Dr. Norris is one of the finest surgeons I have ever met. I went to Dr. Norris with two torn Rotator cuffs and was lucky enough to have him repair one of the shoulders and perform an Acromioplasty one the shoulder I unfortunately waited too long for him to do the other and by the time I made it to the office he had retired, when he repaired thhe first shoulder, after the surgery he advised me that realistically expect the surgery to hold for 5 to 10 years, It has been 23 years and I am just starting to have limited pain in the shoulder. I wish he was still in the profession, I would make an appointment immediately. BTW, I live 90+ miles from Dr. Norris office, and I still would travel the distance to see him, Actually, I would fly around the world if it meant he was the one fixing my opposite shoulder and adjusting the working post the previous surgery. He also did both of my Dad's shoulders and his partner saved my ulnar nerve and hand by doing an ulnar nerve transposition after I cut the ulnar nerve by grinding my elbow repeatedly on my desk. I am also aware by meeting fellow patients that he has treated at minimum Ca. Supreme court Justices, Stars, Sports Professionals, children, and everyday Joes and did it equally and with the same excellent care and tenderness that one could ever want when in those conditions. read more

Tom Norris, you loser, please, I beg you people do not see this, I'm butcher, I am crippled in my left arm because of this idiot. 17 surgeries, imagine that I finally broke my left arm, and I have no socket in my shoulder now because of this stupid vlog. Had doctors who were in the room? From other states come up to me after surgery and tell me not to let him touch me again read more

Did a great job by me, I thought I was going to be recovering for months and played golf two weeks after surgery.

If you need shoulder surgery, you cannot find a nicer doctor than Tom Norris in San Francisco. He replaced my left shoulder in 2012, and I had a fairly painless recovery. He is the doctor that wrote the book on shoulder replacements! Personality wise, he is very kind and respectful with patients. He is retired now. read more

Nightmare . 5 bi lateral prototype surgeries. 2 hour wait time ! I finally started showing up an hour late, so tired of paying for parking while waiting for a legend in his own mind. Transferring my scapula , sewing in biological mesh to replace my super supraspinatus , failed miserably ! The mobilization braces were miserable !I trusted Norris. I just had my spine reconstructed with less pain ! Total narcissist. ( I could tell that the medical staff of my proceeds thought of him as an arrogant ass by their comments. ) He does not care about the pain inflicted by his experimental procedures. I would love to get Norris to meet me for a gym session of sparing . Go to Stanford or SOAR, or Dr. Kelly at ucsf Read Less Submitted Feb 04, 2023 read more

This review is service related. I was referred to Dr. Norris and booked an appointment a week in advance. I showed up at the appointed time, waited for 30mins in the waiting room, then 15 in the examination room, and was then visited by a much younger attending, in his fellowship year (not Dr. Norris) for my initial consult. No explanation given. After a remedial consultation, I was asked to wait again while Dr. Norris was found. I sat alone in the examination room for another 20mins, attending comes back and says he can't find Dr. Norris. I never met with Dr. Norris, nor was I given any explanation as to why. I was, however, billed fully for the visit. Maybe he's a good Dr., who knows. I never met the man. read more

Disclosure: I work for the guy so yea I may be a bit biased. But if you ask any orthopedic doctor about Dr. Norris' abilities as a shoulder specialist, Im sure you will find that they will recommend him. One thing that keeps his patients coming back is that he takes the time to answer your questions completely. It does make for a long day for the staff but Im sure patients appreciate it. If you need to talk to a doctor about your shoulder, you can't do better. read more

Dr Norris did my shoulder reversal two years ago. I had torn my rotator cuff twice before. My shoulder is so much stronger and more usable than ever. This doctor was instrumental in creating this surgery! He may not be the doctor that is sociable and that you can warm up to.....but he is an excellent surgeon and is respected by many orthopedic surgeons. He is great in sharing his knowledge with other ortho surgeons. So if you have to wait in the waiting room or exam room for a while.....think of it as waiting for your favorite entertainer. Worth waiting for and money well spent!!! After reading other reviews, I wonder how many of those people who complained about Dr. Norris and their surgery/recovery actually followed their post op instructions??? read more

Apparently, Dr. Norris was wrapping up the day and leaving his office when I called for an appointment. When I explained my injury, the receptionist consulted with him, and then came back on the line to ask me if I could come right over; the doctor would wait for me to drive to SF from Marin. In the exam room, Dr. Norris carefully studied the MRIs and then gave me a thorough and lengthy exam spending a good deal of time showing me diagrams of the shoulder and plastic models and explaining the anatomy and characteristics of my injury. He stated that although several tendons were torn, and although he would like to operate, he didn't feel the connective tissue was strong enough to be repaired. He laid out four alternatives from doing nothing to the insertion of a prosthetic device. He then suggested taking the more conservative approach indicating that a surgical procedure might not improve my current condition. I left with a feeling of confidence that my injury had been carefully studied and that I had been given appropriate advice. This was confirmed by a second opinion from another prominent surgeon. If my condition deteriorates, I will go back to Dr. Norris for another consultation. read more

