The questions posed at most of these sites seem too focused on the "office experience." When it comes to orthopedic surgeons, it's really way more about their surgical abilities and final results.
With that in mind, let me tell you about my experience with Dr. Scott D. Miller, formerly of Lawrence Orthopedics, and now Champion Orthopedics. First off, he was gruff, rude and condescending. But, I figured I could handle all that as long as he did a great job. Problem was, he is a butcher. He performed a total left hip replacement on me in 2008. The day after surgery my physical therapist came to my room to get me up and walking for the first time. It was an impossible mission as we determined when I first attempted to stand. My left foot was way out on front of me on the floor--the reason was Miller had not properly measured my legs during surgery and my left side was now significantly longer than my right side. That necessitated a complete new operation which he did six days after the first. Keep in mind I was fresh from a major, painful invasive surgery and now, because of his ineptitude and callous approach to all this, I was forced to have my left side ripped open all over again. I said it was like being hit by a Mack truck and being told to stand up so the truck could run me over one more time. The pain—both physical and psychic—was off the charts. Not to mention that he subjected me to the dangers of general anesthesia and other risks of major surgery. All due to his incompetence. The pain chart needed an exponent on that “10” to describe my pain during that time.
But it gets worse. After the second surgery it was discovered that he had cut too much off my left femur this time, leaving me 5/8” shorter on my left side, which is the case to this day. For the record, the highest standard inside-the-shoe heel lift only goes to ½”, not high enough to make me equal. I subsequently have been diagnosed with agonizing lower back problems because of the unevenness of my sides and my body’s constant attempts to compensate for this change in balance and gait. More pain.
As an aside, three months after these two botched surgeries, CHS at Fuld installed a computerized length measuring system or device for implant surgeries of this nature. I was told by a hospital employee who had befriended me that this was a direct result of what Miller had done to me—twice.
Not only was I now forever shorter on my left side, but he had permanently damaged one or more of my hip flexor muscles. This has negatively impacted me and limited me in many ways. One example is that I have to use a strap which I insert my foot into and use the long handle to lift my leg when I get into the driver’s seat of a car. My leg is incapable of lifting itself. To put my leg back down when exited the car I just let it drop. In addition, I cannot walk up steps properly. I am able to walk forward, but cannot lift my leg.
Additionally, almost immediately following these surgeries I developed painful hammertoes on my left foot—the 2nd and 3rd toes, to be exact. Two different podiatrists told me this was a result of my hip replacement surgery(ies) on that side. What’s significant to note here is that I had my right hip replaced by a different doctor in 2005 (three years before Dr. Miller operated on my left hip) and none of these problems occurred on my right side—no leg length difference, no damaged muscles and no hammertoes.
But, wait—there’s more! I recently had an x-ray of my left hip and my new orthopedic surgeon announced to me that that hip implant is METAL-ON-METAL!!!! While my beautiful right side is ceramic and metal, it turns out Dr. Miller completely LIED to me and “snuck in” a metal-on-metal left hip implant when he promised me either plastic or ceramic on metal. That’s right! He told me he was giving me an implant comparable to the one I already had on my right side, but instead, gave me a dangerous and clearly inferior product. And this I had no knowledge of until almost two weeks ago, five years after the fact.
As a result, I am going to have to undergo yet a third total hip replacement on the left side to replace this dangerous implant. I am now being tested for metal poisoning because my kidneys are failing.
Yep, the gift that keeps on giving—Dr. Miller’s mendacity, callousness, incompetence and smugness. Oh, and by the way—he hates Medicaid patients, even though he accepts their insurance. While waiting to be seen for a post-operative visit, I overheard him say to another patient: “Yeah, I’m forced to operate on the poor. It’s my penance in order to keep my surgical privileges at this hospital.”
Nice guy. Great attitude. In my opinion, he’s the worst kind of doctor imaginable—not just flawed in character and lacking in skill—but a man who can ruin or damage lives and not give a fig. He’s a menace and a jerk—and that’s being generous.
by Jersey Tomato
xxx.xxx.13.217
March 17, 2013