Are you having back issues or neck pain? Hip issues from sciatica pain? Give The Southeastern Spine Institute a call! The SSI in Mt. Pleasant, SC, offers patients the very best in spine health expertise, technology and procedures. They have a wonderful physician staff, which includes spine surgeons, neurosurgeons, sports medicine orthopedic specialists, non-surgical rehab doctors and pain management specialists. My Mom has degenerative disc disease and Dr. Steven Poletti has successfully done two back surgeries on her. She has sung his praises for years to so many family members and friends. Unfortunately, he (or SSI) will not see her anymore because she has Humana Insurance or because my Mom's plan changed under Humana. I just know, if she goes there, they won't accept her insurance. She's 84 now, so I'm hoping she continues to do well. I went to SSI in June of 2024 and saw Dr. Timothy Bryan. Dr. Bryan sent orders downstairs to their surgical center for me to get an injection by Dr. Levin. Two days after getting the injection, my arthritis/sciatica pain was completely gone. No nicer group than the ones in the surgical center. Thank you, Dr. Levin!! Beautiful, clean, new building Wonderful, on-site surgical center MRIs done in the same building The Surgical Staff is the nicest! Only thing I could suggest.... The lobby is so huge when you walk in on the main floor. Maybe a snack cart, or vending machine to sell snacks or drinks? If a patient is seen up stairs, then goes to get an MRI, then they are sent to get a shot, your wait time could be longer than expected. Your driver may need a drink while they wait on the patient, too! **If you visit, take a drink and a snack, especially if you're a diabetic. read more

Poor follow up and lack of communication. Some of the nurses where I got my injections were extremely rude!! read more

I've been working with Southeastern Spine Institute through multiple spinal surgeries& many procedures. They are the most caring, capable, & comprehensive pain management group I have found through my 2.5-year journey. I highly recommend them to anyone looking for a straightforward Dr. with a comprehensive & studied treatment plan.Unfortunately, this group was bought out by NOVANT HEALTH last year. The staff is still fantastic, but NOVANT is a disgrace to medicine & these wonderful professionals. The phone system doesn't work at all(calls don't go through & messages never received or 3 weeks later)& the PATIENT PORTAL messages go into a pool of 10-20 people before they are sent to your provider, if at all. Many, many patients are having these issues with NOVANT & when you are dealing with Neurospinal issues, messages must be received & returned in a timely manner. I highly recommend anyone else who has had the same issues come forward. NOVANT needs to know that they are RUINING good Drs ' & RNs reputations. read more

No help at all. My back is no better, but one day there costed $10,000. Prepare to sell your home to cover the cost ( even with Blue Cross Blue Shield). Do not expect prices up front. Expect several bills from different places- and some 6 months later-and maybe more? Merry Christmas! read more

I have been seeing Dr Bryan for over 2 years!!! He listens and addresses the issues in a timely manner. Everyone there is so polite. Looking forward to surgery in September! read more

Tried shots with little success, but the treatments were always with a kind and generous passion. I'm going to try Physical Therapy there next. read more

I can not understand how a practice this large and new can have such an inept messaging system. (That or the staff deletes the messages.) My husband has been waiting for a "call back today" for a week. We have left a message everyday and sent emails to the Useless patient portal. I think the communication with patients is so poor that it makes peoples' PAIN worse. My husband needs second injection. He has never asked for pain medicine, doesn't want any. Just simple wants some relief. Why bother to leave a message or an email. Both are futile. I sent and email and got back "please contact our office for an appointment." LOL Also, the portal has no information re: xrays, Mri etc. Just appalling. Goin to go to Columbia Neuro ....who has time for this? read more

I'll do a more recent update. It would seem since Covid, they updated and changed a few things. No longer are you required to wait inside and sign that you are the driver for their ambulatory services. I am referring to when a patient gets an injection. They do allow you to wait outside in the car, which is nice. And they call when the patient is ready. The odd thing is they call from an Ohio number, and nobody knows why. Thats not a big deal, but just know it won't come up as Mt Pleasant or even South Carolina on the caller ID. I know my family has some issues with their billing and getting things properly submitted to insurance companies, but I am just a driver when there, so for all of that handling, they've improved. read more

