Orthopedic Specialists of Seattle

Love Dr Ruhlman! He turned out to be really amazing and did a wonderful job with our son. His medical assistants are by no means great but he makes up for it. I’m really thankful the experience turned around and we stuck with him.

I absolutely recommend Dr. Joel Shapiro to anyone suffering from shoulder pain due to torn rotator cuff. Three months out from surgery I’m pain free, have full range of motion and stronger every day. So, so glad I picked Dr. Shapiro at OSS in Ballard.

After a pretty traumatic car accident which resulted in a broken bone in my foot, I was referred to Dr. Reed at SOC by my primary. Firstly, my appointment was made for 3 days later. I assumed they’d be booked out at least a week, but they are great about getting people in quickly. Although my initial appointment had to be canceled due to an emergency, I was put into the following day morning appointment. It happens.
Secondly, the admin staff is super friendly and helpful, even after I got a little snippy and rude, they remained friendly and professional. Continued to help me as if nothing ever happened. Wait time in the lobby and then also in the exam room was less than 5 mins each, even with x-​rays being done.
Third, Dr. Reed, by himself, earned all 5 stars in my book. Some doctors are really good at what they do medically, but can leave a lot to be desired in the personality department. Not Dr. Reed. He’s obviously capable, having been an engineer before becoming a doctor, but he’s also a really easy guy to talk to and has a great sense of humor. I was expecting him to come in, spend 30 seconds going over formalities, tell me his recommendation and leave. Not the case. He sat down, showed me the x-​rays, explained what was broken, how it would heal with and without surgery, took time to consult with one other doctor (which shows to me that he’s confident in his diagnosis but has no problem double checking his work for the benefit of the patient) and explain what he thought to be the best option. He answered each and every question I had without making me feel rushed or like I was taking up too much of his time. Best of all, his has a great sense of humor which really helps ease any worries when discussing cutting me open and putting a screw in my foot.
My surgery was scheduled less than one week after my initial visit, which is a HUGE relief for me. I want to get onto the road to recovery ASAP and everything Dr. Reed and the SOC staff are doing is getting me there as quickly.
I have every confidence in Dr. Reed with regards to my upcoming surgery.

I hate coming here. I have yet to be seen on time. I usually wait at least 15 – 25 minutes in the waiting room followed by another 30 minutes in the exam room. Who has an hour to do nothing on a work day? Do these guys realize what an appointment is or that time is valuable to people? Do they realize people are paying to see them and that they aren’t doing you a favor? Regardless of Dr Reed’s medical abilities, I cannot recommend this place to anyone given the total lack of courtesy or consideration of other’s time.

I feel the same way as Shopper X. I haven’t even been in to see Dr. Downer yet, but can’t get past the rudeness of the person answering the phone. Very short with me like I was taking up her time. I have asked my GP for a different referral for somewhere else all together. I have been in the health field for over 33 years and you just can’t treat people this way
CN

I’m a new patient to this clinic but was impressed after my initial visit to Dr. Reed. The scheduling process was a breeze — I called (the Ballard location) and the first available was only 1 week later, which I snagged. Most of their new patient forms were available online, so I was prepared when I arrived, and didn’t have to waste time filling out paperwork. I arrived about 10 min early anyway and only waited a short time before going back to the room. Yes, a doctor’s office that was running on time! I could hardly believe it.
I gave the medical assistant my story, and provided medical records and xrays. Thankfully they didn’t insist on doing their own xrays anyway (like other places I’ve been) so there was not that added expense. I spent about 40 min with Dr. Reed. He was fantastic. He was there for all the questions I had and was very patient. He explained things thoroughly and clearly and was respectful of my situation and feelings regarding pain, etc. I felt very at ease with him and confident in his opinion and abilities.
Overall I felt well taken care of by the staff and Dr. Reed and have no complaints. I’m certainly a fan and recommend Dr. Reed to anyway looking for a second opinion or a specialist for the foot/​ankle. I hesitate to give this place 5 stars, only because I’ve only had one visit so far and haven’t had my surgery yet. But I expect this place to continue to be awesome.

It’s not so much the doctor we had an appointment with but the support staff. They did not return calls, rude on the phone, office etiquette is below standard. Again, our doctor was fabulous but after our visit, I cannot recommend this place. Shop around. Really quite disappointing.

