Patient Testimonials

Dr. Murar saw me after being admitted to the Emergency Room. He went above and beyond in my surgery, as I went into cardiac arrest and he performed CPR on me. I thank him for his quick thinking and doing the surgery so I could walk again. God bless you Dr. Murar.

Thank you, Dr. Ridley, for all your hard work. I had surgery on my tibia due to an electric scooter accident. I recommend him as your orthopedic doctor!

Over the course of the past two and a half years I’ve been fortunate to have Dr. Arntson as my orthopedic surgeon. My first encounter was by chance after an accident left me needing wrist surgery. When I required a full knee replacement the following year, I did not have to think twice in considering which doctor I would choose.

Both surgeries were significant to me as a woman in her early 50s. I had many concerns regarding my recovery, mobility and quality of life. I was thoroughly impressed with the professionalism, care and compassion in which these concerns were addressed. Dr. Arntson showed me that he is a physician that takes the time to work with his patients to provide thorough, high quality feedback.

After each x-ray and ultrasound, he clearly and concisely discussed what he saw and what he felt would be the best next steps regarding my health. He was also patient in answering my questions. I never felt rushed, or that I was taking up too much time needing clarification. In addition, during my pre, mid and post-surgery periods, I received the highest quality of care by Dr. Arntson and his staff. The best way for me to express this is to say that Dr. Arntson strikes the right balance between surgical and soft skills.

The process of working with Dr. Arntson and his team at Twin Cities Orthopedics was extremely streamlined and efficient. Appointments ran on time, phone calls were returned promptly, medications were refilled when needed and concerns were addressed without hesitation. I always felt valued and that my health and recovery mattered.

I believe Dr. Arntson’s character traits are outstanding additions to the Twin Cities Orthopedics team. He gets to know his patients; he remembers you and your specific health concerns while getting to know you as a person. These qualities created trust, built clear, strong lines of communication and created a relational partnership during my medical journeys.

I can’t thank Dr. Arntson and his team enough for the support they gave me to heal, feel strong and have a better quality of life.

Dr. Koch is surely one of the top wrist surgeons in the country! She is incredibly empathetic, listens, understands, explains clearly, takes genuine interest in the patient and follows up with care. Her surgery skills are wonderful. In 2018 I sustained a near complete scapholunate ligament tear in my right dominant wrist while playing tennis. Other doctors did not give me much hope. However, Dr. Koch was quick to see me, get me into the required operative care, very attentive post-surgery, and periodically called me to follow my progress. She was extremely prescient in how the recovery would progress and was very confident I would be back to playing tennis again. Needless to say, two years later I was back to playing tennis and golf, and I have even improved my game thanks to Dr. Koch. Having experienced the incredible turnaround she accomplished with me as a 53 year old man, pretty sure she is amazing with all her patients. I could not be more grateful to Dr. Koch and her team for restoring my hand strength, skills and normalcy in my life!

My experience with Dr. Engasser was 100% positive! He is knowledgeable, positive, precise, and caring. I had a seriously broken ankle and dislocation when I showed up in urgent care (with no idea of the damage I’d done). He spent an entire day working on the ankle to fix the dislocation and got me into a cast pending the reduction of swelling and scheduled surgery. The first surgery resulted in a nonunion and a second surgery had to be performed. Dr. Engasser brought an additional surgeon in on the second surgery to have assistance. He continued to monitor my progress diligently, offering honest assessments of my progress and always providing an encouraging word. When I had a concern about my progress notes and wrote to him about it, he wrote back to me at nearly midnight to indicate that he would be looking into it and making sure a correction occurred. I simply cannot say enough good things about this doctor, you can trust him 100%, both technically as well as having authentic interest in your wellness.

Dr. Ridley is the most caring doctor I have ever had. From calling me at home to ensure I was healing properly, to providing me with the best care I could have asked for. I have been a nurse for over 20 years and am experienced in orthopedic procedures. He is professional, caring, and extremely skilled. I am healing better than I could have hoped and I owe that to Dr. Ridley. His professionalism goes above and beyond, I highly recommend him!

During the fall of 2021, I tore my ACL and meniscus playing football. I was worried about the process ahead of me. Luckily TCO was partnered with my school to take care of situations like mine. My surgeon, Dr. Ryan Hess, was astronomical when it came to taking the steps needed to have a healthy recovery. He made me feel at home with all the staff and physical therapy that went along with the process. He made it clear that it was going to be tough but gave me confidence during the whole process. As a three-sport athlete of hockey, baseball and football, I was concerned that I would struggle to get back to the same level I left off at. Dr. Hess and the TCO family instilled that if I did what they said, that I would be even better than before. This became more than true for me. After 9 months of therapy and recovery, I got go to play baseball again. I learned that trusting the doctors at TCO would make me even better as I went on to make All-Section and the All-State tournament team. For this, I cannot thank Dr. Hess and Twin Cities Orthopedics enough!

After living with chronic back pain for over 20 years, I finally decided to seek help. After meeting with Dr. Wanderman, I found out that my scoliosis had worsened over 25 years to a 55-degree curve and included two herniated disks. Normal daily tasks had become extremely painful and I was preparing myself to accept that living with this pain was something I was going to have to do. Dr. Wanderman changed my life. He is professional, he listens, gives honest feedback, and is an advocate for his patients. My case was major. It included consulting other medical professionals, two surgeries and seven days in the hospital. I am now six months post op and I have zero (I never thought I would say that) back pain. Thanks to Dr. Wanderman, I can enjoy the things I love; spending time with my family, gardening, traveling, hiking, biking and so much more. This Doctor deserves so much praise, he saved my life!

Dr. Engasser patiently listened as I anxiously shared detailed history related to my right ankle. In order return to running, I’d been referred by my son and a coworker to TCO where I met Dr. Engasser. I’d been doing some research and had a great deal of anxiety about what might be needed to reach that goal. Based on MRI results, he diagnosed and prescribed a much less invasive solution. It is with a grateful heart that I share this and without hesitation, recommend Dr. Engasser.

I had gone in to TCO for arm numbness and was hoping to get a PT referral. I was not expecting to find out I needed a cervical fusion and was very surprised in the office to find out I was going to have a major surgery. This was due to the fact that I had spinal cord impingement on MRI. I was scared and nervous. Dr. Harris and his NP, Lisa Benedetto, spent time answering all my questions. I never felt rushed or hurried along during my appts. On the day of surgery, Dr. Harris stopped in to see me before surgery and spent time talking with me about what to expect during/after surgery. He wasn’t rushed at all and made me feel more comfortable. The surgery itself was honestly easier than I was expecting. I had numbness in my left arm almost all the time before surgery. After surgery, this has completely resolved. Pain management was very good after surgery. They were clear on restrictions and possible side effects from surgery, so I knew what to expect at every stage. Jenny, the care coordinator, was able to help me to coordinate disability with my employer and was very helpful. She answered questions left on voicemail or via email in a timely manner. I did call to ask a question a few weeks after surgery, and the response time getting back to me was very short. Staff at TCO is all great, but this team (Dr Harris, Lisa Benedetto, and Jenny) all surpassed my expectations. I would 100% recommend this doctor for any issues involving your spinal cord, neck, or back.