The Southeastern Spine Institute - What you might see employees doing in Building B instead of actual work. Unless this is what they are paid to do. - Physical Therapy Near Me - Mount Pleasant, South Carolina

They Ruin my life, I am always in pain, sometimes I have good days, most of the time bad days

Got in the back an hour after my appointment time, but the mri operator miss daisy made it worth the wait. Talked me through everything and was both caring and professional. If I ever need another mri I will be going back! read more

I highly reccommend these doctors if you have any back or neck issues. The staff is very helpful and the Doctors are extremely knowledgable. I have never been more confident in being treated for my lower back. read more

I was working with them to schedule a back injection in December 2021. After the call from their staff informing me they had contacted my insurance company and giving me my financial responsibility, I scheduled the injection for the 29th. When I received my bill in January, it was 19 times what I was quoted. After contacting the insurance company, I was informed they never contacted them. They keep recordings of all calls. SESI now agrees that it was just an estimate, they never contacted BCBS. If I had been giving the correct information, or told it was an estimate and I should speak to insurance myself, I would not have wasted $1,200. read more

I would not recommend this place this anyone! The assistants don't return calls. Also, I was waiting around for months for a call back for surgery approval and Dr.Anderson's assistant totally sided with the insurance company without many appeal solutions when my issues were substantially documented. Then she told me that I would receive a response back from him after I got back from vacation, but it never happened. Thankfully, I found another doctor and my surgery is scheduled and approved by my insurance! No Thanks Southern Spine Institute! read more

Dr. Hartman was phenomenal. If I could just give him a review, I'd give 5 stars; however, had appointment with him May 18 for my back pain. Had MRI the next day and suggested we do epidural injections. We had to wait for insurance approval but I followed up 5 days later. Crickets.... Followed up the next week.... Crickets.... This keeps going after 5-6 voicemails. I got approval from my insurance carrier so once again called back... crickets.... This went on 3 more times until I finally left a message asking to just have my MRI results to take to another dr and amazingly, I received a call back that next day with the excuse of "I've been out of town for a week and we have a new telephone system and didn't retrieve any of your other umpteen messages over the last almost 2 months so we're sorry". Not sorry enough to acknowledge the insane pain I'm in though or to try to rectify. Needless to say, searching for a new back dr if anyone in Charleston area wants to reach out. read more

I'm one that can say that Dr Frisch changed my life when I had gotten to the point of needing help to even walk. I do suffer from chronic back and neck pain so any relief is better than no relief. After my recovery from back surgery, he did my third cervical surgery to relieve the pain from another herniation. My first and second cervical surgeries were done by a neurosurgeon in Columbia and that second one was a disaster. Dr Frisch could see that right away. He went in and relieved the pain and although I may end up with another surgery, he gave me relief. I admire all of his staff and his gentle demeanor. Thank you SSI but mostly Dr Frisch. read more

Gave me hope. I am a marathon runner and thought I would not be able to ever run any distance again. I do wish there were either references to addition exercise information or examples of what type of exercises can be done to strengthen back read more

I've been seeing Dr. Frisch for some time now and have no complaints about his knowledge, service or team. Dr. Frisch is wonderful! My rating is based on the folks that answer the phone. It would be nice if they could be a little less irritated by the fact that people are calling and asking questions - it's your job. So sorry to have disturbed you or asked questions that you find aggravating, but its your job to help. I have had more than one encounter with irritable CSR's (guess that's what they do) giving attitude because they have to look something up or confirm information. Perhaps SSI could offer a training in proper customer service and phone etiquette to raise the level of care. Or, those who have no ability to tolerate people and their questions should pursue a different line of work. read more

