Orthocarolina – Matthews

Dr Spector took great care of us once we were able to see him.

Pleasant Dr. Clark (pediatric surgeon) sent our 11 yr old here for physical therapy to attempt recovery from an elbow fracture surgery with a poor outcome. Our child’s physical therapist couldn’t have been kinder, but I felt like she was working in the dark, because there appeared to be a lack of communication between the surgeon & physical therapist. Frustratingly, I felt like our child was shuffled between physician assistants, surgery with Dr. Clark, months of physical therapy & a consultation with specialist Dr. Gaston. Despite many visits, it feels like the ball was dropped. Our child now types primarily with his pinky on his right hand, because his elbow doesn’t turn properly. He can’t put his palm down. (Imagine you have a permanent handshake-​like elbow angle.) This impacts activities like playing basketball or how one would get change from a cashier’s hand. OrthoCarolina recommended additional surgery on our child, but by going to top medical schools and hospitals, we’ve learned that OrthoCarolina failed to take an xray which reveals a serious post-​surgical complication (synostosis – bone in wrong spot) & that more surgery would be risky. Sometimes it seems best to accept a poor surgical outcome. — — - There is an illuminating healthcare industry movie called DISCLOSURE, only available via SorryWorks! Facebook site, which explains poor medical outcomes. Other ideas for problems. #1) consider calling a NC teaching hospital for a «specialist.» (In-​state, UNC was quite helpful. Out-​of-​state, Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia agreeably did their consultation via telephone.) «#2) Consider private physical therapists (Standouts are St. George Physical Therapy & Matthews Physical Therapy) #3) Medical record errors occur, so purchase & read all records ASAP. When you get copies of xrays, make sure views are individually listed on the disc. If you went to an urgent care facility 1^st, you may need to get records there also. #4) Don’t delay if you suspect problems. If needed, Facebook’s ProPublica Patient Safety Group has members who offer advice & a «SurgeonScorecard» form for reporting errors. Novant Matthew’s Medical Library helps with research. Good luck & let’s post our experiences, helping others!

I love the weekend hours and that part is great. What was not great was the bill. I was charged $ 175 for surgery. I did not get surgery and it was a non woven piece of cloth that the nurse wet and then held it to my wrist. It was the size of 2 to 3 inches wide and about 8 inches long. She cut it to fit my palm to elbow and then started wrapping it with basic beige sports wrap. I had to help her wrap it. Then she said that I should keep my hand flat for about 20 minutes as the non woven fabric hardened. I was leaving and asked her how I was suppose to take a shower, she said to take it off. So it was a temporary splinter. When I got the bill, I called into the business office and complained about the $ 175 charge to wrap it (they charged me $ 17 in addition for the splinter and wrap). I told the business office that it was not surgery and I had to help the nurse. I was told the charge was right. Now this was not the only charge, because there were xrays, doctor, etc. But $ 175 for the time (5 minutes max) to put on the fabric. Way too expensive and they would not reduce it. Be ware of their charges. Way too high
Anne