Patient Testimonials

I am writing this short story about my suffering with different kinds of pain in my hand and wrist and my unbelievable recovery process. For many years I have had pain in my wrist for the type of work I performed with the use of my hands. Back in February of 2015, I discussed this problem with my personal physician and he had me do different exercises and wear a hand brace. The pain was not going away so I made an appointment in December to see Dr. Clare McCarthy at Twin Cities Orthopedics. From that day forward we came up with a plan of action to regulate the treatment of the pain in my hand and wrist.

After taking an X-ray of both of my wrists and showing me the problem areas that were causing some of the pain, we decided the first step is to perform Endoscopic Carpal Tunnel on both wrists. My left wrist surgery was scheduled for January 15, 2016 and the right one on February 5, 2016. Both surgeries and recoveries were a success There is no numbness, stiffness, and pain in my fingers. I have full control on my motion and straight in both wrists. The second step to recovery was to get control over the arthritic pain on the lower part of my thumbs. This was caused from repetitive use of my hand in the type of work I performed in the past. Pain typically occured during/after gripping and pinching activities; such as turning doorknobs, buttoning clothes, tying shoes, loosening a jar lid and so on. After going through different medication, hand splints, and cortisone injections, my thumbs got worse. The treatments were no longer working or providing me with relief.

Dr. Clare McCarthy, her PA Claire Joubert, and I discussed the next solution. We all agreed on Thumb CMC (carpal-metacarpal) Joint Osteoarthritis and CMC Excisional Arthroplasty with Fascia Lata Graf, which means removing the arthritic bone (trapezium) and replacing it with a soft tissue graft. On February 27, 2019, Dr. Clare McCarthy and her PA, Claire Joubert, performed the above surgery to my right hand. Clair Joubert, PA did the closing, which was absolutely perfect. After surgery, the ecovery was long. I was in a cast for 4 weeks to prevent me from pinching. After getting the cast removed I started thumb and wrist exercises to strengthen hand. My PT for 3 weeks was Kimberly McClintick and she was great. My theory behind getting my strength back was no pain, no gain. I have been doing very well without any pain and will be playing my first game of golf since the surgery on May 4th!!

In closing here are a couple of statements that my father told me: No matter who you are, no matter where you come from you are beautiful. I believe there’s an inner power that makes winners. The winners are the ones who really listen to the truth of their hearts. This is what I think of the people that helped me through this ordeal. Thank you all!

I am very thankful that I received such outstanding care from Dr. Gesensway at Twin Cities Orthopedics. He is a true professional and a superior surgeon. My healing has come along so much quicker than expected due to his skills. I have never fractured a wrist before (Colles fracture) but from the minute I walked in the door and met Dr. Gesensway, I suspected I was in for a good experience. I was by no means disappointed in any of the initial or follow-up care he and his team provided. Many thanks to David, Julia, Laura, and many others with whom I have had the pleasure to interact as a result of the bad fall I took on the ice. Thanks to all of you!

Having on and off left hand/wrist pain for a while, I just brushed it off to my occasional aches and pains I get from having Lupus (an autoimmune disorder). It had gotten so bad, I had sucked it up and went to TCO Urgent Care. They were amazing at helping. They did xrays and sent me to physical therapy but, like everything else in my life, they found nothing. A good month passed, the pain got worse and then got better. But one day it was so bad I was in tears. I messaged Jenna, his care coordinator, to see when I could get into see Dr. Bakker next, she got me in right away. He assessed me and relooked at my images but knew something was not right.