This is a brand new location lots and lots of parking around the building. Inside huge waiting room with a second stage waiting area in the back with a maze of offices and nurses stations to help with patients care. read more

The Southeastern Spine Institute - Building from outside - Physical Therapy Near Me - Mount Pleasant, South Carolina

I went to SSI on the recommendation of a good friend. When t I went to my first appointment I waited an hour although waiting room was empty. When I did see the doctor I was told I needed an XRay. Another wait for the doctor after the XRAY. He showed me the results I had expected. Then I was told I needed an MRI for him to determine if any thing was wrong. I scheduled the procedure and was told "the machine was large" and I would not have any problems. The morning of the procedure I was escorted to a small machine. After entering the small machine I could not finish procedure and left. After having the MRI done elsewhere I retuned to SSI and after a review by doctor a spinal injection was performed. The injection helped little. After another appointment and Injection I was told to live with the pain. Since then I have seen a neurosurgeon and was told I have problems which he can repair. read more

I came to have my chronic lower back and neck pain investigated. My appointment was set for 8:30, but they request that you arrive early as a new patient to account for paperwork and checkin time. When I set up the appointment they offered to email me the 17 pages (I printed them off the website). Upon arrival I was efficiently processed and taken immediately back to the x-ray room. The talkative tech shot me full of radiation and even showed me my x-rays and how they are processed (geek time!) before ushering me to my room. I sat for just a minute before the NPT entered, did some testing, questioning, analysis, and then went over the results and what to expect from the doctor. She was friendly and knowledgeable. I appreciated the time she spent going through the x-rays and always felt at ease. I waited about 5 minutes for the doctor, which was a little confusing as I was the only patient who braved the Great Charleston Ice Storm of '14 and made it to the office. When he arrived, he went over the x-rays again in more detail, and talked about the next steps. After seeing the Doctor, I was sent to get an MRI. They offer this option in house, which was nice, so it was a quick trip through processing and then to the beast of a machine a few yards down the hall. Again, a friendly technician helped. I stripped down, got ramped into the magnetic donut hole for 30 minutes, and I was back out in a flash to meet with the doctor again. (This is pretty cool. No days of waiting required.) Final meeting with the doctor was great. Looking forward to getting my back fixed and glad I chose to come here. read more

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My mother was seen by this staff for pain management and told to return when she was in pain to get an mri and then she could get an injection...reasonable enough. When she followed their instructions and tried to contact them for an mri due to excruciating pain, the calls were ignored for several days. My sister tried to talk with an office manager and was told that mom would have to wait (almost a month) her turn. We certainly understand other folks are in pain too, but the rudeness with which she was treated sent her to another, more caring specialist who saw her quickly and is working to address her problem. I would not recommend this place given the administrative staff has such poor people skills. read more

After enduring years of indescribable lower back pain, Dr Steven Poletti provided the best course of surgery which changed my life for the better. Six years later, I can say that his skills and procedures were a 100% success. To this day, I continue periodic follow ups with him and his staff. The entire healthcare team at SSI has always been helpful and professional. read more

I had lumbar surgery with Dr. Anderson about 6 months ago and I have been very pleased with the results. I am glad I decided to have the procedure done! The physical therapy department at SSI is amazing! Bassam, Victoria, and Sara are all great at what they do! read more

I am not a patient but find the information here so helpful. The one thing I would add would be photos of the correct way to bend from the hips and the incorrect way to bend from the waist. Thank you! read more

I have seen Dr John Johnson several times for a shot to support lumbar stenosis. He is a doctor that listens and is honest about what needs to be done. He allows me to be conservative about my treatment. The shots have worked for me and insurance covers it. They are always prepared for me and it never takes more than an hour from start to finish. The staff is friendly and supportive. I am glad I found them to work with. read more

