Steven C. Dennis, MD

Dr. Dennis did my lumbar fusion and I also had a negative experience. Several months after surgery when I was having severe pain, he ignored my complaints, made no attempt to make a diagnosis or order additional tests. I decided to get a second opinion. When I got my medical records and read them, Dr. Dennis suggested that I had Munchausen and was simply seeking attention. The next doctor I saw ordered multiple diagnostic tests & then recommended surgery. It turned out my spine hadnt fused at all, so of course I was in pain, legitimately, and it wasn’t due to Munchausen. My 2^nd surgery was much more extensive & serious because they had to re-​do Dennis’ fusion and fuse the level below to stabilize my spine. My recovery was very long and painful, but thanks to the excellent doctor who did my 2^nd surgery, I got through it. My Dad was a doctor so I understand that medicine is an imperfect practice and things go wrong. What I don’t understand is why a doctor would make no effort to diagnose a physical issue, easily documented by a CT scan and/​or discogram, and instead choose to blame it on a mental issue. For those of you who’ve had a good experience with him, that’s great. I initially had a good one too, until there was a problem.

I developed severe pain down my leg from a bulging disc and cyst in my lumbar region, for which my chiropractor ordered an MRI. I made an appointment as a new patient with Dr. Dennis to find out what could be done and brought my MRI with me. Dr. Dennis’ assistant/​nurse briefly examined me, looked at my MRI on the screen, wrote me a prescription for a medication contra-​indicated for my medical history, and gave me a prescription for injections in my back. I NEVER saw the doctor at all. I was charged for and made an appointment with Dr. Dennis, not his nurse. I would never choose a doctor who would let his nurse diagnose the patient and prescribe medication and procedures without even seeing the patient or evaluating the MRI himself.

I am writing this update 2 ½ years after my spinal fusion surgery. The results have been spectacular. The for 4 – 6 months of recovery were real work, but I have completely pain free and able to do anything I want to do. Dr. Dennis did a spectacular job.

LOVE, LOVE, LOVE Dr. Dennis and his PA Megan. I’ve had two anterior-​posterior spinal fusions (L5-​S1 November 2009 and then L4-​L5 in June 2013) and the results have been amazing. Some of you may be questioning why I had to have the second one if Dr. Dennis is so amazing… well, it wasn’t his fault. I’ve had two major car accidents — the last one was in Aug. 2012. Anywhooo… as I was saying, Dr. D is hands down the BEST spine guy out there. His care and concern for his patient’s well being is never in doubt. He is a straight shooter, and he will tell you if surgery is the only option, he doesn’t cut, just for the sake of cutting. I am so glad I found him. Now if people would stop crashing their cars into mine, hopefully I can avoid having to see Dr. D for at least another 10 years!

I too was surprised by the one star rating. Dr Dennis performed a cervical disc fusion on me 15 years ago when I was 35 and also very active, boxing, running, biking. Before surgery we tried pt, epidural acupuncture, various meds but I could still end up in the ER just from pulling at shirt over my head! At that point we discussed surgery. I too had a cadaver bone dissolve within weeks actually, but it was still a fusion and according to recent X-​rays and mris a good one. Dr Dennis pointed it out to me immediately, again, within weeks of the surgery. So, he very much is familiar with that phenomenon
There is no way I could have lived any kind of life without that surgery. Though I’m having some increasing pain in the last six months. I think 15 years is a pretty good run and the pain I’m experiencing now is minimal compared to before surgery. I was told recently that after a fusion you can expect to see more than normal bone growth and pressure on the surrounding discs. That’s just a fact and has nothing to do with the competence of the surgeon.
You have to have realistic expectations!
My neck will always be a vulnerable area for me, but of course it is! that’s just common sense. I do what i can to make sure I stay strong and fit, stretch even use heat or cold packs when necessary. That’s my responsibility. I in no way would enjoy my current quality of life without dr Dennis.

Dr. Dennis performed a double fusion on my lower back (L4-​L5 L5-​S1) over ten years ago and my only regret was that I didn’t do it sooner. The guy who gave Dr. Dennis only one check didn’t talk to the same Dr. Dennis I did. Dr. Dennis made it very clear that the surgery would be my choice and only after trying every other avenue had been tried. I saw him for almost 5 years before he scheduled surgery. Dr. Dennis gave me my life back and I thank him for that.

Dr. Dennis is a miracle worker. When I saw that he didn’t have a perfect rating I was flabbergasted. I am a 40 year old active man (just to refute the person with the one star rating). I am two weeks post two level spinal fusion surgery and am amazed at the results. I have been dealing with lower back pain for years doing everything possible to avoid surgery. I have been a patient at Newport Orthopedic for the past four years, seeing several doctors in the practice. All have been excellent. When it was time for surgery I placed my trust and body in Dr. Dennis’ hands. When I awoke from surgery I could feel both my legs again. He performed an anterior approach, with a six inch incision to my lower abdomen and placed two prosthetics in my lower vertebrae. I was walking an hour after surgery and could immediately notice that my back was repaired. Obviously I was in pain from the surgery but I knew that the pain was different, that everything was going to be o.k. When Dr. Dennis visited me I almost cried in thanks. I saw him today for my post op appointment and the results are unbelievable. I am a new man… two weeks after surgery I only have minor pain from the actual incision site and need some rehab to get back to where I need to be. I am so thankful to him for giving me my life back. I will go to physical therapy for the next two months but I am already able to do more two weeks after surgery than I have been able to do for the last decade. Thank you Dr. Dennis! Thank you Newport Beach Orthopedic! Doctors in the truest sense of the word.

