Patient Testimonials

I’m so very grateful to Dr. Corey Wulf, Brittany W., and Becky S. at TCO that I had the opportunity to participate in the DeNovo NT clinical trial. The result has been a literal God-send!  Having been a serious marathoner for the past 20 years and a marathon coach for the last 6 years, I was devastated when I reached a point of knee pain that wouldn’t allow me to run a step.  At the time, I was diagnosed by both TRIA and TCO with a medial chondral defect in the right knee. 

I ultimately elected to have my surgery done by Dr. Wulf at TCO for several important reasons: Dr. Wulf was recommended to me by other runners and running professionals.  More importantly, Dr. Wulf is also a runner and so I knew he truly understood how much it meant for me to get back to my sport.  At age 50, most places would have considered it a success if I could just walk without pain, but Dr. Wulf was committed to helping me race again. And the great thing was that it was not just my goal – it was Dr. Wulf’s and his entire team’s goal as well!

My first surgery was a microfracture surgery. I elected to have this surgery because it was a shorter recovery and being fit I had a reasonable chance of it being successful.  A year post I still could not run without pain and was fairly discouraged.  In one of my follow up appointments as we were talking through next options, Dr. Wulf talked with me about a new type of cartilage transplant surgery that he felt I was a good candidate for and that he had had good success with it.  At the time, Dr. Wulf was one of a very few orthopedic surgeons that was experienced performing this surgery.  It was a long recovery (a solid year) but I followed Dr. Wulf’s protocol to the letter. Everyone I worked with at TCO and the Institute of Athletic Medicine was so encouraging and supportive through the process.  Finally after reviewing my MRI one year post surgery, Dr. Wulf gave me the all-clear to begin training again on April 10^th, 2015.  I continued to work with PT at the IAM and joined Orange Theory Fitness in Eden Prairie in May and got stronger as the length of time I could run got longer.  Then on August 1, 2015 I ran my first race – the Minnesota Half Marathon 5K.  It felt so wonderful to race again!  I ended up finishing 4^th in my age group with an average chip pace of 8:16 min/mile!  Words can’t come close to describing how great it felt to be back in the game.  I owe it to Dr. Wulf and his team for working so hard to help me achieve such a great outcome after that devastating diagnosis.  I am so very grateful that I was selected to participate in the clinical trial.  I want to be sure others have the opportunity to benefit from this type of surgery.  For me, it was a clear success.  While I may not run marathons any longer, the surgery enabled me to run and race again without pain. As a runner, that is life.   I’m forever grateful to Dr. Wulf and his team at TCO.  THANK YOU!

I have had two shoulder surgeries with Dr. Mair and have nothing but praise for his expertise in his surgical abilities, true, personal, patient care and his utmost empathy for your situation. My wife and coworker’s have also had surgeries performed by Dr. Mair. He doesn’t sugarcoat any diagnosis, but is also very honest and thorough in his assessment of your individual problem. He will not rush into surgery until exhausting other avenues. His bedside (office) manner is fabulous, taking time to answer every question you may have. Yes, you may often have to spend some extra time in the waiting room for him. But, this is only because he will not hurry anyone out the door, despite his schedule. After surgery, he even gives you his personal cell phone number and calls you at home to see how you are doing. That is a true testimony to a truly great person and doctor! I have nothing but praise and confidence in this man’s abilities and care.

I am 4 weeks post-op and I feel like I could take my first spring bicycle ride. This was my second knee replacement by Dr. Meisterling and I was quite apprehensive as I was 10 years older. I would recommend Dr. Meisterling and Lakeview Hospital every time. Starting with the joint replacement class, surgical day, and hospital stay I received excellent care. Thanks to all!