Yesterday my husband went to a different doctor, not for a second opinion, but to try to understand the first one and find a professional. What we found out was way worse than what we imagined. The diagnosis he was given in writing from Dr. Johnson was incorrect. It is not that we believe one doctor over another, we could see it on the MRI that the SSI took. Thanks goodness he sent my husband down the injection rabbit hole. What if he had tried to operate? If you are looking for "constant/temporary pain management" then this clinic is apparently known for it's "injections", and will meet your needs. If looking for something a little more permanent with less to no more doctor visits, then look for other options. Good luck, we are moving on. read more

I had surgery with Dr. Poletti in May 2019 after over 2 years of pain. I'd tried everything and was desperate for relief from the constant pain. The consult with Dr. Poletti was very honest. He told me that since my back injury was a good while ago the results could not be what we hoped for. I was willing to take the chance. The surgery experience was excellent! I felt like I had a nice nap. I had minimal surgery site pain, but it did take over a month for me to see improvement in the sciatica. I have been able to drastically decrease my pain meds and the change in my quality of life has been wonderful! I just wish that I had come to Southeastern Spine Institute sooner. Unfortunately, since my injury was initially worker's comp it was difficult to get good care. read more

I have used SSI Physical Therapy for two different injuries in the past 6 months. Bassam Kassab and the other therapists provided excellent care. I was taken on time for every appointment and the scheduler, Jordan, was helpful in verifying my benefits as well as scheduling my appointments. I would highly recommend them. read more

The Southeastern Spine Institute - Physical Therapy Near Me - Mount Pleasant, South Carolina

I am very disappointed with the service! They were very quick to get me in for an initial consultation but since then, no follow up. I was told they would contact me to schedule injections for herniated discs and it has been nearly two weeks with no follow up. I have called three times for Dr. Levins office and all I get is an answering machine. Don't bother leaving a message. I suspect if they were scheduling surgery that would pay them much more, they would be all over it. read more

SSI has been a great dissatisfaction--the Billing Dept. is very inept. I have 2 insurances and they did a poor job with billing these insurances. They neglected to bill my 2ndary coverage and billed me $476.00 for services that was covered. I tried for over a year to get this fixed. I had to call my insurance companies to get this fixed. They refused to see me until this was paid, I kept telling them I didn't owe the balance and they sent me to collections. I have had the same injections for years and never had a huge balance. I spoke with the billing manager only to get a rather nasty response. After I worked with both insurances they made payments and I didn't owe the $400 plus If they don't perform surgery--you are not a patient of great concern. Your care is turned over to a mid level provider. read more

My husband switched from MUSC to Southeastern spine being told he would have a better experience. My husband had already been waiting for over a month for some relief due to the issues with doctors at MUSC. He is assured if he transfers he'll be able to get the shot a couple of days after his visit since he had copies of the MRI's and X-Rays from MUSC. His consultation was on Monday and here we are on Thursday and he's been calling and they keep telling him they haven't heard from the insurance so he finally calls the insurance and they have nothing on file. He calls AGAIN and they finally figure out they submitted under the wrong name! They have a copy of his insurance card so this should have NEVER happened!! This was a very careless mistake. We are now going out of town on Monday and once again he won't get the shot for his bulging disc that is sitting on a nerve that is preventing him from doing things! read more