My 80 year old Dad was in extreme pain with lumbar spinal stenosis. We were referred to Dr Dennis by his primary care physician after little relief from exercise and celebrex. An MRI was performed at Newport Orthopedic Institute and Dr Dennis ordered an epidural and a second one a few weeks later. My Dad experience litte relief from the two epidurals so Dr Dennis and his PA-​C discussed performing a laminectomy and spinal fusion operation. We had a very thorough discussion about the operation and what to expect during the recovery/​rehabilatation process. At one of the last appointments, Dr Dennis promised my Dad that he would have him dancing after the operation.
Dr Dennis performed surgery on my Dad in late December 2012 at Hoag Orthopedic Institute. The day after the surgery, my Dad was walking with the help of a hospital physical therapist. After discharge from the hospital, a physical therapist and a nurse came to my Dad’s home to help with the rehabilitation process. We had some delays getting pain management assistance from Newport Orthopedic Institute. My Dad had additional physical therapy outside his home. Three months after the surgery the back pain is gone, he is no longer taking any pain medications and can walk with only a cane to maintain his balance. Highly recommend the care you will receive from Dr Dennis, his PA-​C and the staff at Hoag Orthopedic Institute.

This man ruined my life. He considers me a success, but the only standard for a success is that I didn’t die during surgery. I have been in hell ever since. I was lied to about the statistics of spinal fusion. I found out after the surgery that this type of procedure should have never been done on a person under 50 with an active lifestyle. I was a 35 year old elite athlete and he knew it. My back has been so badly damaged that I have spent more than a decade and over $ 200,000 attempting to reduce my chronic pain enough to have any quality of life. The problem is that once the back has been surgically altered like this, there is ABSOLUTELY NOTHING that any doctor, holistic healer, or medication can do to fix it. This is permanent. I went from being at the top of my field with a six figure income to being permanently disabled, $ 300,000 in debt and unable to get out of bed for more than about 5 — 10 hours per week.
I did have improvement for the first 2 — 3 years after the surgery. Then the cadaver bone that he implanted completely dissolved. The research that I have done in recent years shows that this is common in younger, active people. When I went back telling Dr. Dennis that my pain was worse than before the surgery he belittled me. He basically told me that it was all in my head and sent me to a psychiatrist and a neurologist. They found nothing wrong with my head. Since I was unable to work anymore I needed to get disability. This arrogant jerk refused to admit that anything was wrong.
I finally went to one of the best orthopedic surgeons in the country for another opinion. This doctor (who coincidentally was one of Dr. Dennis’ teachers in med school) was horrified by how badly the previous surgery had damaged my back. He showed me where the cadaver bone had dissolved (something Dr. Dennis either wouldn’t admit or could not figure out). The only option left was to add hardware. Unfortunately the damage was so bad that this did not help at all. At least the second doctor admitted that I had damage that couldn’t be fixed so now I get Social Security disability payments. Dr. Dennis actually put in my medical records that I was making up pain to get out of jury duty. There is no end to this monster’s arrogance.
The whole reason that I even had a first surgery is because of Dr. Dennis. I had pain and the situation would have corrected itself eventually with physical therapy but this could take years. He refused to sign any paperwork allowing me to collect from my private disability plan. He insisted that I was fine. If however I was willing to have major surgery with him, then he would sign my paperwork. Very shady!!! I was told that this was a simple routine procedure with little recovery time and an 85% success rate. Later research has shown the success rate to be closer to 10%. I had a choice of losing the home that I had just purchased with my life savings or doing what I thought was a simple procedure with a high success rate. He lied to me over and over. I have spent the past several years speaking to his former patients as well as their family members because many of them are unable to leave their homes. There is a reason you hear mostly from the minority who have success. The others are far too sick and injured to do much of anything.
Bottom line — avoid surgery at all costs if possible because this is permanent and you lose your ability to heal once you have been surgically altered. If you do absolutely need surgery, do your research. A second opinion from a doctor in any way affiliated with the one who recommends surgery is a waste of time. They almost never disagree because they don’t want their friends to lose out on a money maker and fear reciprocation. Find a doctor in another city if possible and do not bring your medical records — start from scratch. If they come to the same conclusion on their own then you should consider it seriously. This may cost more, but your long term well being is worth it. This advice has worked well for everyone that I have given it to and has saved many of them from unnecessary surgeries. All of these people who didn’t get recommended surgeries are now very healthy and recovered on their own. Of those that did go ahead with the surgery, only one of them is happy with the results. The rest of them regret it.
Don’t believe me — do your own research — just do not get your only information from your doctor’s office. They are not your friend. They are out to make as much profit as possible and there is nothing more profitable than a surgery, especially one that does not work, because then you are a now patient for life! They are paid the same no matter what the outcome and do not ever have to admit to failure unless someone dies on the table.

My daughter is a high-​level competitive figure skater who has been treated by Dr. Dennis and team since she was 9 years old. From acute injury to chronic conditions, there is none other I would trust completely with her care. Dr. Dennis’ diagnostic approach has, on multiple occasions, correctly identified conditions which others most certainly would have dismissed owing to her age. A strong background in athletics has enabled Dr. Dennis not only to effectively diagnose unique conditions, but to treat with great speed and precision. With a state of the art surgical facility and on site physical therapy center, you needn’t look any further for your post-​op and follow-​up care. The staff at NOI is professional, efficient and has frequently bent over backwards to accommodate us in our ever demanding schedule. I truly cannot say enough about Newport Orthopedic Institute and hold Dr. Dennis and his team in the highest regard.