Commonwealth Orthopaedics

Wow, don’t go to this group for Plantar Fasciitis, I guess they don’t make enough money off of this procedure. They didn’t want to give me the time of day. I have a neighbor who had surgery and was very happy with them… Not a fan myself.

I visited the Herndon location of Commonwealth Orthopedics to have a sprained ankle looked at.
If you read one thing about this post, read this:
DO NOT ACCEPT ANY ORTHOPEDIC MEDICAL EQUIPMENT FROM THIS OFFICE. Do not sign the contract when you walk in, do not sign the equipment contract. Find it online. Or, better yet, GO TO AN OFFICE THAT WON’T TRY TO SCAM YOU.
Summary:
This location pushes you to buy overpriced medical equipment that your insurance won’t cover. I was confused and pressured into purchasing an ankle brace which I later found online for 55% less. They don’t tell you if your insurance will cover it or not, and leave you guessing/​confused and in a situation where you’re pressured into leaving with the equipment, even though you don’t know what you’re paying for.
Recap of my Experience:
The doctor never spent any time with me. The PA came into the room for 5 – 6 minutes to advise me on how to move forward with the sprain. She recommended I wear an ankle brace. I said ok, and two nurses came in and one put the ankle brace on my foot. Then she came back with a clipboard that had a contract on it. I was not expecting this, and was already wearing the ankle brace, and felt pressured/​obligated to sign because there were 2 nurses in the room, and the brace was already on my foot. I did read the contract, and it was very vague. In a nutshell (and it takes a good amount of time to read between the lines and understand what you’re signing), it said that if my insurance doesn’t cover the brace, then I will be responsible for paying for it. It does not say anything about what different types of insurance typically cover, nor do the nurses, so you’re left in the dark as to what your insurance may/​may not cover. It is worded in such a way that it SUGGESTS your insurance may cover it, essentially a sales tactic to make you more likely to sign. I have a very expensive and comprehensive insurance plan, so I assumed the brace would be covered, or partially covered. Upon receiving the bill, the brace was $ 80, NONE of it was covered by my insurance. I found the exact same brace online for $ 37 (not to mention different options), so the pricing is a total scam. There is also another vague paper you sign when you walk in (1 pgh written on a piece of paper, very vague) essentially saying that it is your responsibility to know what is covered by your insurance.
What They are Doing Wrong:
Putting patients in an uninformed position about what their insurance covers then pressuring them into buying high margin medical equipment.
They’ve built in controls to recluse themselves from all legal penalties of the scam (asking patients to sign two contracts during the course of the visit). It is absolutely morally incomprehensible and unethical, but they leave you in a position where you can’t do anything about it. These contracts make it clear that they know exactly what they are doing, and they know insurance either rarely or never covers the medical equipment they push on patients. Otherwise, they wouldn’t need these risk controls as a mitigation.

RE: Dr. Kevin Lutta & staff
I broke my ankle while out of town visiting family. I had emergency surgery by another doctor who puta screw and a plate into my ankle.
My initial appointment was with Dr. Lutta’s PA, Jeff (who is wonderful) for a follow up and to have my staples removed. Upon taking further xrays, Jeff noticed that one of the screws the first surgeon (
) put in my ankle, was installed incorrectly. He consulted with Dr. Lutta and they decided I needed to have a second surgery to fix that screw. The next day Dr. Lutta performed the surgery and fixed the screw.
My first impression of Dr. Lutta’s office was not a good one. Whoever does his scheduling is not very friendly and not very bright. I had to explain to her several times that I live in Northern Virginia and had the surgery elsewhere because I was on vacation. I told her I needed the staples from the surgery removed and needed an appointment within 7 – 10 days. She told me that the earliest the doctor could see me was a month away. I had to ask her if there was a nurse or PA who could see me to just remove the staples. She put me on hold for a while and then came back and said that Jeff, the PA, could see me on ¹²⁄₁₉ and then tried to confirm that they were going to remove the screws. I had to explain to her, yet again, that I needed my STAPLES removed. It seemed fairly obvious that she doesn’t know much about surgery. My husband went in two days before my appointment to drop off my paperwork and confirm the appointment and they could not seem to get my birthday correct. And, when I called to make a follow-​up appointment she seemed very confused and curt.
At any rate, on ¹²⁄₁₉ when I went in to have the staples removed, they realized I needed another surgery. That is where Dr. Lutta’s other staff really stepped up. The first person I saw, who took my xrays was Mae. She was very friendly and put me immediately at ease. And, when I was alone in the exam room crying about having another surgery she came in to check on me and bring me tissues. Jeff, the PA, was very professional and patient and took the time the explain everything to me and my husband. The woman who removed my staples was gentle and kind. And Leila spent that day calling around trying to find a facility that could fit me in for surgery and acting as my liasion with the hospital.
Dr. Lutta himself is very much like every surgeon I’ve known (and I’ve known a few because my husband has had several surgeries). He is nice and professional, but not very personable. He was never rude, but I definitely felt more like a patient than a person around him. He answered my questions but did not volunteer a lot of information. When I asked if I might have bone density issues his only response was to refer me to my primary care physician. When I asked what I can do to avoid blood clots he just said take my aspirin (thanks to the internet, I now know that certain exercises — even with a broken ankle — and diets can help avoid blood clots).
Bottom line — Dr. Lutta is great in the operating room, not so much in the exam room, and (almost all off) his staff is great.

I visited my Orthopaedic Surgeon — Dr. Dombrowski — here for my what hopefully will be my final visit about the tendinosis in my elbow.
Dr. Dombrowski alternates his office hours time between the Fairfax and Herndon office locations. The Herndon office is closer to my office than the Fairfax location…
During my final visit — he gave me second shot of Cortisone — I psyched myself up for what I was worried would be a tremendous amount of pain (see my earlier review of the Fairfax location). But since most of the inflammation was gone — it felt like most any other regular shot — no real discomfort. My elbow was sore from the shot the next day — but that dissippated within a day or so.
Nice office — big, spacious, clean — lots of magazines — I’ve never waited more than 5 minutes to get called back — even when I was 15 – 20 minutes early for my appointment.
Highly recommended!