James Bates's Online Review Report Card

I wasn't able to walk more than 3 miles before my legs would swell up for the rest of the day. Scripps drs all denied me until Dr Bates replaced both knees 6 mo apart in 2020. I was 55 yrs old at the time. Thanks to Dr Bates I have a whole new life where I can walk endlessly & feel no pain in my joints. Replacing my knees changed my life.

I waited 4 months for surgery. I was scheduled for a surgical review. BUT Bates was due for hip replacement himself. So he cancelled my surgery and injected me with what I do not know. Then he yelled at me that there would be no surgery for the rest of the year. I am still in pain. He never informed me. I would have gone elsewhere which is what I did do. Now he is threatening me with collections for $11.31.

I am in severe pain. Does not mean anything to the staff or doctors bates. Left me feeling like I mean absolutely nothing. It feels like they are there to make $. The care can't be good if no one cares including the doctor.

only 3.9 stars😵‍💫 should have checked reviews first. My leg has gone numb after Ortho surgery. No feeling in left leg. Very sad and disappointed because now I can't walk more than 15 feet. This surgery was 3 months ago (3mo of physical therapy) and nobody knows what to do about it. Insurance Brand determines Care Quality. He is a likable guy. And a very commercial response below👇👇

Frustrated by lack of ability to get through to the scheduler, phone tree circles, referral back and forth "you should have it" / "we don't have it" and vice versa. Multiple unproductive phone calls led to my needing to make an in-person visit to the office staff to expedite the scheduling of an appointment with the Doctor- which was still 5+ weeks out. I felt like I was begging when I impressed upon the scheduler my willingness to drop everything upon a moments notice to take any cancellation, if an earlier appointment became available. Additionally, I was told that if surgery was to be scheduled, it was to be from 5-6 months out. Managing expectations is one thing, but this experience felt like a deliberate encouragement to seek care elsewhere. As someone who can navigate "managed care" pretty well, I was frustrated by this experience. Due to lack of other options, I'll see this through in hopes that the experience improves along the way.

Dr. Bates is an amazing Orthopedic Surgeon! I had an Arthroscopic surgery on my left knee. The surgery went good and I recovered quickly. He listened and addressed all of my concerns before and after the surgery. I highly recommend Dr. Bates for Arthroscopic Surgery.

Dr. Bates was committed to helping me keep my hip working as well as possible, for as long as possible. When replacement surgery was the only good option , the Surgery was Trouble-Free. Speedy Recovery. Within 3 months, I was walking as effortless as everyone else was. I owe Dr. Bates a debt of Deep Gratitude. btw, Medicare and TriCare had no problems with the pre-approval and subsequent Billings.

I have had replacement of both of my knees through Dr. Bates. One in 2013 and the other in 2017. Afterwards I was playing Racquetball but now thanks to COVID am playing Pickleball. I play 6 days out of the week for about 2 hours each day. Both knees are doing exceptionally well. I also had Dr Bates remove some screws and plates from a foot fusion that was performed by another Dr the year before. I have recommended various senior athletes and have heard nothing but praise. As a reference, I had a major knee injury to my left in 1992 during a motorcycle accident which started my knee issues. Took out my medial, internal ligaments and half of my patella tendon. I had a few previous surgeries to try and repair. I continued being active playing sports like racquetball, softball and even a little touch football. Totally wore out the the left knee which initiated the left replacement and then the right finally gave up in2017. I will be 61 in June of 2021. Just amazing

1: Cannot recommend Dr. Bates if you are using Tri West. 2. Cannot recommend Dr. Bates' staff if you are using Tri West. Dr. Bates is probably a gifted Orthopedic Surgeon, however I would not recommend him. His office and his "bedside manner " leave something to be desired. My husband used the VA referral to community system when the VA is unable to preform an appointment in a given time in Feb. Unfortunately, he had had a complete work up through the VA and the surgery date was being set when it was canceled. We made an appointment with Dr. Bates as his office accepted Tri West, the VA coverage insurance. We waited for our appointment and were told by Debbie, that we would have to repeat ALL of the testing, labs, x-ray and another note from his primary care physician. She also told us that she would NOT request records at that time and that too much time would pass as Dr. Bates would also be out for a few weeks for Reserves. His surgery date would be in June as we would be on the waiting list. Dealing with Debbie was very difficult as I gathered she did not care for the Tri West coverage. I should also mention that my husband has Chronic Myelogenous Leukemia for which he takes daily medication, well controlled but heals slowly. OK, surgery finally done in June, full knee replacement. I believe Dr. Bates used a new procedure on my husband as every nurse and Physical Therapist asked, " and what are these 2 surgical cuts for?" Apparently, they had never seen 2 additional cuts down at the ankle that my husband received. Also, the nurses asked if and when we saw Dr. Bates, could we please ask him to talk to them suggesting that he pops in and out without touching base with the people that are caring for his patient. (Big red flag here.) On one of his visits, Dr. Bates stood at the doorway and asked if my husband ,"felt like going home today?". My husband was unable to be released by Physical Therapy as he would not be able to climb the 3 steps to our home. Fortunately, my husband received excellent Physical Therapy using his Tri West and the company continued to request and were granted additional visits to help him progress. He was to also have and additional visit with Dr. Bates and I asked Debbie if she could request a final referral for that visit as too much time had passed from the original referral date in Feb. She told me to do it as Tri West is slow to respond. Well, I cannot request a medical referral extension, that needed to come from Dr. Bates office and as stated before, Debbie doesn't appear to care for Tri West. Sorry, I just had a lot to say... you didn't really need to read all this..

I saw Dr Bates for a botched foot surgery and he gave me very good direction. Then I had him do the fix on my other foot and he took care of things so totally differently. I can tell things are healing well and faster and will have a good outcome (1 mo later) . Dr Bates has a wonderful grasp of orthopedics and seems to get straight to the heart of problems and how to solve them. I will continue to see him for ortho work.