On November 14, 2014, in Wausau WI, I had a Total Left Knee Replacement, at the age of 63. On December 26, 2014, I was going down stairs to our lower level, and my left foot slipped on the 2nd to last stair, hit the floor hard, but I did not fall. I immediately had extreme pain in my left knee area. My doctor was on vacation and I was 5 weeks into my PT for my knee replacement. When PT examined my knee they were pretty sure I had torn my Quad Muscle , since I could no longer lift my leg. My surgeon confirmed, this and I had surgery on January 13, 2015 to repair my Quad. We moved to Elk River MN in July of 2015. Of course that meant finding all new doctors. We heard great things about Dr. Nathan Norquist and I met with him and knew right away, he was the doctor I was looking for. I was not feeling well at all. I had lost a lot of wait and my left knee/quad area was causing me pain. He referred me to Twin Cities Orthopedics and gave me names of two doctors that he felt could help me. One of those was Dr. Kruse. I met with him and I saw him a couple of times. He said he would like me to see another TCO doctor at another location. I saw this doctor a number of times and he thought it was my Quad Muscle that was not fully healed or strained. He put me back in a brace so I could rest it, and I was eventually released with the thought that the problem was the Quad Muscle. In December 2016, I went back to Dr. Kruse, and he asked me how my knee was doing, and I told him not good. He remembered that he had referred me to another doctor, so he asked his assistant to pull up all the records of what had been done. I told him I was so frustrated, because everyone was pointing to the Quad as the problem, but it was the knee that was causing the problem. My left knee was extremely warmer than my right, and any time I would walk or do really anything, my knee would turn red. Also, it felt like my knee was filled with Arthritis. As I would walk, it would just stiffen up more and more. It felt like I could feel the parts in my artificial knee bend with each step I took. Dr. Kruse, after examining me, told me I was right, and there was something wrong. The first thing he did was check to see if I had an infection in the knee. That came back negative. The next thing he wanted to check was to see if I was allergic to any of the metals in my knee. I told him that I would buy costume jewelry, and I had no problems with it. But, I did remember that way back in high school, my class ring did give me problems. Well the test came back saying I was Highly Reactive to Nickel and Mildly Reactive to Aluminum. I knew immediately that I wanted that knee taken out, and replaced with a new knee, minus the Nickel and Aluminum! Dr. Kruse referred me to Dr. Arntson for my total knee replacement / revision. I will never be able to thank Dr. Kruse enough, for taking the time and steps he did, in finding out what was really wrong with my knee replacement! I also want to thank him for referring me to Dr. Arntson. My total knee replacement / revision went so well. I walked out of the hospital and just used one crutch, when I went out of the house, for the first two weeks. After that I did not need it at all. I was released from PT at the end of 5 weeks and I could bend my knee to 138 and straighten in to 0. Thank you Dr. Arntson! I also feel so much better health wise. I had changes/symptoms to my body happen, after my first knee replacement, but I never related them to the knee. After, my revision they went away. Also, I wish I could have had the test to see, if I was allergic to any metals, before I had my first knee replacement. It would have saved me from years of pain and a knee revision after only 2 years and 3 months. Now, I am looking forward to enjoying the summer walking and riding my bike!

Dr. Lervick is fantastic! My son Alex had shoulder problems which left him with pain and the inability to pitch a baseball without great pain. As a result we needed to have surgery done as soon as possible to get him on the road to recovery and back on the baseball mound for the coming spring season. Dr. Lervick came in on a Sunday to see Alex and review the MRI. A couple weeks later he did surgery. He was wonderful with Alex and understanding of the need to have something done as soon as possible so we could rehab and be back to playing college baseball for the University of St. Thomas. Alex is pain free and pitching in the current season. Thank you again!

I had ankle replacement surgery in Feb. of 2016. Dr. Holthusen and his staff were everything you could hope for. Efficient, accommodating, thorough and, best of all, the new ankle works great and feels great. I’m walking and biking like I did 20 years ago.

I suffered my third and likely worst concussion during the 2016 High School football season. My symptoms simply would not go away. I would have good days and then very, very bad days. My Baseline test seemed okay and even though I was not feeling like myself all the medical help I received deemed me ‘okay to compete.’

After being put in contact with Dr. Olson and Chris Ashton, they quickly identified where I was struggling and directed me to work with Michael Steiner to improve my vestibular awareness. After, only a few sessions I was feeling immensely better. The staff at TCO was able to quickly identify the specific problem that I was having. And they were able to help me get the therapy that I so desperately needed.

Many Thanks, TCO!

Dr. Kirksson has treated my husband and I for back and knee pain. We have been pleased with the treatments we have received. We have recommended Dr. Kirksson to others. Always treats us with respect, answers all of our questions and takes time to listen to us. We are very pleased we have found a doctor that we trust to do the best for us.

In March of 2016, I suffered a downhill skiing accident, while racing out in Colorado. I had been downhill skiing for over 35 years without any major injuries. I tore my ACL and meniscus in the accident and needed surgery. Dr. Meisterling listened to my story and with great compassion reassured me that I would be able to downhill ski again. At my age, I found this surgery to be challenging and the recovery was long (I’m not so patient when it comes to healing). Dr. Meisterling’s team was encouraging and reassuring. I did get back out skiing this past winter, and was able to return to racing – albeit at a lower speed. My recovery and return to skiing took a special kind of courage. That courage was initiated from the care and reassurance of the team at TCO. I feel very grateful for the skillful ACL reconstruction and great care afterwards.

In March of 2017, my daughter had a very similar downhill skiing accident. Although there are other ortho clinics closer to my home that I could’ve chosen, there was no question in my mind who I was going to trust my daughter’s surgery and recovery to. I returned to Dr. Meisterling and my daughter is recovering like a champ! I would rather have a second ACL reconstruction than to have one of my own kids go through the process; but I feel confident that she is getting the best care. I sincerely hope that I never need to bring any family members back to see Dr. Meisterling again…but if this kind of care is needed, I will return without a second thought!

Dr. Sanders performed ACL and meniscus repair on my knee in October 2016. I am so impressed with not only how fabulous my knee works today, but how he and his team worked together from start to finish. TCO is a first class operation, from the minute you check in (whether at the clinic level or hospital) all the way through rehab. My knee works better than it has in years and long before surgery. Dr. Sanders made me feel as though I was the most important patient and allowed me the time I needed to ask questions for what I deemed a “very scary” surgery. He even drew me pictures, so I would be as informed as possible. No doubt about it, if I need any future orthopedic care, TCO is the answer for me.