Patient Testimonials

It’s not easy to say, “Yes, give me a new knee.”  However, after months of knee pain after a fall and a subsequent diagnosis of bone on bone and arthritis, I was ready.  Dr. Szalapski addressed my concerns and questions with patience and kindness and I was put at ease.  Thanks to him for my new knee and thanks to his staff, Jessica and Joe, for their timely responses to my calls and questions. I can’t say enough about the excellent after care of the nursing staff at Fairview Southdale Hospital. The entire experience with TCO was more than I could have hoped for.

I have been pain free since my surgery July 13, 2016.  It was scary but everyone was great.  Dr. Peterson always had such confidence. He was so sure of himself he got me to also believe in him.   I’m so glad I did aside from the immediate pain from the recovery process which was not fun. I would recommend Dr. Peterson and I would do it again.

I had arthritis on my hip and it wasn’t too annoying, but with my Parkinson’s I had two bad falls. My hip must have moved because I was bone on bone and it was extremely painful after that.  I tried shots and therapy, but after the last fall I couldn’t get the surgery done fast enough.  If you are considering this surgery don’t suffer, get it done and improve your quality of life.

Dr. Butterfield fixed my 95 year-old mother’s broken femur.  Within only a few months’ time, she was “up and at ‘em” with the aid of a walker.  Today, she navigates short distances without aid.  From pre-op through the mending process, Dr. Butterfield has earned our respect, trust, and appreciation by exceeding expectations in every way. We see him as a highly skilled surgeon whose valued time and attention are thoughtfully shared.  We look forward to his charming follow-up appointments. 

Had my knee replaced on June 1st by Dr. Butterfield. After months of trying various options to relieve my knee pain, it was decided to do a total knee replacement. Dr. Butterfield did a FANTASTIC job! I have my quality of life back after only 3 months. I couldn’t be happier with the outcome!

I would recommend Dr. Hunt to anyone he is the best surgeon bar none.

*Steven had a knee replacement and shoulder replacement done with Dr. Hunt at TCO

Dr. Gerlach performed an emergency transfer of a tendon to my thumb. I now have full use of my thumb on my dominant hand. Throughout the pre-op and post-op visits, he explained everything in detail and always seemed like he had all the time in the world to answer my questions. Dr. Gerlach was very skilled and kind. In addition, the hand therapist, Lisa Smith, who works closely with him, provided great therapy and advice on improving strength and range of motion. Lisa is also very talented and kind. Thank you so much.

Randy Wittman, former NBA player and coach, had been experiencing continual knee and hip pain for 20-plus years before he came to Twin Cities Orthopedics’ Brian O’Neill. Dr. O’Neill performed hip surgery for Randy, and then a knee replacement 6 weeks later.

With help from TCO’s EXCEL Program and Dr. O’Neill, Randy was able to return to his regular lifestyle, traveling, playing golf, and walking without pain. “I’ve gone through a lot of surgeries—back, three knee replacement operations—and the EXCEL Program was the best. It wasn’t like being in a hospital. I went from the surgery to a private suite, and was connected to a nurse for the whole process of both my hip and knee—that nurse is like a sister to me now,” says Wittman. “And for insurance and billing, you get one bill. That’s it, at the end of the process. It made everything so much easier for me to use the EXCEL Program.”

*Randy Wittman’s story was featured in the September ’16 Issue of MPLS St. Paul Magazine. See more here

I just wanted to make sure that I fully expressed my appreciation for all of the people at Twin Cities Orthopedics. They ALL went above and beyond my expectations in order to help me with my unique and untimely injury. And ALL truly means each and every one. From the very first interaction it was as if I had gone to another level of patient care that I had never experienced before.

When I came by to drop off the imaging CD from my ER visit, the very personable and exceptionally nice woman at reception took extra time to upload the CD so that I could keep the disk for backup. She also took the time to hand carry it to the imaging department as her computer terminal was not confirming the upload. Lisa Long went the extra mile to fit me into Dr. Coetzee’s schedule so that he could perform the surgery before he went out of town. And then she went another extra mile to fit me in on a reschedule when insurance referral issues delayed the first surgery opportunity. Mary Wolf and Kristine Odegard both put in a herculean effort to get my insurance’s referral approved in two days, when it usually takes the system ten to fourteen. Larry Nilsson, Dr. Coetzee’s Physician Assistant with Jackie Fritz took out the stitches and advised me with care. And every interaction was personable, kind and not hurried or dismissive in any way. Each of these feats alone puts Twin Cities Orthopedics in the incredible category, but for them to all happen in coordination to attend to a patient’s urgent need is a health care synergy that is head and shoulders above any other medical interaction I have had in my 57 years – and my penchant for extreme sports has given me many interactions from which to claim my assessment to be authoritative. And of course, the personable and positive attitude of one of the very small handful of the very best foot and ankle doctors in the world – Dr. Coetzee – gave comfort and confidence that the best possible outcome for this unfortunate injury is in the cards. There just could not have been a better clinic to go to as Twin Cities Orthopedics and Dr. Coetzee are simply in a stand-alone, superlative category of patient care.

I met Dr. Eggert after I broke both bones in my lower right leg while going to get the mail and slipping on ice.  He performed surgery, including putting a titanium rod inside the tibia from the knee to the ankle, along with screws to hold it in place.  The recovery process is close to finished and has gone smoothly, absolutely no complaints.  I am thankful that Dr. Eggert is my doctor.  He is a kind, caring doctor, skilled surgeon, and a very nice person.  I am very pleased with the work he did and would highly recommend him to others in a similar need.

The EXCEL program sounded too good to be true. However, I had a nice comfortable suite, no ugly hospital gown and I felt much more at ease than in a hospital. Instead of feeling exhausted when leaving the hospital after surgery, I felt somewhat rested and closer to “normal.” I even got to drink a coke!

I highly recommend the EXCEL program. The care was great and I felt very comfortable there.

I am an active person and a professional gardener. I was able to work this spring after having surgery at the end of January. I got a lot of support and encouragement from Dr. Mair and Erin. I am even planning a backpacking trip this fall. Last year I was afraid these things would not be possible.