Patient Testimonials

My knee replacement has been a journey from knee pain, orthoscopic meniscus repair surgery, cortisone shots and finally full left knee replacement. Dr. O’Keefe and his team have been with me through all steps, answering questions, offering support and finally helping make the decision to replace a very worn out knee joint. The decision was mine made on the facts that the knee joint and pain was affecting the quality of my life. I am 72 years old and have places to go, things to do, a loving, supportive husband, children and grandchildren, with whom I want to share my life, not observing from the sidelines.

I strongly recommend attending the recommended pre-operation seminar that gives you a great overview of the hospital stay and process. Do the exercises daily leading up to the surgery and after! Ask questions.

My surgery was on a Wednesday and I was home, with help from my husband, on Friday. Physical therapy in the hospital, at home, and at the clinic has enabled me to walk without a cane at home, except on stairs, within 3 weeks and slowly ride a stationary bike, only for 5 minutes within 4 weeks after the surgery. All of this success is due to the wonderful, positive, supportive team that works with Dr. O’Keefe and Twin Cities Orthopedics. I totally believe that my successful recovery is due to this team and would highly recommend them to anyone with knee joint pain. I had arthritis in the joint and no meniscus. They dealt with all of this and I could not be happier!

My only regret is that I didn’t do the surgery sooner! I put it off for too long, thinking I needed to wait until I was older (I am 46). I had no idea how much pain and discomfort I was in until I awoke from surgery. Completely and totally pain free, discomfort free!

Dr. Mair and his staff are amazing! I loved everything about my recovery suite (wish I could have stayed longer) and my nursing staff was wonderful. It was a wonderful experience, it really was!

I had my surgery on Dec. 8th, 2015, and I write this two months later. I am 48, and have always been very active and in pretty good shape. I’m amazed at how quickly I recovered, and how smooth the process was, from start to post op. Dr. O’Neill has been great and his entire team (Marni, Jessie and my awesome nurse, Ashley, to name a few) were fantastic. I used a walker for two days, graduated to a cane, and in four days was walking with no assistance. I started light exercise in three weeks and now am doing all the physical activity I was doing before my hip started bothering me. Every day gets a little better. I would recommend this procedure and Dr. O’Neill and his team to anyone.

*Matt had an Anterior Approach Hip Replacement performed by Dr. Owen O’Neill.

I haven’t felt this good in years and finally have my life back. According to my family, friends, and neighbors, my recovery was incredible and amazing. The neighbors saw me walking to the corner when I got the home the day after surgery and around the block the third day after surgery. By the fourth day post-surgery I was shopping with a friend. I used a walker until I came home from that shopping trip, then decided I didn’t need it and went to a cane for a few days. My surgery was June 15; by the middle of July I marched in the Aquatennial Parade and went hiking in the Grand Canyon the beginning of August. I haven’t felt one twinge of pain since I went in for surgery and had stopped all pain medicine after four days.

A woman from church encouraged me to see Dr. Brian O’Neill at Twin Cities Orthopedics, where she works. She told me about the great results his patients had and that most came to their two week checkup walking normally. I had the anterior approach total hip replacement surgery. I was very pleased with the information I was given to prepare myself for surgery. The class was helpful also, not only for me but for my husband to know what to expect after surgery. I found that the anterior approach had much fewer restrictions during recovery. I cannot say enough about the level of care I received, as well as the friendliness of everyone. I won’t hesitate to have the same surgery on my other hip.

I found all aspects of my hip replacement, treatment and care to be a great experience. Accommodations, food, and above all, the people who worked on and with me were terrific.

Just had my one year checkup with Dr. Deal following surgery on February 17, 2015 to remove a synovial cyst at L4, L5 which included a spinal fusion. I highly recommend Dr. Deal to anyone with back/spinal issues. My surgery went very well, my recovery has been complete and I couldn’t be happier with my choice to have Dr. Deal as my orthopedic surgeon. I found him to be caring, competent, professional and very skilled.

When deciding the best course of action for my knee replacement surgery, I chose the TCO EXCEL Program for several reasons.