Had an MRI a few days later and then received a call from Dr. Bakker himself. I ended up seeing him for follow up appointment, where he informed me that I, in fact, had some rare issue with my scaphoid bone and the loss or the stop of blood flow, possibly due to Lupus. we went over all possible issues and outcomes. I tried to get him to amputate (jokingly) because I was in so much pain. He assured me that we could do something but was very doubtful it would work. He scheduled surgery at the new Edina Orthopedic Surgery Center and the team was wonderful. Dr. Bakker had informed me and my family that he was unsure that the bone graph would take because of how hard (dead) the bone was. But he had hope! I am 3 months post-op and have little to no pain and blood flow back to the bone. Jenna had to put up with many questions and tears from me, yet she always was so kind and helpful. And Dr. Bakker, well he is pretty amazing. Even though he wouldn’t amputate (haha), he put up with me and my weird issue and gave me hope. I could not thank them enough!

My son, James, broke several bones in his hand and arm when he crashed at high speed during a BMX race in February of 2018. The doctors wanted to do surgery on him there, but I knew I would rather take him to Twin Cities Orthopedic back home. Immediately upon returning from Tulsa, Oklahoma, he was seen at TCO. Surgery was scheduled and the physician meticulously repaired multiple fractures in James’ hand and arm. Following pin removal and physical therapy with your offices, James was back on his bike to win at his first national competition back from his injuries! James continued with a successful season and finished the year with a ranking of 7th in the nation of 16 year old expert boys. He continues to ride and compete. The smile says it all. Thank you, TCO!

I would recommend Dr. O‘Keefe and Nathan to my friends and family. Dr. O’Keefe and Nathan were very informative on how the surgery was needed, my right thumb didn’t respond to the shots anymore. Surgery went well and PT has gone really well. They have been complemented by other surgical results. Little or no pain. Do what the Dr. says and the results are great!

Dr. Bakker is knowledgeable, patient, caring, positive, and encouraging. I fractured my wrist in three places and was terrified to even think about surgery. From the very first appointment I had with Dr. Bakker I felt at ease and encouraged that the process would be okay. He recommended for me to have surgery and get a plate and screws in my wrist. Once he thoroughly explained the procedure and the recovery time I immediately felt confident moving forward. He very much advises what is best for you and your health, he does not push or pressure you to make a decision.

His team is amazing, I cannot rave about them enough. From start to finish they made me feel like I could have surgery all over again and be completely comfortable. They have great personalities and are always positive, they will not move forward with anything until they explain what they are doing and why they are doing it.

Once the surgery was completed, I got a call the date after not only from the care nurse but also from Dr. Bakker himself which is very impressive and made me feel even more taken care of. They also did a great job at helping me get set up with therapy appointments immediately following. I am so thankful I got Dr. Bakker and that he was encouraging throughout it all. I would recommend him and his team to anyone!

Extremely pleased, this was my second carpal tunnel surgery first done by another provider. Dr. Bakker did this one and I cannot say enough nice things about this experience. Dr Bakker is very personable and caring. Thank you.

I only have positive comments to say about Dr. Bakker. He’s an expert in his profession. His skill and advice on rehab were spot on. I was very fortunate to have found him to help me gain back my quality of life. I would “go beyond” highly recommending him to anyone who needs care in the area of his expertise. Thank you Dr. Bakker for getting me to where I am.

Dr. Arntson replaced my left hip joint 5 months ago with very good results. Before the surgery I had a lot of pain and trouble walking more than 100 yards. I trusted him so much that I had him perform surgery on my right wrist for carpal tunnel 6 weeks ago. Both surgeries were successful. He is a caring professional in and out of the surgery suite. He is also a sharp dresser when not in scrubs.

I was in a car accident this past May that put me in the emergency room. I was found to have a broken scaphoid bone in my left hand (of course my dominant hand). The first opinion was “immediate surgery.” I sought a second opinion from Dr. Gesensway; he examined my x-rays and CT scan of my hand very carefully and discovered that the bones in my hand had auto-fused. Because the bones had auto-fused, the scaphoid was stabilized and could heal with assistance of a new ultra-sound device that would trigger blood flow to the bone to accelerate healing without surgery. I chose to use the device as instructed and IT WAS SUCCESSFUL. The bone has healed without surgery!