Testimonials

I have been a patient of Dr. Mittal’s for years. He has replaced both knees and my right hip. As fate would have it, my left hip is also needing to be replaced; the odds weren’t in my favor. However my current insurance wanted me to choose an orthopaedic surgeon in their network. My experience with Dr. Mittal has been incredible so I decided I wanted to stick with him and just change insurance when my policy ran out. My problem was the pain associated with my bad left hip kept increasing. Dr. Mittal had begun using Stem Cell Therapy injections for people with mild arthritis or who weren’t ready for surgery. Even though I need a hip replacement we decided to give it a shot. I had a stem cell injection a few months ago and can’t believe the change in my day to day life. I’ve been able to continue working and as long as I’m careful, I’m carrying on with most of my day to day activities. I would definitely recommend Stem Cell therapy with Dr. Mittal.”

I sought treatment from Dr. Mittal for torn meniscus in my knee. I had been suffering for a year and had seen two other orthopedics first. One performed arthroscopic surgery but I saw no results – actually, I felt worse. The second, who works for a clinic with a great reputation took one look at me and said he couldn’t help me and that even if he could he “wouldn’t want to” because I was “too high risk.” I was a 41 year old, healthy, non-smoker, non-drinker, avid runner, but because I had developed a DVT after the arthroscopic, he considered me high risk. He also told me I would just have to stop running, treating my “hobby” as unimportant because I’m not a professional or collegiate athlete. At first I was sad, then I got mad and began doing research as to what doctor in the U.S. could help. I was ready to go ANYWHERE to find someone to help me. Fortunately, I only had to go an hour from home. Through a series of fortunate conversations with multiple people, I was made aware of Dr. Mittal and that he reputation for being the best knee guy there is. I made an appointment, thinking that it couldn’t hurt but probably wouldn’t help. Boy was I wrong! First of all, Dr. Mittal didn’t treat me like I was unimportant or that my passion for running was just a silly hobby. He had the desire to get me back to doing what I love. In fact, he said that if I could change my activity and be happy, great. But if not, then let’s do everything in our power to get me back out there. Of course, by this time I could barely walk, so this had not become a mission just to be able to run anymore. It had become about living a normal life, even over living an active one. He also said that blood clots happen, even when taking the proper precautions, and that I absolutely was not high risk. We discussed my treatment options and stem cell therapy seemed to be the best direction to go at the time since it is far less invasive than a knee replacement (which does await me in the future, but not yet!) Stem cell therapy is literally just an injection, and to Dr. Mittal, I was a perfect candidate. The only drawback was that I had to pay out of pocket because insurance doesn’t cover stem cell therapy. And, paying so much out of pocket for one injection with no guarantees and limited long term results is even riskier. Even so, my husband and I decided that we needed to exhaust all options before we started looking at invasive procedures, so we opted for stem cells. The injection itself took maybe 15-20 minutes. Dr. Mittal was very thorough, using a special x-ray machine so that he could SEE exactly where to inject the stem cells, rather than just guess at the right spot. I felt no pain. At all. Ever. Even when the numbing agents wore off, I was perfectly fine. A little sore, but no pain. He warned me that I would be pretty sore and might want to use crutches for a few days after the injection, but the opposite happened. I felt better that very night and noticed a slight improvement in my range of motion by the next evening. He released me to start biking two weeks later and running 4 weeks later. That was December 22, 2014 and it was the best Christmas present I could have received. I ran (jogged slowly, but still) a 5K race on New Year’s Eve, and by the end of January I felt like myself again, just out of shape! I was no longer an injured runner, but a runner. Period. And even better, I was pain free the rest of the time. No more limping. No more having to unhinge my knee to straighten it out. It simply worked like a knee should. Would I recommend stem cell therapy to friends/family? Like anything else in medicine, the results are not guaranteed, but mine have been miraculous and I am so grateful that Dr. Mittal believes in cutting edge medicine. I couldn’t be happier with my results.”

Ken was raised on a dairy farm and was kicked by a 1700Ib Holstein which shattered his left ankle and broke his leg. His physician told him he’d probably need a hip and/or ankle replacement sometime in the future. Fast forward 50 years (he lasted a lot longer than most!), his left leg was ½” shorter than his right causing thigh pain and Ken decided enough was enough. Ken met with Dr Small our fellowship trained hip replacement surgeon and they decided on the direct anterior approach hip replacement. Dr Small told Ken his plan was to discharge him the same day as his surgery, which excited Ken who “hates hospitals.” Ken is in good shape and a great candidate for this type of surgery and was able to leave the hospital the same day. According to Ken his “recovery has been excellent…I’m able to get in and out of cars, put on my socks and shoes…and to top it off NO MORE LIMPING”. It doesn’t hurt that Ken is a great patient by doing his exercises (physical therapy) and following Dr Small’s recommendations.

