Any experience with these NY area OS?

[njknee]

I need a TKR and would like to know if anyone has had a TKR with any of the following and your experience:
DR Joseph Zuckerman (NY)
Dr Steven Haas (NY)
Dr Daniel Mulholland (NJ)

I don't know anyone who has had surgery with any of them and would appreciate any guidance, including which type of prosthesis was used.
Thanks

[jathib]

You might also want to consider Dr. Ira Kirschenbaum in White Plains. He's not my doctor but he posts regularly on WebMD and he specializes in replacement surgery. I've heard nothing but good things. If I lived closer he would do my next TKR. Here's a pointer to his web page:

http://www.walkandmove.com/home/

[emilylauren]

Hi,

Has anyone heard anything good or bad about ortho surgeon, Riley Williams at the Hospital for Special Surgery in NYC. 

[Plumb]

http://orthodoc.aaos.org/hartzband/

He is one of the best!

[davisesq212]

The Hospital for Special Surgery is the #1 orthopedic hospital in the country.  If you can, go there.  The best orthopedic surgeons are there.  I have had 3 surgeries there, my mother had 2, and my father had one.  All very successful.

[daisygirl2]

The Hospital for Special Surgery is the #1 orthopedic hospital in the country.  If you can, go there.  The best orthopedic surgeons are there.  I have had 3 surgeries there, my mother had 2, and my father had one.  All very successful.

I agree. I have had 4 surgeries there and they were successful. Also, the OS's there are very creative and will do anything to help solve your problem.

[Rhiannon]

Though I have not been to HSS (yet), I have a consult scheduled with Dr. Paul Pellicci.  Does anyone have any opinions about him?

Thanks,

Rhiannon

[adevlop]

I also agree. I am currently a patient at the hospital for special surgery, and I keep asking myself why I ever waited to go there. I first saw Dr. Answorth Allan, who is the surgeon for the New York Knicks. He was great, but felt that my problems were so severe that I would greatly benefit from seeing a colleague of his. Her name is Dr. Beth Shubin Stein and she is a patella-femoral specialist who has been doing everything she can to help me. I absolutely love her, and I feel that if you have an opportunity to see a surgeon at this hospital you should. I am also seeing Dr. Jennifer Solomon, a physiatrist at the hospital for PRP treatment in a couple of weeks! Good Luck!

[Potosi]

I have seen a total of 5 doctors at HSS including Drs. Riley Williams and Answorth Allen.I have also had physical therapy at HSS following two surgeries. I was not only extremely disappointed with all of the doctors at HSS, but some of them were extremely rude and condescending, while one was so far off in his diagnoses and so eager to perform surgery that Dr. Allen remarked that "that's the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard, and I'm going to tell Dr. M that to his face."  THe physical therapist at HSS not only apparently knew nothing about how to treat a patient who had arthrofibrosis, or was recovering from lysis of adhesions surgery for it, they actually made me worse by ignoring every red-flag, failing o educate me or even tell me my diagnosis, and having me do every form of aggressive, inappropriate exercises for arthrofibrosis.

It's interesting: Every doctor I saw at HSS either misdiagnosed my problem, ignored my complaints, was incapable of seeing the problem, gave me damaging inappropriate medical advice, or said I would not be alllowed to have surgery because it would make me worse. Well, I knew they were full of it, and I went to two doctors in Vail and Pensacola, and they both sw exactly what was wrong immediately and said they could fix me with surgery, and now I'm proof that HSS is pretty lousy.

[amy1]

I used Dr. Grelsamer (designed online course here) at Mt. Sinai in NYC.  He is excellent and does NOT have an insanelly inflated ego.

[subwayknees]

Interesting, I am waiting to see Dr. Russell Wilson at The Hospital For Special Surgery and the post in this thread is literally the ONLY one I have ever seen that said anthing negative about the HSS.  I was once told when you are the only one is a group to put someone or something down, you are either a much smarter than anyone else in the group or you don't know what you are taling about.  In this case from hours and days of research on HSS and the other glowing posts here and throughout the net I would suggest the person who had the negatove post about ALL the dos at that hospital take a long look inside and see why she is so negative.  Sometimes hateful people get really bad feedback, anyway I would suggest anyone reading this thread forget about the negative post and understand there is a reason The HSS is the number one orthopedic hospital in the US.

[Potosi]

Usually, people with bad experiences do not publicize them. From all of my experiences in life, and from reading reviews of things on the internet, a negative review is usually worth 4 positive reviews. I'm not a hateful person, although I have a right to be after my experiences at HSS. If you look on this board, talk to people in the world, you will also find many negative opinions about HSS.

There's a reason super-star players from the Mets have had so much trouble with their health, and the smart ones opted to not use HSS doctors.

[huntingandmoon]

Well, I have to agree with the negative reviews of HSS.  I was there in January 2012 for the pain & instability of a TKR 4 years earlier.  I saw Dr. Westrich, he was OS#4 and the worst of the bunch.  The first person I was introduced to was one of his research assistants.  She asked a few questions (to which I answered no), said thank you and walked out of the room.  I overheard her telling Dr. Westrich my responses. He finally came into the room, asked some questions, did a clinical exam & looked at the x-rays.  He said he saw nothing really wrong but did feel a little instability of the knee.  He told me to "condition my body" and was very confident that would help with the pain and instability of the knee.  Really?? I did pool therapy, a ton of more PT, acupuncture, chiropractic care, had of x-rays and triple phase bone scans and a liner exchange, told my pain was referred from my back, blah, blah...nothing helped and I was getting worse each day.

Finally, I saw a local OS who is on the younger side, with a fellowship under his belt. He did a diagnostic injection to help determine if the pain was truly in my knee or referred from my back.  I had no pain what-so-ever after the injection.  Fast forward, I just had a total revision of the knee...guess what.  The medial side of the implant was completely loose and the lateral side was too tight because the cuts were made wrong. I was told the entire mechanisum was put in wrong. Why an OS at the #1 hospital in the country for orthopedics couldn't think to do an injection is beyond me.  Could it be, getting a research paper published is far more important than helping the patient? 

The only positive thing I can say about HSS is the Radiology Department.  Super friendly staff, very competent radiologists and the view from the waiting room is spectacular.

Diana

[joanfan123]

I am currently seeing an OS at HSS, and I am scheduled to have a diagnostic injection on Monday. I think a person's experience has more to do with their OS than the hospital as a whole.

[Potosi]

I agree that you make judgments about an entire hospital based on your experience with your doctor at that hospital. My judgement of HSS is based on my experience receiving treatment at HSS over three years, which included the physical therapy department (over 4 different therapists) and seeing five different Orthopedics Surgeons at HSS. I have them plenty chances to help me, and they crushed the hope I placed in their experience and reputation.  I know HSS is good at many common procedures, and even many complex ones, but in my experience, HSS is not a place to go for treatment for Arthrofibrosis - no place in NYC is, unfortunately.