I was unfortunate enough to fracture my tibial plateau earlier this month (July 2013) while playing an intense and unintentional game of «full contact wiffle ball». When I went to my regular physician to be seen, she immediately sent me upstairs to be seen by the folks at OSS after taking a peek at my X-Rays…I knew something was bad at that point. There I was told by a PA (who scared me a bit when he told me it could only be fixed with surgery) that I would need to see Dr. Mark Reed that coming Tuesday to go over surgery and get me scheduled. They gave me a brace and sent me on my way. That Tuesday I met with Dr. Reed, it did take about 20 minutes of wait time in the exam room before he got to me, but that was totally fine, considering he spent about 45 minutes with my dad and I thoroughly answering any and all questions we had and going over all the risks of the procedure. I was getting a little nervous hearing all this, having never broken a bone or any kind of major surgery. But he calmly said to me «I have to scare you before I can cure you» or something along those lines and then gave me the minimal percentages of the risks happening. He was definitely good at calming me down and making me comfortable. He also impressed my father, who is untrusting of doctors and who is VERY hard to impress. I mean my dad left the place saying he actually liked the doctor, which is so rare I almost passed out. Dr. Reed told me I’d need to stay off my leg for the next few days to reduce the swelling before he could actually do surgery, which would consist of him opening me up, piecing together the fractured bone like a puzzle and putting in a titanium plate and 8 screws into the bone. We scheduled the procedure for that Friday.
Upon arriving for surgery at the Swedish Medical Center in Ballard that Friday, I was quickly admitted and prepped for surgery by a couple very sweet nurses who then brought me to the pre op holding room. I started to get nervous about surgery and anesthesia, since I’ve never been put under. The anesthesiologist gave me a couple options as to how I wanted to be «treated» and I did start to panic, as I didn’t realize I’d be the one making the game time decision about how I wanted to be put under. After much deliberation which consisted of me asking every nurse around and a final trip to the restroom (I was nervous!), I went with the spinal and deep sedation, rather than choosing to be put completely under. It was a wise choice. I woke up what felt like 2 minutes later and the surgery was done, and I still couldn’t feel my legs, which was probably a good thing. Dr. Reed and his PA, Agnes Hoppe also made a game time decision during surgery to give me the dissolvable stitches, rather than staples, to reduce scarring, which as a 33 year old female, I really appreciate, even though a big gnarly scar would make me look like a bad ass, I’d rather have it be less big and gnarly… the hardware I have is gnarly enough.
I spent two nights in the hospital, a requirement for this kind of fracture, including my birthday (it was nice being waited on hand and foot on my birthday) and was sent home. I’ve had a number of great follow up calls with the PA’s and the doctor, and received a raving review of how well I am healing and how mobile I am from the X-​Ray tech at OSS Ballard (whose name is also Mark) when I went in for my 2 week post op appointment earlier this week. He told me that Dr. Reed did such a good job with my surgery he couldn’t even tell there was ever a fracture there, that it just looked like Dr. Reed put a plate and screws into a perfectly normal unbroken bone, which is what they shoot for. Mark also gave me a CD of x-​Ray photos to take home when I asked (gotta have a new Facebook profile pic!) and was really fun to talk to.
The fact that Dr. Reed was just named one of Seattle Met Magazines Best Doctors in Seattle doesn’t hurt either. Dr. Reed and his staff were amazing through this trying process. It sucks, like really sucks, to break a bone and not be able to walk normally (non weight bearing for 6 weeks, including 2 – 3 weeks basically bed ridden with my leg elevated, then PT), but knowing that I have a great team and doctor that I can count on really helps me get through this whole process.
Anyone is Seattle that suffers through a break like this would be crazy to go anywhere else. I highly recommend Dr. Reed and Orthopedic Specialists of Seattle.

I was on an adventure motorcycle trip outside of Cao Bang N. Vietnam when a calf charged my Honda 250 and I slammed to the pavement at 40KmH, bike and cow on top of me. My Cao Bang doctor said no break. My Swedish Xray said: displaced fracture of the Tibia (I think that is it). I was immediately referred to Dr. Mark Reed at OSS that afternoon. My wait at both locations never exceeded 10 minutes, that is totally appreciated. The OSS operations is like stepping in Nordstroms in terms of service and smiles. But, back to business.
I quickly read over Dr. Reed’s bio and noted that he was a rocket scientist before the doctor thing. He has a great sense of humor and I kidded him immediately about my doctor being a rocket scientist. He is really easy to work with and a super communicator. He told me the options and I chose the 2 screws with 6 weeks no weight bearing and 6 more in recovery mode (crutch/​cane/​walk). I told him that I have no tolerance for pain. I had the surgery done in their office. It was awesome in terms of checking in, going to sleep, getting cut, getting screwed and waking up. Wow, could not have been easier or better.
They followed up with me and my calls from home to ask questions got immediate physician return calls within minutes; again very cool and appreciated. Medication was provided as needed and again, you can’t get out of some pain but it was managed right up until it was gone. It is 100% gone now (17 weeks post surgery). I mostly visited the Ballard location, a brand new office building with lots of parking.
I did follow up visits. He showed me X-​rays, allowed me to iPhone photo them and explained everything. Insurance was handled seamlessly. I requested a particular PT and he made that happen as well. The PT was crucial to recovery without a limp, but that is outside the OSS box.
Summary. Yes it is traumatic. It is horrible and you never ever want to break an ankle, period. But, Dr. Reed was awesome, super sharp and totally fantastic surgeon. Scaring is minimal, I don’t feel the screws so they are staying in for now and I am walking almost perfectly as well as riding my motorcycle now. I travel for a living and I walked several miles in Singapore last week and I present for a living and was able to stand 8 hours non-​stop on the ankle several times.
It has been hard work, there is the «headtrip» that anybody that breaks a bone most likely deals with but everything went beyond well and I believe Dr. Reed is the GO TO in my book and OSS is absolutely flawless in the whole process. 5 STARs for SURE!

OSS did my hip replacement surgery and Dr. Downer is the best in the business. I have the best hip replacement money can buy, and because of the skill of my doctor at OSS, I no longer have to consider disability. Insurance processing was as smooth as silk. I was off for five weeks and back to work in three. OSS gave me my mobility back and I will not consider any other place for my next hip replacement surgery. Both Dr. Downer and Dr. Franklin are very attentive to the patients needs, along with all the physician’s assistants, billing, everything. Top notch and top recommendation.