Dear Dr Mittal and Staff, My total left hip replacement was May 5 of this year. My recovery has been remarkable and I am feeling stronger everyday. I can bend and stretch without pain and although I am still careful about how I move, I am able to do most of the things I need and want to do. You and your staff did a remarkable job and I was also so grateful for a very good hospital experience at Hillcrest (except for the coffee!) Please accept my sincere gratitude and thanks for truly giving me my life back. Best of luck with your continued success and thank you for your hard work and dedication to helping people. Sincerely, – Carolyn Trammell

He gave me my life back! And I’m recommending him to anyone with degenerative hip or knee issues.” Kathy had been suffering from severe pain in her left hip for over 7 years caused by inflammation of the bursa sac. For the last 5 years she had been receiving steroid shots beginning every 6 months but more recently every 2 months. Kathy also tried physical therapy but to no avail. She was unable to cross her legs, lie on her left side and if she’d been sitting for very long she would have to “warm-up” her muscles in order to move. Luckily her daughter’s friend is a physical therapist and recommended Kathy visit Dr. Mittal. On her first visit Dr. Mittal told her he would work diligently to get her back to her life. Dr. Mittal felt a PRP with amniotic stem cell injection might help alleviate her awful pain. He couldn’t guarantee the outcome but felt it was her best option. Kathy is 6 months post procedure and has little to no pain!

Dr. Chalkin, you did a great job. I remember one time you said you thought of my tendon surgery often. Think good thoughts. If you hadn’t done the job you did, I wouldn’t even be able to use that arm.”

I wanted to take a moment to compliment some of your staff members on exceptional service rendered to first my daughter, Danielle Langley, and myself. My daughter was in a horrible car accident on 3/31/15 and was ultimately referred to Dr. Chalkin by her PCP (after the hospital’s referrals to surgeons were futile. None of those offices ever returned our calls). I had to travel from Washington DC to Tulsa to help care for my daughter and her 5 children the day after the accident, although my daughter suffered great pain with her broken arm for a full week before we finally were directed to your office. Your office got us in the next day after receiving a call from the PCP. I am SO grateful for that. From the first moment we entered the office until today, we have received nothing but excellence in both customer service and care for my daughter. When I expressed the urgency in getting my FMLA paperwork handled, your staff made themselves available immediately to assist me, despite how busy the practice was. No words could express my appreciation for their willingness to take on the urgency of this, as my employment status was contingent upon the completion of the paperwork. I’ve been in healthcare for over 20 years and I have rarely seen a team work so well together and be so driven to provide such outstanding patient care. Mr. Clary, I am a firm believer, that great staff are a reflection of great leadership. I would like to give a special thank you to Melissa, Erica, Chris and Lynda. These ladies truly went above and beyond the call of duty. They are to be commended for their dedication and compassion towards both me and my daughter in this very trying time. Please feel free to contact me directly should you need to. Please share this with the rest of your staff (ladies at the front desk were fabulous as well) and extend a very warm thank you to Dr. Chalkin for the wonderful care he gave to my daughter as well. Warm regards and blessings to all.”

In October 2014 I had my left knee replaced by Dr. Yogesh Mittal. I started hitting the gym 6 months in advance of the surgery for cardio and leg exercise. Three weeks after the replacement I walked 3 miles without a crutch or cane. My rehab was done by the book per doctor’s instructions. I attribute my success to my surgeon’s skilled hands and the work beforehand plus therapy after the fact. Recently, I recounted my story to a friend who has just undergone knee replacement. I mistakenly told him the 3 mile walk was done 3 days after the surgery instead of 3 weeks. Now, 3 months into his recuperation, he thinks he isn’t doing well because he is still hobbling with a cane. I need to correct my story so my friend doesn’t think either he or his surgery is a failure.”

We are a patient of record for over eight years. We are excited about the prospect of John being able to dance again. These films showcase the bone on bone JTF has endured for many years. We have embraced low impact warm pool therapy and he still has the moves just unable to support earth’s full gravity on his past perfect joints. We look forward to boasting the smooth moves and rapid recovery of an 81 year old patient of the TOC team. The photos below are from a few weeks back. He is able to walk about 30 laps at St. Johns’ therapy pool and is all smiles ear to ear. He hates to leave the pool! He may be able to tell you best at his bed side phone. :)”

My son Anthony (16) fractured the Scaphoid in his right hand during Nov. 2010. We were referred to Dr. Chalkin (Orthopedic Center Tulsa, OK) which when he reviewed Anthony’s MRI we were told Anthony needed surgery and physical therapy would follow. The Scaphoid fracture kept the bone from receiving blood; the bone was dying it was almost black. The graft needed a blood cell in order to give blood supply back to the bone. Dr. Chalkin said he would use Anthony’s bone graft if possible before he resorted to cadaver bone. During surgery instead of using cadaver bone Dr. Chalkin was able to take a bone graft from Anthony’s wrist and place it in the Scaphoid fracture. Will it work? The waiting begins. Anthony had four pins and several stitches. His casts were changed four different times from the time of surgery November 2010 through March 2011. During the March visit Anthony’s cast came off and the scar looked a lot better than I expected, the x-ray came back giving a positive report; the bone was now receiving blood and to top it off the surgery went so well Anthony does not need physical therapy just a lot of tender loving care like Dr. Chalkin gave him. If something like this ever happens again I hope that Dr. Chalkin is here to take care of us. Thank you Dr. Chalkin!!”