Frank W Gwathmey's Online Review Report Card

Did both repairs on rotator cuffs and recent hip surgery. Great bedside manner, professional, straight shooter and caring.

Dr. Gwathmey is dismissive and does not ask questions or care about any "backstory" or information as to why you are there. I wish in my appointment I had advocated for myself. I tried to see him again as I had been in PT for a year and had some changes since my first visit, but he cancelled my appointment and refused to order new imaging or see me. He had a nurse tell me he couldn't help me. Unbelievable!!

First time in 60 years I had an x-ray and MRI. Very pleasant resident came in to explain I had an unrooted meniscus that could easily be solved with surgery. Dr. Gwathmey came in after and was rude, noted I was older and overweight and I had severe arthritis in my knee (no one prior had noted this, in fact nurse practioner noted I had slight arthritis at the edge of my knee cap. Dr. Gwathey rudely noted I would need a need replacement in 2-3 years and would be a waste of money to have 2 surgeries so close together. Not at all how I expected to be introduced to my medical condition. He was in and out in less than 7 minutes. Why would he send in a resident if that isn't the message he thought was being delivered? Poor resident, what a horrible example of a professional md he has been paired with!

Excellent, extremely professional. Extremely knowledgeable about labrum tears.

One of the best doctors I’ve seen. Thank you for all the help!!

Absolutely an amazing person! He makes you feel completely comfortable. My husband had hip surgery 2 years ago that Dr. Gwathmey repaired. He’s the only doctor that Diagnosed him correctly. I have a labrum tear that needs repaired. We are two hours away, but I wouldn’t go to anyone else. He helped saved my husbands career. We are so very thankful for him.

I cannot say enough good things about Dr. Gwathmey. He's conservative in his approach, whereas some surgeons appear eager and deadset on operating before fully exploring/explaining all options. On the morning I was slated to have my hip shaved and labrum repaired I was experiencing pain in my back and opposite hip, and he opted to postpone the operation at the last minute in order to give me the best outlook for recovery. I can only imagine the money UVA gave up in losing that surgical time slot. You won't need to wonder if your best interest is being served. Along with confidence in his technical and ethical standards, I also should mention his communication skills and bedside manner are excellent. In the past I had a surgeon and have had doctors to whom I felt more like a project than a person but that has not at all been the case with Dr. Gwathmey. I'll most likely have my other hip repaired by him in the coming months and I couldn't feel better about that. I'm 26 and after years of chronic pain I'm starting to feel as though I may recover enough of myself to make the difficult days worthwhile. 10/10.

Wonderful experience with Dr. Gwathmey and his team!

I had a labral tear that I nursed along with every thing I could throw at it except surgery. Hours of physical therapy, stopping running, acupuncture, anti-inflammatories, injections, you name it. I woke up in less pain than I had before surgery. Can't believe I waited with two years of pain before doing the surgery. Best thing I've done in a very long time.

I had two major hip surgeries under Dr. Gwathmey in 2014. What was wrong – Osteo-Necrosis in my Femur heads, both of them. Severe Labrum tears, with shredded cartilage and bone spurs, Femur Anterior Impingement (no distinction between the joint and the bone, which was crushing my cartilage), and bone spurs which had actually ripped off a lot of my Cartilage and fused them to my femur. Each leg took about 8 hours of surgery, and the recovery was several months, which I did at Spectrum Therapy in Charlottesville (great place too). I am highly active, in the military, and required to carry a lot of weight at times. My hips were threatening my career, and without Dr. Gwathmey’s intervention I would have lost my job. After runs I used to find a spot to huddle up in a ball to hold my hips because I was in so much pain. After the surgery one hip aches a bit, but I am now able to run, carry weight and perform at a level necessary for my profession. Either way, I am significantly improved from before the surgery. I cannot speak more highly of his professionalism and knowledge as a surgeon. If you are highly active, and want to maintain an active lifestyle then Dr. Gwathmey is your surgeon. He isn’t a hip replacement surgeon, but a hip repair surgeon and he is absolutely phenomenal at it. He’s the rock start of hip surgeons. If you want to see some of my surgery feel free to go to youtube and search for Michael Brooks Labrum Repair.