TLDR: My right hand carpal tunnel surgery with Dr. Banegas did not go as planned resulting in extreme pain and loss of right hand function. Instead of working with me to rectify the situation, Dr. Banegas told me my extreme pain was in my head even though my hand was clearly inflamed and my thumb stopped working for almost one month. He also did not offer timely pain management when needed. His medical assistant does not return calls to either patients or physiotherapists, and he does not even review physiotherapy notes to monitor patient progress.
Full review:
Up until my right wrist carpal tunnel surgery with Dr. Banegas I had nothing but confidence in him as a doctor and a surgeon. But after my carpal tunnel surgery I had extreme pain in my right hand which nobody told me was even a possibility. Dr. Banegas had said my recovery would be maximum two weeks and a minimum of pain. What I instead experienced was the worst pain I’ve ever had in my life almost immediately after surgery, that persisted for weeks. My thumb also lost function for over a month. And the response that I got from Dr. Banegas was that my extreme pain and loss of function was in my head; that I was imagining it. Even when I showed him my thumb that was not moving, he refused to take my pain into consideration. This was my first ever surgery, and I had no proper pain management for the moments when I most need it.
I was in Physiotherapy for almost 2 months dealing with the repercussions of the surgery, which continue to this day. I had my surgery on November 6 and it is now March 5 -- 4 months later -- and I am still dealing with pain and inflammation in and around the surgery site daily. I am a writer and still cannot comfortably use a mouse or type. This is even though I do my home physio every single day.
The week of January 15 I was supposed to have a follow up with Dr. Banegas, my final follow up as I was planning to get a second opinion at a different orthopedist. But I took a horrible fall at home and broke my left elbow, and I’ve been dealing with surgery and recuperation from that terrible injury. In all this time, Dr. Banegas' office has not called to check on me and see whether I am fully recovered from his surgery. Which is something that my current orthopedist would 100% do if I missed even one appointment. In fact, when I have reported unusual pain to my current orthopedist he has called me himself at home to chat and go over what’s happening in order to better manage my care.
With Dr. Banegas his medical assistant never even bothered to return phone calls and Dr Banegas never reviewed the physical therapy notes from the physical therapy center. Dr Banegas also never communicated with any of my physiotherapists, even as they tried to contact him to discuss my case, since it was clear that there was some kind of nerve issue that was happening after the surgery. My current orthopedist communicates regularly with the physical therapy center, reads the notes about my progress after every single session, and updates my treatment protocol regularly depending on how I’m responding. Dr. Banegas does none of this.
My supposedly simple carpal tunnel surgery procedure with Banegas has turned into a multi-month or deal of pain, that has still not resolved. I am a writer and still cannot comfortably use a mouse or type with my surgery hand. But at least now I have another orthopedist who actually listens and cares about his patients who I can consult with after my new injury is healed and rehabilitated.
Dr Banegas is probably a great doctor to work with if everything goes perfectly fine. But if you have a case like mine where it didn’t, then expect to have poor treatment, be gaslighted, your pain mismanaged, and absolutely no follow-up or empathy.
(...)
Sezin K.