Patient Testimonials

Dr. James Bircher replaced my left knee on September 9th, 2025. It feels amazing and I am super happy with him and his team! They have been very professional and courteous toward me. Thank you again to Dr. Bircher and his team. I am looking forward to having my right knee replaced on January 6th.

For years I suffered with knee pain attributed to arthritis. After suffering a few falls, which unfortunately had me landing on my knees, I began going to physical therapy in hopes of strengthening the knee and reducing the pain. The therapist at TCO highly recommended me to Dr. Bircher.

He has been wonderful with his calm and patient personality! He gently guided me through alternative procedures to surgery, since I felt I was not ready to go through with an operation yet. The cortisone injection sadly had no effect on my pain. A few months later, we tried a gel injection. It worked for two months and significantly relieved my pain, but not the full six months like we had hoped. We tried the gel injection one more time after a six-month break and there it had no effect that time. He never made me feel rushed during our appointments and he let me take my time voicing my fears and concerns. Thanks to Dr. Bircher’s patience and dedication in trying to find alternative solutions before surgery, I finally agreed to the knee replacement.

On the day of my procedure, I was reassured, impressed, and comforted during visits from his team as they each explaining their “role” in the process. The Rom-tech device and the ice compression machine were both vital in my first month of recovery. Regular physical therapy following the procedure was another requirement to help strengthen the knee and start regaining mobility. I cannot say enough good things about Dr Bircher, his team, and the TCO Excelsior therapy staff!

Thank you to Dr. Knowlan and his team for everything they did to make my knee replacement journey so successful and pleasant. I have enjoyed working with all of them. Dr. Knowlan is the best! His astounding expertise, surgical skills, and personality are astounding.

Dr. Kelly repaired my rotator cuff a few years ago and recently replaced one of my knee joints. Both surgeries went flawlessly. I will be forever thankful for his meticulous professionalism, kind bedside manner, and sunny disposition.

I am pleased that I chose Dr. James Bircher to do both of my knee replacements. I had my right knee replaced a little over a year ago and my left knee replaced three months ago. Both surgeries were outstanding and the recovery times were amazing. Dr. Bircher and his entire team were very personable and informative. I recommend Dr. Bircher to anyone who needs knee replacement surgery.

I have been putting off my knee replacement since 2020, when I was first diagnosed. I had heard nothing but good things about Twin Cities Orthopedic. The list of doctors was a bit overwhelming, so I looked at testimonials and found that Dr. Bircher’s name came up often. Dr. Bircher and his staff were more than helpful. Everything went well with no surprises. After two months, I am back to doing everything I was doing before the surgery including swimming! Thank you to Dr. Bircher and his team for everything!

After over a decade of arthritis on the inside of my knee, the pain was becoming unbearable. Dr. Bircher and his team performed a partial knee replacement, and I was back in my feet and on the road to recovery in no time. I just past three months post-op and the pain I had endured for years is completely gone. I am still feeling better every day. I am grateful I chose Dr. Bircher for my procedure.

I had a full knee replacement in August. After two previous scopes, I was out of cartilage and experiencing a lot of pain. I met with Dr. Schmiesing to discuss my situation. It was an obvious next choice to have the surgery. Dr. Schmiesing gave me the option to have him do the surgery or opt for a robotic placement of the knee for 100% accuracy. I chose to go with him doing most of the surgery with robotic assistance. It turned out great! It has been a slow and painful recovery, but I was dedicated to working with the physical therapy staff to hit my range of motion goal. I hit the goal and continue to make sure I am continuing my strengthening and stretching. It has been producing encouraging results. I am not sure yet if I will return to playing pickleball, but I am back to kickboxing, weightlifting, and cardio daily. Thank you to Dr. Schmiesing and his team for being the best in the business!

The right total knee replacement that Dr. Lewis performed was phenomenal. The results I achieved after six weeks are amazing. The physical therapy post-op has been very crucial to my own personal success. However, I also went through pre-op physical therapy which also helped my recovery a ton.

I have been a patient at Twin Cities Orthopedics for 30+ years. I had the pleasure of seeing Dr. Jason Barry and Rebecca Munson in March 2023. Dr. Barry has treated me for bilateral rotator cuff pain and bilateral knee issues. In March 2024, I underwent my first reverse right total shoulder replacement. In April 2025, I had the same procedure done on my left shoulder. Now, I just had my right total knee replacement in Sept 2025.

I was very apprehensive of having my right knee replacement because I had my left total knee replaced in 2019 by a different surgeon. I continue to have nothing but pain from that surgery. I don’t know what the difference between the two knee replacements are, but I am so happy with the outcome of my right knee replacement. I have the utmost faith and confidence in Dr. Barry and his team. To say they care about their patients is an understatement. I am a retired nurse, and their team has some of the best, most competent physician/PA staff I know. I also would like to mention that Seth Engberg and Jared Hansen at TCO Blaine Physical Therapy made a huge difference in my positive recovery. Thank you to the whole team for improving my quality of life!