Wow. I am new to the net thus the long period between this review and my last surgery by Dr Norris. Tom did two rotator cuff surgeries on me. First one went fine, the last ended with me filing a complaint with the medical board. My last surgery was in 2004. My MRI did not disclose a torn rotator cuff, they don't always show up on an MRI. I went in for what I thought was a procedure to open up the AC joint, decompression. After the surgery my wife said that I had rotator cuff repair but could not believe it. My arm was in a sling so I called up Tom's office and asked what procedure I had. And you know what, He started telling me what he did with out even looking up my file. He said he did, this and that, and I asked him if I had rotator cuff surgery. He said NO. I asked him why I was in a brace, and he said I could remove it. I asked him about using my arm. He said you could use it as much as I could tolerate the pain. So I started using the arm despite the significant pain. I thought that I was being a "baby with the pain" so I tried to forget pain and use it normally. The pain was terrible. When I saw him for a follow up appointment, I asked his assistant again if I had rotator cuff surgery and he confirmed that I did. I was furious. How could this doctor given me advise without knowing who he was talking to. He admitted his mistake and said that he did many surgeries that day and confused me for someone else. EXCUSE ME!!!! What a pompous a**. Of course I restore my rotator cuff in the days that he said to use my arm as much as I could tolerate the pain. He apologized once and only once and said that it was no big deal. Well not for him. He did not have to go through another surgery to correct his mistake, again he did admit that he made a mistake but that is as far as he would go. I filed a complaint with the medical board and although they said that they could not take away his license and felt sorry for the pain and suffering that I went through, there would be a notation on his record for a period of a year and his office will change some of their practices. Great, I have a bad shoulder for life and he changes some of his practices! My only hope is that the suffering that I went through taught him a lesson not to give advise until you know who you are talking to! My advise to you....... do not let this man tough you if you care about your body!!!!!!!! read more

If I can give this guy ZERO stars .... I WOULD!!! He is the absolute worst! He had me wait 2.5 hours before I left with no contact with him. He has no respect for patient's time. FIND A BETTER DOCTOR!!! read more

In 1994, I was referred to Dr. Norris by an orthopedic surgeon in Fresno, California. I needed a shoulder replacement on my right shoulder. On October 12, 1994 Dr. Norris performed the surgery. It proved to be a successful surgery without any complications. I couldn't have asked for better care. My normal lifestyle resumed. Then on May 15, 2013 I went in for a complete shoulder replacement on the left shoulder. Again, everything was excellent. Dr. Norris is an outstanding Dr. He is dedicated, professional, and compassionate. I have known Dr. Norris for 23 years and the care he gives exceeds all expectations. He is a renowned shoulder surgeon. I would highly recommend Dr. Norris to anyone. Steve Thorpe Fresno, California read more

Boy! What a range of reviews from absolute saint to bad mechanic leaving patient torn up and in chronic pain. That would be me after my surgery for a rotator cuff in the early 2000's (I went through 4 surgeries with 3 different orthopedists...dates are blurry, but not experiences). We drove from Santa Cruz to San Francisco (140 mi rd trip) for apptmts all for which Dr. was late by 1/2 hour to 3 hrs or so. He came most highly recommended after my first two surgeries by a doc in Monterey failed. I went home in terrible pain and the second night I called Norris at home...said he couldn't understand the pain; he'd done everything by the book, he's written of course. Pain persisted with limited arm rotation requiring yet another highly recommended, but flawed orthopedic guy in Los Altos. I to this day wear a brace to hold my right shoulder in place and take Morphine Sulfate to control the pain. I filed a complaint on all three doctors with the State Medical Board and for everyone they found no problems with the surgical procedures or performance of each one. Yuck! read more

As good as they get, plain and simple. He did both of my elbows and a nasty fracture of my right arm. High integrity, great guy to work with, outstanding orthopedic surgeon. I worked with him for about 5 years with the above surgeries, so I have some time and experience as his patient. He easily earns the 5-start rating. read more

My husband has been a very active man all his life and additionally, like his other relatives, has had degenerative ortho issues. He had both his shoulders replaced by Dr. Norris with both times. He had minimal pain (the second surgery he just took Tylenol), and he was back working in short order. The results have been extraordinary... he has a new life free of pain. (and he can reach top shelf items for me now!) We highly recommend Dr. Norris! read more

