Patient Testimonials

After almost completely giving up, I found Dr. Kelly online. I will never forget the day I was in his office for my appointment. The first thing Dr. Kelly said was, “There is always hope!” He listened to me with compassion, and addressed my concerns.   He then brought in the ultrasound and took a look for himself.  He discussed the fairly new Tenex procedure  and stated he felt I would be a good candidate for this.  I had complete faith in him, and agreed I would give the surgery a try. The procedure was fairly new. The folks from Tenex came up to Minnesota and were present in the surgery room when he did my procedure. No medication was needed other than a local shot to numb my elbow.  I was in and out in less than 20 minutes. After a short 10 minute stay in recovery, I was able to leave and even drive myself home. I had my procedure on Friday, and the following Monday I was back to work.  My pain was gone, and continues to be.  I am now three years post-surgery.  I still think about Dr. Kelly and his team. They truly saved my life. The pain had gotten the best of me.  Dr. Kelly and his team were professional, experienced, and definitely patient advocates.  Dr. Kelly also delivered  100% quality care at an affordable price.  I would highly recommend him and will visit him again when it’s time to have the procedure on my right elbow. Thanks Dr. Kelly and team.

My daughter, Alison, tore her ACL 13 months ago in an AAU basketball game. It was a violent collision that left Alison wondering if she would ever play basketball again. This was very traumatic for her because she was a highly rated player with a number of potential scholarship opportunities. Her initial diagnosis was incorrect and, with the urging of college coaches that were recruiting her for basketball, we decided to get a second opinion and MRI which revealed a complete ACL tear, bone bruising, sprained MCL and some cartilage damage (did not know the extent at the time). The first surgeon said she had two choices: no surgery and attempt to play her senior season and not play in college, or have the surgery and miss most, if not all of the season, but be ready for college. On top of that, it would be almost a month before he could operate. This was heart breaking news and left Alison in very poor spirits. Her White Bear Lake High School team was returning most of the players from the previous year and was the favorite to return to the state tournament the following spring. She was determined to have the surgery and still play her senior year. We decided to look at other options and fellow athletes recommended Dr. Saterbak.

We met with Dr. Saterbak on a Friday and she had surgery the following Wednesday! Alison smiled for the first time in weeks after that meeting. Dr. Saterbak could see no reason she couldn’t return to play that season and would do everything she could to help her. We targeted January as a return date. The surgical care at High Pointe Surgery Center was top notch and the surgery was successful with no further cartilage damage found. Alison then started the long road to recovery. The summer was tough as she followed her AAU basketball team around, including going to Cincinnati, over July 4th. Her quad still was not firing so she still struggled getting around, however, in Cincinnati it finally fired and Alison was now able to walk and begin the next step of rehab. At this time, January seemed a long way off. With that in mind, Dr. Saterbak and her physical therapists still thought that was an attainable target. With their help, Alison dove head first into her recovery and began making extreme strides. Amazingly, she passed all her physical tests in October and set her sights on returning for the very first game in late November! After consulting with her doctors, she was cleared to start practicing in early November and did start the first game of the season. She made the all-tournament team. Alison’s minutes were managed by her coach during the regular season to save her for the end. While she had some pain in the knee, it never really swelled and was very stable. Late in the season, she was undercut and landed directly on the repaired knee, causing her to miss some games at the end of the season. We met with Dr. Saterbak and it was determined that the ACL knee was tighter and stronger than the good knee and we were hopeful she could play in the playoffs.
Alison returned to help her team to the State Tournament where they beat the number two ranked team in the state and finished fourth! She topped it off by making the All-Tournament team and was selected to play in the State All-Star Game. She also accepted a scholarship to play basketball at the University of Minnesota – Duluth.

We have no doubt that none of this would have been possible without the care and direction of Dr. Saterbak. Her willingness to help Alison recover this season played a huge role in her return.

We are now a year out since the initial surgery. Alison is pain free and no longer wears a knee brace and has complete confidence in her knee and the work of Dr. Saterbak.

Today I am 5 weeks post-surgery for my knee replacement. Dr. Lewis did a fantastic job on my knee and of course, we can’t forget about his PA, Libby. The two of them always give me excellent care. Since my progress has been superb, today is my last day of physical therapy. What a team. They have taken care of me for years. Thank you.

I had two knee replacements with Dr. Michael Meisterling and his PA, Shaun O’Keefe. I had my left knee done about 4 months ago and my right knee 4 weeks ago. I had a wonderful experience with the surgery. The surgery center at Lakeview in Stillwater was great and the nurses and staff, as well as Dr. Meisterling, made me very comfortable. Even the food was great! I would definitely recommend Dr. Meisterling to anyone considering a knee replacement.

I have had tears in both of my shoulders involving the labrum to each side for the past 5 years or so. I also learned through MRIs that my labrums weren’t developed normally to the socket, and so I endured loose shoulder joints throughout my life. I tried everything from conservative therapy pre-surgery, as well as attempting to “tough it out” and limiting myself from most aspects of any sport. Having an athletic personality I felt continuously frustrated and saw no improvements in stability. Eventually I decided it was time to take action and see a surgeon.

Twin Cities Orthopedics introduced me to Dr. Eggert. The medical knowledge this man has is incredible, he was able to answer all questions I had and explained in great detail the arthroscopic procedures. I knew pretty quickly I was in good hands between Dr. Eggert and his staff. I had my right shoulder operated on mid-February, and the left shoulder done later in March. As I progressed with my therapy program I noticed stability in my shoulder like never before.

