Orisek Phillip J MD

The Best Dr World Wide gave me my life back. THANK You. He does surgery so well great Dr

Incredible spine surgeon. I’ve seen many patients over the years from various spine docs in the region and I have never heard anyone complain about his bedside manner or office staff. But more importantly the outcomes I’ve seen of his have been overwhelming positive from minimally invasive stuff to the bigger fusion type surgeries. Highly recommended

My experience with Dr. Orisek has been great. He replaced my herniated disc with a prosthetic last year and I felt better right away, even as I woke up from anesthetic I noticed that the nerve pressure was alleviated. He’s very easy to talk to, and his staff is incredibly helpful. Bring a book because the waiting room is like purgatory in the afternoons. I’ve had the x-​rays and MRI’s of my robo-​neck looked at by Bay Area surgeons and they have all agreed that the work he does is excellent. The head of spine surgery for Kaiser in Oakland said the implant placing was perfect and doing exactly what it was supposed to do. Another spine surgeon, who is now a QME doctor for worker’s comp also agreed that he did an exemplary job, even going above and beyond to eliminate bone spurs. I could transfer the rest of my care to another surgeon in the bay area but I’d rather drive to the Sacramento area to stick with Orisek. As far as personality goes, I think he’s enthusiastic about his work and his bedside manner is just the way I’d expect somebody working on my spine to be. He’s serious, but he’s excited about getting good results. My best advice is to not go empty-​handed to the waiting room or you’ll die of boredom. Other than that, it would appear that he is an exemplary surgeon according to my own experience and the opinion of other surgeons in his field.

Dr. Orisek did a spine surgery to me for a herniated disc in my low back. I am still in the midst of recovery as I write this review, but I can tell you that I do feel much much better already compared to pre-​surgery. As a person, Dr. Orisek may seem distant when you first meet him, but that’s only because he doesn’t know you yet and he warms up quickly. You end up realizing that he is a very nice person who cares a lot about his patients. I can tell you that I have now known Dr. Orisek for a long time and he is a very caring and compassionate person, and first and foremost he’s a great surgeon. He is very reassuring, he reminds me of a captain of a ship which is being thrown around by huge waves in the midst of a terrible storm, in a dangerous situation Dr. Orisek is like the cool, calm and collected captain of the ship which he skillfully commands through the storm to safety. Although I was very scared to have a surgery, I knew it was necessary and Dr. Orisek made me feel extremely reassured the morning of the operation with his calm and reassuring demeanor, he even cracked a couple jokes to me just to try to make me laugh to lighten the mood of the situation. I loved that more than words can express.
He is regarded as one of the top, and very likely the top spinal surgeon in the Sacramento region. The one thing I love about Dr. Orisek is that he is not a guy who ever pushes surgery, on the contrary, he always tries non-​surgical and conservative treatments first. He is not pushy and will never make you feel pressured to do a surgery of any kind, and that alone is a quality to be treasured since seeing a spine surgeon is so nerve wracking in itself. He tends to be overbooked, but as one other reviewer stated, this is due to the fact that he is in such high demand and only has so much time available.
If you need a straight-​shooter who tells you like it is with your spine and has the knowledge and skill to fix the problems if surgery is needed, then Dr. Orisek is your man.

One of the things I like about Dr. Orisek is his casual manner. He is charming yet absolutely cares about you and your ailments. I had a spinal fusion which went well but less than a year later the «screws came loose» and he had to go back in to remove them. That was not fun. Well I still have pain so he said I needed a procedure on my back where they inject steroids and novacain. That is scheduled for later this month and then I pray that I’m finished with this business.
Did I forget to say I’m 79 years old so none of this has been easy for me but I’m seeing it through to the end!
Regarding the office staff: they are a superb group of people who are hindered by the scheduling and the fact that Dr. O takes time with the patients. Please be nice to them. It’s not their fault.

I was referred to Dr. Orisek because I had a bone spur in my neck pushing on a nerve in my shoulder and arm. I had disc replacement surgery on March 17^th. I’m 6 weeks post op and I feel amazing. He is truly a talented surgeon and the scar is very small and was put in the natural crease of my neck.
It is true, his office is VERY busy and the wait time to be seen can be a very long time. One time, I waited over an hour and he had to reschedule because he had a deposition, it was very frustrating. At first, honestly, this was very annoying, but it was worth it to get in with a high reputable surgeon. I learned that my best bet was to get the earliest/​1^st appointment of the morning and arrive early! All of my subsequent appointments were on time :)
He’s the best in Sacramento area and the other possible physician I was referred to was in San Francisco and the commute for post ops seemed like more hassle than to just wait to get in with Orisek.
He doesn’t have a coddling best bedside manner, it’s straight to business, but that was not a big deal for me, I wanted someone who was going to do an amazing job, and he did. He and Dr. Landum are very straight-​forward and I felt 100% confident that I would get the results I desired — which I did.

They make you wait over an hour before you actually even see anyone. Schedule your appointment over other clients so they won’t have time for you and the women are snooty. They even warn you before you’d schedule the appointment that you better have everything before you show up or they will have to reschedule you a month later because they are so over booked. I think I only saw one other person get called before I did and I waited 30 min in the waiting room. The appointment was a joke. Doctor kept texting during my appointment and acted like he was stoned. Definitely will not be coming back.

Looking for a Dr. who takes the time to take care of you? Dr. Orisek is awesome. At first I didn’t think he had the ‘sweetest’ bedside manner, but after building a rapport with him, I LOVE him! He’s direct– you don’t have to read in between the lines with him. He DOES care, and I think Dr’s have to also come to build trust with their patients as much as patients have to come to build trust with their Dr’s. He did a neck surgery on me and I’m t-​h-​r-​i-​l-​l-​e-​d with the results… more than I could have imagined. Dr. Orisek has a calming demeanor. His staff is also friendly and smiley. At first I thought they were a bit ‘stuffy’ because the window is closed when you go to the office, and it opens every few minutes or so. But I realize it’s so they can discuss private matters if need be — which I respect and appreciate. They are easy to reach when I call, accommodating if I need to reschedule an appointment, and very responsive when I have matters that need following up on. I am truly grateful for Dr. Orisek and his staff.