Patient Testimonials

I wanted to thank Dr. Maura Hartigan for the care she provided me. She helped with the ongoing pain in my back, neck and head due to arthritis that has taken over my body the last several years. I had this same treatment done 3 years ago by another spine specialist. It 100% helped me for 3 years with severe back, neck, and arm pain. Dr. Maura Hartigan was very kind, caring, and did a great job helping me transfer my file to her from another specialist. Dr. Hartigan and her team were kind and caring. She explained the narrowing going on in my back that was not talked about from my last specialist. I’m so thankful I was referred to Dr. Hartigan. I’m so grateful to her and her team for such great care and helping with my ongoing pain.

This is the second knee replacement that I have suffered through but this experience was so much better than the first! My last PT scared me, stating that we would not only walk up to the house of pain, but we would go inside to sit down during the therapy! Yikes. Meeting with Rod Youngdahl, PT was an entirely different experience! He managed my therapy in a very reassuring manner helping me to understand the process and created reasonable expectations for milestones in my recovery. His pleasant, easy-going manner was very encouraging and supportive always checking with me to avoid any unnecessary discomfort while helping me attain my goals for the session. He has helped me achieve great strides in my rehabilitation while enjoying the experience with humor along the way! This therapist is top-notch and a real asset to the organization!

Thank you Dr. Kirksson, I was truly impressed by you! I have seen many doctors over the last years and am looking forward to possible treatment. You focused in on the problem and I was impressed with your knowledge of my case. I have renewed confidence in the system.

I am in my mid 50s and very active. By the time I came to TCO I was ready for a hip replacement. In our first appointment, Dr. O’Neill handed me the implant, explained exactly how it functioned, and described the approach he would use to implant the device. He gave me a realistic timeframe of my return to normalcy. I appreciated his technical approach and confidence that he had with the expected results. My experience was exactly how he had shared with me prior to surgery. I am already back playing sports, biking, and doing a lot of walking. I highly recommend Dr. O’Neill and his wonderful staff!

After a 2.5 year reoccurrence of a herniated lumbar disc, I found myself with pain so intense in my right leg. I couldn’t stand up and put equal weight on both legs until I spent an hour trying to walk around my dining room table while holding onto the chairs. After that “warm up” exercise, I could then walk cautiously throughout the rest of the day. By evening, all I could do was go to bed early and start the entire process over again the next day. After more than a month of this cycle, I met with Dr. Hoel and he outlined some possible options like physical therapy, cortisone shot, or a micro discectomy. He reviewed each alternative and let me make my own decision. I was reluctant to proceed with surgery of any kind even though this procedure was less invasive than others and he had performed hundreds of these in 2022 with a high rate of success. He left me confident that the surgical option was the right step for me. Immediately after the actual surgery, I felt near total relief in my right leg. Although the days and weeks that have followed have come with some morning leg pain, by the 7th week post-surgery, I was nearly 100% pain free.

I certainly attribute my successful outcome to Dr. Hoel’s experience and skill, as well as his support staff, Christine and Julie. Any time I would call into his office, his staff returned my call promptly and offered advice to my immediate questions. On my last appointment with Dr. Hoel (7 weeks post-surgery), he expressed confidence that I should feel total relief with a little more healing time and offered specialized physical therapy if I wished to pursue that. Furthermore, he indicated that I should not experience a reoccurrence of this herniation again and that left me with more ease than at any time during the entire process. From this entire experience I have come to believe this area of medicine requires astute science, but also some degree of art as well. As a result, I couldn’t recommend more highly Dr. Hoel and his support team to anyone with spine/nerve issues.

Dr. Peterson and the entire staff at TCO and the EXCEL Program were amazing. The experience itself was so well prepared and everything was communicated so effectively that I was completely confident in having the surgery. Dr. Peterson and staff were kind, friendly and available. From the process of getting everything in place for the surgery to the pre-op, surgery, overnight recovery and discharge was the very best. I also had follow up with Dr. Peterson, Kate and others from TCO and EXCEL to make sure things were going as expected. Thank you so much to everyone. Literally every person I came in contact with from TCO went above and beyond.

I had the worst pain in my back, which affected the nerves all the way down my legs. After chiropractic care, physical therapy, and a cortisone shot, I had surgery with Dr. Duncan. I feel amazing and am so happy I took this route of care to better my future.

Dr. Fischer was wonderful. He diagnosed my problems immediately and within a day, because of his expertise, I starting getting relief.

Great job by Dr. Ockuly’s team! I am one week out from hip surgery and have no pain in the joint. I am walking and bending with no issue. The surgery went well. His team answered all of my questions and took time to make sure I did not leave with any unanswered questions, and I do ask a lot of them! I only use one crutch outside since it’s winter and I don’t want to slip. I am walking inside without any aids, although I still grab the side rails going up and down stairs just in case. Overall, they did a great job using modern techniques and tools. TCO, Dr. Ockuly, Anne, Dani, and team made the top list and were absolutely the right choice for me.

Dr. Edward Szalapski is absolutely amazing. I have been going to him since 2004. My husband and sister have also had numerous surgeries performed by him. His care team Jessica, Joe (retired now), and Tracy are the best in the business. They all work together so well and treat all patients with the utmost respect. Dr. Szalapski also has a great bedside manner and tells it like it is. He is very thorough with what will be done, expected recovery time, and long-term prognosis. He truly cares about you, the patient, not about lining his pocketbook. If you are in need of an Orthopedic Surgeon, look no further. Dr. Szalapski will take great care of you.