Nercessian Ohannes A MD

Do not go to see this doctor!!! I came with a terrible injure to my knees after an accident. He took a 1 minute look at my x rays and because nothing was broken he dismissed me and told me just to come back in three weeks. No conversation about pain management, no conversation about how to deal with inflammation or physical therapy. He spent a total of 5 minutes with me, never looked at me in the eyes and then I got a bill for $ 500 !!!

A complete waste of my time. Dr Nercessian wanted xrays and MRI’s before treating me for pain. I originally agreed to this until I found out that he’s only at his NJ office ONCE a month! this meant that I would be in this much pain for weeks before seeing him again. His solution was «take Aleve». He clearly does not understand what it is like to be in pain. I went to see my general practitioner that same day she gave me something for pain, spasms and an rx for physical therapy.

DO NOT GO TO THIS MAN. I went to him for a torn ACL and 3 years later I had re-​torn it twice, along with my meniscus, due to his medical mistakes and complete lack of skill and knowledge of current best practices. He speaks down to his patients and clearly has lost touch with what is going on in his field. When I finally had to see another doctor to fix his mistakes, he was amazed at some of the decisions Nercessian had made. It was a miracle that my knee was still in a position where it could be saved, it unfortunately just took years of intense pain and much longer than it should have. If you have any desire to make a full recovery DO NOT go to this man for medical treatment, he should have been forced into retirement years ago before he hurts someone else.

I give him these two stars because he was very nice to me, and I do think he is kind and has his heart in the right place. It actually breaks my heart a little to write this but I think it’s time.
I came to him for a relatively simple procedure two years ago. He had agreed to file down two small bone spurs on the tops of my feet which were clicking and irritating me when I ran. When I consulted with him, he gave me the impression that this was a relatively simple procedure and I’d get a great result.
Two years later, all I can say is it has been the worst ordeal of my life. I knew something was wrong immediately. When I was at my 6 weeks post-​op follow up, his observation was a casual, «your bones are spreading and you need a fusion.» I had no idea what that he meant. Then, minutes later, he told me it was actually a dermatology issue, and sent me to the dermatology department down the hall. The dermatologist I met with was baffled as to why I’d been sent there. He immediately assured me that this was NOT a dermatology issue. There were massive hard golf ball growths forming under my skin.
When I retuned to Dr. Nercessian several days later, he suggested it was time for me to see a «foot specialist.» OK. I don’t know how I missed this — but I was under the impression that HE WAS a foot specialist. Why would he cut open and buzz-​saw BOTH of someones feet if he was not actually a foot specialist? Telling me to see a «foot specialist» would have been REALLY helpful advice — if he’d offered it BEFORE cutting open both of my feet and leaving me disfigured.
The foot specialist he recommended to me was employed in the same practice, and as to be expected, out of «loyalty» to his older, senior colleague, this young foot specialist completely dismissed me and suggested I learn to live with it and start physical therapy for my «weak ankles.» This was rather arbitrary, as I’ve never had ankle problems, but ok, he’s the doctor, and I was at the point that I’d try anything. Physical therapy was in in the same building, connected to this practice. When I tell you it was a joke, I am probably giving it too much credit. The therapist was nice enough. But his goal for me was to tone my thighs and strengthen my core. That’s all well and fine, but tightening my thighs is not what I was there for. I can do that on my own time. I was there to address my post surgery mangled feet which had golf ball deformities bulging from the place, where prior to surgery, only tiny little specks existed before.
I haven’t even mentioned the most catastrophic effect of this surgery. I wake up in severe pain every morning. I can stretch and strengthen till I’m blue in the face, but ultimately I live my life with pain all day, every day. The golf ball lumps are so massive that the only shoe I can fit on my foot is an UGG, and even that hurts. I have consulted with several other foot surgeons who have consistently assumed I had this done «overseas» because they can’t believe this was done by a prominent surgeon in an American hospital. It’s that bad. My only option is to live with it, which is a really depressing thought, or plan for another surgery which would be far more extensive and complicated. I suffered excessive nerve damage and my foot is structurally damaged as well. My options involve metal plates, scooters, months of therapy, and no guarantees. This really and truly messed up my life. I’ve spent thousands of dollars trying to find shoes to accommodate my foot, but hardly anything is tolerable. Not to mention I can’t run, or even walk more than one city block without writing in pain. Yes, Dr. Nercessian is a nice, kind charming man with an engaging personality. But he, and more importantly others, should know what a horrible effect this surgery has had on my life and think very long and hard before undergoing any kind of foot surgery.

I had knee surgery with Dr. Ohannes Nercessian at Columbia Orthopaedics for a torn meniscus. This was my third knee surgery, the second one on the same knee (a similar meniscus tear was repaired a few years back at the Hospital for Special Surgery), and the first one at Columbia.
The meniscectomy surgery went fine, as far as the doctors could tell, but it is during rehab that problems started, and never fully resolved. The knee was very swollen and had to be drained 3 times, which is unusual[1]. The reason for the swelling was unclear, but labs ruled out a possible infection.
When I started rehab at Columbia, the questionnaire I filled in on my first visit asked what I was hoping to achieve at the end of rehab. My answer was «I want to be able to run again». I never achieved that.
Recovery time from this type of operation varies considerably, but it is usually quick: 2 – 8 weeks. Moreover, patients are normally able to return to their normal, pre-​injury physical activity. In fact, a meniscus tear is a very frequent sports injury, and most athletes are able to resume competitive activity successfully after meniscectomy. For a similar operation a few years before at my other knee I fully recovered in about 6 weeks, and was able to run and play squash regularly and at the same intensity level again. In this case, a few years have passed after surgery, and I am still unable to run for more than just a sprint. After a couple of years with no progress and no clue of what was going on, I just stopped seeing the doctor.
Unfortunately Columbia does not provide any information about how well patients of a certain doctor recover after surgery[2]. Nor allows a patient to see a different doctor at the same hospital to ask for a second opinion.
In the end I am certainly better after the surgery than before, but would you go back to the same doctor if something went wrong, you never fully recovered, and the doctor was unable to figure out what went wrong?
Neither would I.
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[1] The swelling is not unusual; it’s unusual for the knee to keep swelling after it has been drained if you don’t do any intense physical activity.
[2] Which is nonsense. It’s like hiring somebody without knowing how good they are at what they do because their performance records are not available to the public.