Patient Success Stories
The condition: As a self-employed master carpenter and cabinetmaker, Terry S. needs the full use of his hands and arms. When pain in his right elbow and forearm started to affect his work, Terry tried physical therapy, but when that didn’t work, he sought the advice of a surgeon. The first surgeon Terry consulted diagnosed tendinitis and recommended surgery that would entail eight weeks of recuperation. Terry was alarmed about spending that much time away from his business. Moreover, as an open-water swimmer with a big charity event just a couple of months away, he wanted to get back to normal as soon as possible. A friend recommended Dr. Lunt at Danbury Orthopedics. Dr. Lunt felt the affected area and did strength testing, which was not part of the original doctor’s examination. To him it very evident that the cause wasn’t tendinitis, but nerve impingement, referred to as “radial tunnel syndrome.”
The condition: Franz Ryerson has been performing on the cello all her life and has worked with generations of young musicians. Her active schedule included teaching five public school orchestras and tuning dozens of violins and cellos each day. However, the last five years were filled with pain due to arthritis in both her thumbs, and it was interfering with Franz’s ability to play the music she loved. She tried cortisone shots, but they didn’t alleviate the terrible pain. A fellow cellist who had very successful surgery with Dr. Lunt, recommended that Franz see the doctor to see what he could do to help.
The condition: Fitness and strength are what Matt Mills is all about. As a competitive power lifter and strongman, Matt needs to be in prime physical condition. When Matt completely ruptured his pectoral muscle, he consulted a number of doctors. All said they had never seen an injury so severe and all doubted that Matt could ever fully regain his strength or mobility—vital components to Matt’s success in competitions.
The condition: At 32-years-old, Brian Sharp was living in constant pain. He faced losing his growing landscape design business due to a very rare and debilitating ankle condition called osteochondritis dissecans. Because his business requires moving around properties and gardening nurseries, Brian was running out of options…and time.
The condition: An energetic and enthusiastic 13 year old, Kristen Pitts, injured her knee playing basketball in a premier travel league, tearing her ACL and meniscus at the same time. Facing this injury as a young, promising athlete was crushing for the girl and her family. The location of the meniscal tear was in a difficult location of the knee, diminishing her hopes for a full recovery.
The condition: Patrick Stroh, a vibrant and athletic 22-year-old on his way to becoming a physician’s assistant, had spent the past six years of his life with constant shoulder pain and weakness. It got to the point where he had to turn down throwing a baseball or football when he got together with his friends. However, when his shoulder injury started to affect his job as a certified athletic trainer, Patrick knew something had to be done.
The condition: Rod Weinberg is one of those exemplary athletes you read about: a state champion in speed skating, a contender to play major league baseball, on ski patrol for more than 40 years, and a long-distance cyclist. But all this activity had caught up with Rod, who at age 72 was looking at knee replacement surgery. The problem: No doctor would do the surgery and let Rod resume the skiing that he loved. Rod says, "I'm an older athlete and couldn't find anyone to touch my knee. My life is built around speed and I didn't want to stop doing what I enjoy. Finally, I met Dr. Viola and knew I had met my match."
The condition: John Heaton was looking forward to escaping the winter blahs by spending a couple of months in Florida. Before he left, he paid a visit to Dr. Thomas Guglielmo, his podiatrist at New Milford Orthopedics, for his routine nail care. Dr. Guglielmo noticed that one of John's toenails was discolored and had a small growth beneath it that occasionally bled. Dr. Guglielmo was concerned and wanted to take off the nail and biopsy the growth. John deferred saying he would have his dermatologist look at it when he went for his appointment the following week. The dermatologist felt there was no cause for worry and John left for Florida to play golf. Dr. Guglielmo's office called John in Florida 6 weeks later to follow up. When Dr. Guglielmo heard nothing had been done, he insisted that John come into the office immediately upon his return. Good thing he did: Dr. Guglielmo biopsied the growth, which turned out to be acral lentiginous malignant melanoma, a form of melanoma that occurs on the hands, feet, and below the nails. The simple in-office biopsy, which takes just a few minutes, made all the difference.
Disclaimer: Any prior results discussed in this site do not guarantee a similar outcome.