I am now a total of four months post-op since my first surgery. Every day I notice improvements and am so thankful and happy with the surgeries. It is a long recovery, but I have been so happy with the results. I would also like to take the opportunity to thank Cathy Carrabre (Physical Therapist) who did an amazing job.

This has been a life changing experience. In a year or so from now I should be able to resume all activities I have missed out on for so long without restrictions. 10/10 experience. You guys are the best.

I applaud all of your great nurses and physical therapists for the great care I received in your overnight unit in Edina. I found all the nurses to be tremendous, so caring and sweet. The physical therapists were also great and the room was wonderful. Overall, a super experience with your EXCEL program. Thank you so very much!

*Mary had a hip replacement with Dr. Owen O’Neill as a participant in TCO’s EXCEL program.

Dr. Karlstad, you probably don’t get feedback from most patients you see who have successful outcomes. Just wanted to send a quick note letting you know that I think the diagnosis of tendonitis in my wrist was spot on, and the cortisone shot worked amazingly well. It was a few days into it and I said to my wife, “I completely forgot about my sore wrist,” which was amazing. Prior to the treatment I couldn’t do anything without it reminding me that it was messed up. It was a major nuisance and pain.

So great job. Thanks for taking care of it.

I’ve been a gymnast all my life; starting at the age of six. I was in love with the sport and good at it too. When I was twelve years old I had elbow pain and went in to see a doctor. He told me that I had osteochondritis dissecans (OCD) in the bone of my elbow. I was held back from gymnastics and locked in a brace for nearly a year and a half, hoping that the rest from gymnastics would allow my bone to regenerate blood flow and heal. That wasn’t the case. Nothing had healed and my gymnastics career was looking bleak. I went to plenty of different doctors looking for second opinions or new options, but had no relief.

This is when I found Dr. Lervick; he told me to go back to gymnastics and we would see how my elbow would hold up. I was informed about the risks, that a piece of my bone could dislodge from the original. In that situation I would need surgery. A couple months later, the worst happened and a chunk of bone within my elbow broke free. At this time I was around 14 years old and approaching the State and Regional Championships. I wasn’t able to attend because of my elbow which left me devastated.

A few weeks later I was in for surgery with Dr. Lervick to do a microfracture surgery. He took the loose bone out of my elbow and punctured tiny holes in my bone to create blood flow. It was a quick four month recovery and I was back at gymnastics. Since then my elbow has caused me no pain and no problems. Currently, I am 19 years old and a division 1 gymnast at Iowa State University. I owe a huge thanks to Dr. Lervick and his team. They helped me complete my dream of being a college gymnast. My elbow and I plan on doing big things and it is all thanks to Dr. Lervick.

After struggling for several years with increasing knee pain due to arthritis-driven meniscus wear (exacerbated by my avid pursuit of adult league alpine ski racing), I decided to have my right knee joint replaced. Dr. Andrea Saterbak was repeatedly recommended to me by local ski team coaches and other racers, and when I learned that she did a fellowship at the Steadman clinic in Vail, that she was affiliated with the US Ski Team and that she was a ski racer herself, I knew she was the surgeon for me. Andrea listened carefully to my goals for the surgery and without sugar-coating the level of effort that would be involved in the recovery, provided the confidence I needed to move ahead. I selected the outpatient option at the High Pointe Surgery Center, and was home by 3 p.m. the day of surgery. As predicted, the recovery is a much slower, longer process, but the post-operative support and physical therapy included in Dr. Saterbak’s practice were instrumental in getting me back on the snow. At 6 months post-op, I was waterskiing and wake surfing. At 9 months post-op, I resumed ski racing (at about 80% speed). Make no mistake – full healing is taking a long time for me. It’s been 14 months since my surgery, and the new knee still is not pain-free, but the discomfort has gone down steadily since the surgery. I’m sure that by the time my second post-op ski season starts this fall, I’ll be back at full speed. Based on my experience surrounding the procedure and my return to the sports I enjoy, it’s easy for me to recommend Dr. Saterbak and her practice colleagues to others. Thank you, Andrea!

Dr. Deal performed surgery on my neck (discectomy and fusion C5 and/or C6) in December 2015. I have degenerative disc disease, had a herniated disc, suddenly last year I was in total pain. My symptoms were getting worse (right arm was going numb, severe neck pain, headaches). They were making it hard to do any type of exercise or sports, even work was a struggle. My family is very athletic and outdoors. I was slowly missing out because of the pain. I cannot tolerate pain medication so that was not even an option. I couldn’t ride my bike more than a few minutes without my arm going numb. I couldn’t keep up with my children. However, Dr. Deal changed all that. I just had my 6 month appointment a few days ago and my x-rays look good. I was given the OK to start jogging again, along with anything else I want to do.

I have been pain free and have not had any numbness in my arm since the surgery. Yesterday I started jogging again. I did a slow, short jog with a friend. Afterward, he said, “Did you realize this is your first time out since last summer and you could go farther than you did last year?”. I realized YES! Truth! This is after no exercising for the last 6 months! A few stretches here and there, slow walking (no power walks). I am simply amazed by Dr. Deal’s work. He knew exactly what needed to be done to get me back to my previous state. I can bike with the kids and not have to stop due to numbness in my arm or pain. Our family is so grateful. Anyone living with chronic pain knows that it is a struggle to just get out of bed some days. When pain is inside the body but not noticeable to the outside world, life can be a struggle. People (even those closest to you) do not and cannot possibly understand. I am happy to say I do not have chronic pain anymore! I am still amazed at how I feel only 6 months after the surgery. My scar is hardly noticeable. I have more energy. Overall, I feel like a new person. Thank you Dr. Deal!