These clowns are the worst of the worst. I've had a bad back for 31 years now. Dr Don Johnson who is great saw me 31 years ago and after they couldn't do a double disc replacement on me he sent me to Dr Netherton who had his own private practice then Back then he wanted to put me on methadone. Now I go back to the spine institute and I see Don Johnson again. Reunited after 31 years. I knew that they would rack up my card and run all kind of tests to make some money and that's exactly what they did but I have great Obamacare Dr.Don Johnson found that My back cannot even be fused it's so messed up. Everybody told me every doctor person told me wait until you just can't take the pain anymore before you do a fusion and that's when I finally decided to get a fusion done a few months ago only to find out that not only can I be fused but nothing's going to help me except for medications doing my stretching and whenever the hell stem cells come out. So he sends me to pain management. I'm back to Dr netherton. they know I'm in serious pain but they do nothing. I mean nothing for me. They write me a non-narcotic muscle relaxer. and they push and I mean shove this spine stimulator down my throat. They bring in the rep for the spine stimulator who is just telling me every great thing about this spine stimulator and how it's going to change my life and all this other bullshit. this guy must make a killing just from the Southeastern spine institute alone. I was going to get one or at least get the trial done before my second surgery by a doctor D'Agostino who I highly recommend but from what I heard from another surgeon of mine is that this does not work well if you have lower back problems which mine are all l3456 and my s1. not only did I find out I can't be fuse but I found out after a nerve test that I had no feeling below my knees and I have neuropathy in my feet. Still no pain meds after seeing Dr netherton for the second time. now Corona virus started and everything's going to be delayed with the spine stimulator trial and I beg them to please I need something to take the edge off. they tell me that I cannot get any pain medicine because I have a prescription for Klonopin and Adderall. That makes no sense whatsoever to me. It is absolute crap. I would not go to these people they don't give a damn about you they're not trying to help you at all. They don't want to help you with your pain. They just want to sell you s***. I sat next to an old guy and his wife and asked him how the spine simulator is he said it didn't work worth a hoot. I asked him about the trial he said the trial work great but afterwards it didn't work worth a damn. I told Dr naderton I know there's a process here and you know whatever it takes to speed up the process please do so I can try to get some kind of relief. Next thing you know I got a urine screen which was great I know I was clean they know I was clean but still they would not give me any kind of relief because I was prescribed Klonopin and Adderall is what they said. Two things that I need desperately. I have serious anxiety serious serious anxiety. Without the Klonopin I probably would have choked the nurse after she told me what the doctor said. I don't know if netherton got hit by too many DHEC infractions or what the case is maybe but if you're expecting to get some kind of relief do not go to the spine institute whatever you do. Make that your last stop. If you want to see a good surgeon and get some good surgery done I would recommend the place but do not go to pain management and see Dr netherton that is for sure. They only have I believe one neurosurgeon out of all them up there maybe two. Dr Don Johnson is a good doctor but he also yelled at me for speaking when he asked me what my past surgeon said. I mean like yelled at me. I thought that was very disrespectful and I had to bite my tongue and not give it right back to him if not more. But my aunt was with me and he gave me some great information. Like I said he's a good doctor he's just I don't know if he's in a bad mood or just demeanor I guess. You know how these doctors are. The god syndrome or whatever the f*** you want to call it. anyways any place that does infomercials all night long you probably want to stay away from. It's like a cow herd in there with maybe 70 people sitting and waiting rooms divided into sections they're so big. They give out shots like candy there. I can't and won't badmouth any of the doctors over there because I've only seen Dr Don Johnson who is very good at what he does. With that being said there's only one or two actual neurosurgeons in the Southeastern spine institute and the one or two that are there are very good. So I would recommend going there for surgery but I highly recommend that you go to a different pain management center that's not affiliated with Southeastern spine institute. And especially stay away from Dr Netherton. read more

The Southeastern Spine Institute - Physical Therapy Near Me - Mount Pleasant, South Carolina

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I trust Southeastern Spine with each problem that arises within my spine as I age. I know if I need another disc replacement or a fusion that they will be honest about the future outcome. I am now 74 years old and would quickly accept a surgery if that was recommended. Dr. Thomas Anderson replaced a disinigrated disc in my neck over 7 years ago and took away all the undescribable pain that I was enduring. He is a marvelous neuro-surgeon! read more