Dr. Norris is the most intelligent man I have ever met. He will ever take off his vacation just so he can come and chek up on you. When he operatates on you you do not feel any pain. I have always come back ever sence and he gives all of his care. I highly recemend him. read more

I had complete shoulder replacement surgery from Dr. Tom Norris on 02-27-2103. I could not be happier with the outcome. I had a rotator cuff open surgery in July of 2011 from another surgeon, and although the outcome was as good as I could of expected, it ruptured 9 months later. I was reffered to Dr. Norris and within one month I had my replacement. The recovery has been amazing, and I can honestly say he is a wonderful Dr. I would also like to recognize Dr. Mark Schrumpf, Dr. Norris's fellow for the awesome care I recieved from him in the hospital.Thanks to all!! read more

This isIf the WORST surgeon every! he broke my arm very badly in surgery, fractured the glenoid in 2 pieces and told me it was a hairline fracture. After my case was reviewed by two other amazing surgeons in the bay area, they BOTH were totally disgusted and said I didnt need my joint replaced, he did it because he was doing a study on shoulder joint replacements and told many of his patients they needed their shoulders replaced and they actually didnt need that. At 40 years old I became disabled because of this horrible human being. I told him for a year my shoulder was killing me in pain, he sent me to aggressive physical therapy with an unstable fracture, AND didnt give me any pain medication when I left the hospital after he badly broke my arm. He is a pompous jerk. I waited in his office for my one oclock appt. he saw me at 430 and left right before he saw me and said he would be back in an hour after he picked his kids up from school. Do not trust this man at all. he is delusional, he will lie right to your face and not even realize he is lying. If you have had a bad surgery let me know. This mad man should be stopped. I have not been able to finish my complaint to AMA because it is too traumatic, he permanently disabled me, I can barely use this arm anymore all because he wanted to publish a medical journal paper. That is psychotic. I have to give him one star because it wont let me give him 0 stars. read more

I second the above reviewer in having received absolutely sub-par treatment from Dr. Norris. I have a few small tears in my right shoulder, along with stretched tendons from years of overuse at work. I visited him to receive a second opinion before committing to surgery. First, he was an hour and forty minutes late meeting me! Wow. Second, he bagan to make assessments of my shoulder based only on looking at X-rays, not the MRI sheets that I brought in. Guess what? You can't assess potential tears in tendons with an X-ray, because X-rays do not record soft tissue. When I informed him that I was running really late for another appointment, he said to me, "Never in my 15 years has anyone complained about me squeezing them in between surgeries!" I wasn't informed that they were squeezing me in; nor was I informed that his time was so much more valuable than mine. He brushed me off at that point with, "I'm sure the other doctor will do a great job." What an asshole. I don't like to abuse Yelp as a vehicle for entitled complaining, but this guy was totally unprofessional. read more

I first saw Dr Norris in 1989 after none of the top specialist in Utah could fix my shoulder. I had six surgeries in UT and nothing helped I was still dislocating my shoulder several times a day. He was the only MD that believed me when I said it was subluxing four different ways. I did wait quite awhile to actually see him when I got to the office but was told in advance that the wait was long so I came prepared however when I saw him he took over an hour with me explaining everything. He actually did fix my shoulder, it never subluxed again and did not get frozen with adhesions like happened before. He did tell me I would need my shoulder replaced due to the damage all the subluxing had caused so when the MRI said no more cartilage, bone on bone get a replacement I saw him again 20 years later 2008. The wait was long but not as long, he was still the very kind, thorough MD. He has answered my E-Mails right away, called me proptly when necessary etc and have had nothing but the best of care. I am just an ordinary person that he never knew until I first saw him. He has kept track of me and my child over the 20 years. I find his shoulder care and personal manner the best so not sure the bad reviews here. When you are world renown, have published many books and articles on the shoulder and teach all the new shoulder MD's (every shoulder MD I see in SLC, UT has had a class from him) you might have to wait awhile to see him, he might at times be distracted, big deal, for a chance to see the best. To the guy who got the wrong adivce over the phone, did you think to say to him, my name is so and so and my wife was told you did a rotator cuff repair, could you double check on that before just doing what he said when you had been told otherwise, MD's do not bite and it is your right to talk to them and question them until you feel satisfied that you are getting the correct information.We are so quick to judge and put someone down in this Country instead of giving people the benefit of the doubt. You think this MD is bad, go to England and get some of the "Government Care" everyone thinks is so great, I have done that and wow talk about a nightmare!!!! read more