It was very important to me that I minimize the risk of complications from such an invasive surgery. Dr. Anseth explained to me that there was a lower percentage of risk of infection by having my surgery at the Twin Cities Orthopedics Surgery Center rather than at a traditional hospital. In addition, I would not need to spend the first day or two in the hospital prior to going to an extended care facility. The EXCEL Program allowed me to be transported directly from the surgery center to the extended care facility. This enabled me to begin physical therapy literally immediately and shortened my overall length of stay.

While in the extended care facility, I received excellent care! I was monitored twenty-four hours a day. My pain level was monitored closely, taken seriously, and addressed immediately. Everyone I dealt with was kind, respectful, and understanding. A real class act!

To my husband and I, the best part came after I returned home. Everything (and I mean EVERYTHING), was included into one bill! This saved us so much time consuming paperwork and frustration. This was extremely convenient.

I would definitely recommend the EXCEL program!

My AMAZING experience started from scheduling my appointment via phone with her staff. They had her booked until Thursday, a whole week out, but they were aware of my pain and urgency and got me in the next morning to see her to get my knee checked out. I arrived to my appointment the next day 50 minutes early which I let the staff at the front know I was early and no worries. I no more than sat down after doing my paperwork and out comes a lady to take me back already! I was shocked! I got into the room, explained everything and they started taking images right away! The flow was going amazing, each person super friendly and service crazy good! I finished images and took me back to my room which not much longer in pops Dr. Saterbak and her assistant! I was again shocked, as most places I am used to waiting forever in the room for the Dr. She did her exams and tests and she re-sorted her whole schedule out to fit me to go get an MRI right away this morning and find out today the results with her shuffling surgery and other patients and me to get everything done hopefully by 2pm today. I was super thrilled and agreed of course. I got approved for my MRI in less then a minute, got walked down there by a super friendly staff member and paperwork completed right away. After that, I was greeted by an awesome, friendly MRI technician! He went through everything with me, locked my stuff up and made me comfortable and it went super fast! When finished, he helped me up and walked me back down to Dr. Saterbak’s unit to be seen right away! I was planning to see her around 1:30pm and it was around 9:30am and I already had images, test, MRI and results ready to be told to me!! I was blown away by the speed and efficiency to make this go so smoothly! I got the results and scheduled surgery right away. All I can say is, I won’t recommend anywhere else, nor anyone else! This place actually made me feel at ease and comfortable which is hard to find places like this, but I found mine! I couldn’t say enough about the staff there and doctor. They were superb. Hand offs to each other were so smooth and friendly and they are true experts at what they do! The doctor, she is amazing and super knowledgeable supported with an expert team! I am truly happy and blessed to have been so lucky to find her. I will recommend everyone here and share my wonderful experience with everyone! Thank you all!!

The surgical team was phenomenal and everyone left me feeling confident and well cared for. I especially appreciated that my best friend was able to be with me up until it was time to roll into the operating room. It was such a big help in reducing that intensely anxious pre-operating feeling!

After surgery I was able to recover at the EXCEL center instead of the hospital. I absolutely recommend that to anyone who is able to qualify. I couldn’t get over the superb care and quiet, peaceful environment. Thank you Justina and company! You are all fantastic!

And it meant a lot to me that Dr. O’Neill came to see me that eve (surgery day) and walked with me a bit. It is such a great feeling that my doctor is as excited about these results as his patients are. And yes, I was up walking with my walker in just hours after my surgery. I went from walker to a cane within a few days, and within a week and a half, I no longer needed the cane. By one month post-op I was walking 3-4 miles each day and back to work. Throughout the rest of the summer and fall I averaged 35-40 miles a week walking with no pain.

Not exaggerating even a little, Dr. O’Neill and his great staff have given me back the ability to enjoy my family, friends and work. There is no way to express what it means to me to be able to move, sleep and have more energy for anything I want to do without constant exhausting pain. And such a gift to have my life back so swiftly with no need for extensive physical therapy, no extensive scarring from muscles being cut and so much less pain than I imagine a traditional approach would have generated.

Heartfelt thanks to all of you! You are the best!

Dr. Karlstad has been unequaled in patience, expertise and care. I totally trust him and know that he will do anything he can to make you “new” again. He is an EXCELLENT surgeon.