I believed Southeastern Spines commercials, but I am very disappointed in the way I was treated by Dr Fiske and his staff, including Clinical Director, Ms Karen Blakey, who refuses to return my phone calls after four days. First, I was told my MRIs from Roper St Francis were downloaded prior to my Virtual Appointment with Dr Fiske. However, Dr Fiske claimed he could not see my MRIs. His nurse later said the MRIs were available but could not explain why I was told they were not. NOTE: I spent FORTY minutes on hold waiting for DR Fiske to appear on my iphone screen for my appointment to begin. UNACCEPTABILE!!! A few days later I went for a face to face appointment and waited over TWO hours before being taken to XRay. UNACCEPTABLE!!! Then Dr. Fiske informed me that my current MRIs were not good quality. However, two well know Neurosurgeons from Roper Neurology used them to determine my need for surgery. I was told I needed MORE MRIs from DR Fiske's office. Dr Fiske has no personality or appropriate "bed side" manner. DO NOT GO TO THIS GROUP!!! DO NOT LET THEM BILL YOUR INSURANCE NEEDLESSLY!!! DO NOT LET THEM WASTE YOUR DAY on an incompetent, unorganized staff and RUDE DOCTOR! We patients may not be DOCTORS but our time is valuable also! I am waiting on a MEDICARE REVIEW to determine whether the charges billed by Southeastern Spine are appropriate! read more

Felt like an assembly line. Very impersonal, sending you to half a dozen different desks. Filled out two sets of paperwork that had all the same questions. I guess the departments are unable to share that info since they're on different floors?! Waited an hour and a half to be called back for my MRI. With the half hour long MRI I spent almost 4 hours at SSI. Better be ready to give up your whole day if you're coming here read more

I was referred to Southeastern Spine by my Primary Physician after he had me do an MRI. My GP and I could clearly see problems with discs in my Lumbar area. I took the MRI results disk to Southeastern Spine and saw Dr. Timothy Bryan. He spent the time needed to thoroughly review my MRI results with me and answer all my questions. He said I did not need surgery at the present time and clearly showed me why from the MRI results. He recommended Physical Therapy and possibly a shot in my hip joint in a few months. His assistant Sandy was very friendly, gave me her card and asked me to call her at any time. I live in the Myrtle Beach area and will definitely make the drive to see Dr. Bryan again. read more

I have gone to Southeastern Spine since my Doctor joined the practice in 2010. However, after my doctor left, I was "assigned" a Doctor that I have never seen face to face. That being explained , when my Dr left the practice, I had been scheduled for an injection so I had the injection... there was not a positive outcome. So somehow I am now connected to this Doctor. I want to see a Doctor at Southeastern Spine I knew before he joined the organization but somehow I cannot ......... WHY NOT. I need this "new doctor's" permission. Ok so a week ago I left a message with the "new doctor's staff". Not a word... so several days later I called to make an appointment with the Doctor that I know before he joined Southeastern Spine. But NO CANNOT CHANGE DOCTOR. So I asked to speak to someone that can let me see the doctor of my choice. Still no call back. Why can I not make an appointment at southeastern spine. What has happened to this formerly fine medical practice. Sincerely, Cathy. read more

Before today, I would have left a review of 5 stars. My husband has been a patient there and had 2 procedures. When the doctor recommended the 2nd procedure we were told (yes I was there) it make take more than one time and to come back if he was still in pain. Today, the doctor realized out his injuries were related to a car accident (even though health insurance is covering everything), recanted all of what he had told us was needed, told him he was fine and released him. AND flat out lied saying he never said it may take more than one procedure!!! When you have a patient in pain, 8 out of 10, and you tell them nothing is wrong go take ant-inflammatory medication. DO NOT USE THEM!!!! Find another doctor! read more

Been there twice, very pleased. Appointment times were honored and once in the consultation room, both the P.A. and physician spent as much time with me as necessary, answered all my questions and provided excellent care. Do yourself a favor if you're going there for the first time, get your paperwork done BEFORE the appointment (download it, fill it out and take it with you). Also take along any recent X-rays, CT scan or MRI films (discs). read more

I have been a patient of Dr. Steven Polletti for over 15 years. He is an extremely knowledgeable and a very caring surgeon. After two lumbar fusions and two cerebral fusions I have been pain free for over 5 years. I highly recommend him and his staff to anyone looking for someone who has helped 1000's of patients mobile again. read more