Dr. Chang performed my knee replacement in December, and while I believe he's a skilled and careful surgeon, my recovery and the necessary additional surgeries have been a long nightmare. The problem wasn't with the actual surgery but the follow-up care. I contracted an infection in my new knee, and despite many signs that something was wrong, Dr. Chang and his team repeatedly told me "I was fine", "my expectations are too high" and that I was doing too much and just needed to wait longer.
At 3 weeks post-op, I had a fever and chills for 10 days. During which I called the office 3 times to be told that was normal and that I was fine. The persistent, sharp pain in one side of the joint turned my physical therapy sessions into a ritual of taking oxycodone and muscle relaxants to try and make progress. Dr. Chang told me this was normal, even though multiple physical therapists told me it wasn't. Two of those PTs went so far as to call his office to say something wasn't right. They were disregarded.
At 3 months, I was still being told to take oxycodone and reduce my activity, despite following their directions and doing very little besides struggling with PT and basic daily activities. Being middle-aged and athletic, I feel they marked me when I walked in the door as being overly aggressive with PT and recovery, then ignored the mounting evidence to the contrary.
I felt like I was being gaslit the whole time - being told my reality wasn't true and making me question what I saw and felt every day. It was maddening. I and my husband had long calls with Adam, one of Dr. Chang's PAs, who would acknowledge those realities, but on the next follow-up visit it would seem like those conversations never happened (and I do trust that Adam relayed the information). In one phone call, I asked Dr. Chang when we should worry that something wasn't right. He tersely told me "after a year." I'm glad I didn't try and wait that long.
Four months post-op, I got a second opinion. That surgeon took one look at my swollen, overly-warm knee and aspirated the joint to check for infection. It was, in fact, infected. Three weeks later, he began my two-stage revision - removing the implant, replacing it with an antibiotic-laced spacer, then later performing another surgery to put in a new knee. He's been great to work with - acknowledging and addressing my concerns, showing true empathy, and being transparent and complete in his explanations. Quite the opposite of Dr. Chang. read more
