My experiences were NOT good with Dr. Wiiliam Truluck and his staff. Lack of good customer service is the starting point.
I badly injured a tendon in my finger and needed corrective surgery. He spent most of the office visit talking about personal topics, since, as he put it, "these kinds of injuries are run of the mill, and I deal with it day in and day out." He had one post-operative review, while my hand was very swollen, and sent me to rehab. He never scheduled a follow-up office visit to see the full results of the surgery and how the rehab was progressing. The results? The finger is operational, but "sags" against another finger. On a 1-10 scale, I'd give my results a 5. OK, but could have been functionally better.
What was really shocking was when I went back to him 6 months later, for an injury to my pinkies (mallet finger, whereby the tips get bent backwards). When I came in, he had no interest in even LOOKING at the finger he had performed surgery on 6 months earlier! Keep in mind, he had NEVER SEEN the results of his surgery except once, while it was red and swollen and non-functional. He made a joke about me having bad luck with finger injuries, and then proceeded to get a nurse assistant to show me how to place a splint on my pinkies.
The nurse totally botched the instructions, and seemed impatient as I could not use the wrap and small metal splint effectively to keep the tip of the finger immobilized. Bottom line? In the next 6 weeks, I had numerous setbacks as the splint came off at the worst moments, and my finger would bend and the healing would have to start all over again. Staff seemed annoyed when I called in with problems.
Eventually I went online, and discovered a $5 plastic splint, looking like a tiny canoe, that worked far better than some 1970's style metal splint that barely stays on the finger. The instructions for healing mallet finger were far better online than what Great Lakes Hand Surgery Center provided. In fact, there were great free handouts and graphics online that served as a checklist for ensuring a solid recover with full use of my pinkies.
Bottom line? I would NEVER use the services of Dr. William Truluck or his Center. Its my opinion that he is operating almost on "automatic mode" considering the repetitive nature of the kinds of injuries he treats, so he needs stimulation in the office by excessive personal chatting. To me, he seemed clearly bored with mundane, routine finger injuries. Its his bread and butter income, but its not interesting to him, so he kind of tunes out.
His staff was not well-trained -- requesting information and documents for insurance reimbursement was apparently a huge pain for the Office Manager, who also seemed irritated often, and they charged an exorbitant fee to receive a copy of about 15 pages of my medical file . It also took 2 months to get the required documents, with calls from both the insurance company and myself. Additionally, the nursing staff also seems to operate in a repetitive and non-individualized manner, and does not provide adequate training and information, all of which is now easily available online.
I believe he is a victim of his own success. Any surgeon that takes no pride or care in the work he's done -- and reveals it by NOT ASKING about the status of the finger he had operated on, doesn't ask to see its movement range or functionality, doesn't ask about pain ... from my perspective its a virtual breach of the Hippocratic Oath. I will go online to find a hand surgeon, if ever needed again, and look at reviews to ensure a better selection for medical care and treatment. read more
