muscles or tendons had to be cut. This convinced me because the gluteus had to be cut in the hip replacements and regaining that muscle memory took some time.

After surgery on the ankle, I asked Dr. Coetzee how long it took and he said 35 minutes, including tightening the outside ligament. As promised, I was back playing handball in three months. It went so well that I did not hesitate to replace my right ankle within 18 months, once it was obvious that it had arthritis as well.

The second replacement took 10 minutes longer because the outside ligament on the right ankle was in worse shape than the left.

I’m now 72 and moving better on the handball court than I have in 10 years. I have even started to run again, a bit slower than before, but there is no pain!

I was in a car accident this past May that put me in the emergency room. I was found to have a broken scaphoid bone in my left hand (of course my dominant hand). The first opinion was “immediate surgery.” I sought a second opinion from Dr. Gesensway; he examined my x-rays and CT scan of my hand very carefully and discovered that the bones in my hand had auto-fused. Because the bones had auto-fused, the scaphoid was stabilized and could heal with assistance of a new ultra-sound device that would trigger blood flow to the bone to accelerate healing without surgery. I chose to use the device as instructed and IT WAS SUCCESSFUL. The bone has healed without surgery!

My husband is a retired anesthesiologist. He observed many foot and ankle surgeons in the OR. He says Dr. Den Hartog is by far the best foot and ankle surgeon he has ever seen. After he moved from our community, we drove 600 miles for surgery by him. He is kind, humble and brilliant. Hands are extremely skilled.