John G. on Reviews That Matter 7 months ago
10/27/2022, 14:52 PM
A freak accident while skiing caused a massive fracture of my tibia and fibula in Utah. By sheer luck, Dr. Garrett Davis appeared at my bedside and offered recommendations about how to fix all those broken bones. It's an incredible thing when a physician is both technically proficient and an excellent clinician. At a time when some surgeons like to do surgery but not the long road to recovery, Dr. Davis does both, with skill and humanity. Surgery is objective and discrete. The follow up is not, since the physician doesn't know everything going on underneath the skin in the foot. That involves intuition and judgment. The surgery itself is called open reduction internal fixation (ORIF) means opening up my leg and putting the bones back together with plates and screws. I learned from another doctor that Dr. Davis's work was "like artwork" and that my bones were in perfect alignment. I came home knowing that he had put me back together in a way that could lead to a complete recovery. As a 66 year old man with a massive fracture, the recovery is slow but sure. But the xrays don't show much bone healing. My right foot and shin told me I was getting better, but there was a fear of significant weight bearing. I reached out to Dr. Davis' for follow up, with him in Utah and I in Texas. He counseled patience and gradual increase in weight bearing, taking care not to advance too fast. Every time a new xray would show little healing, he counseled patience at a time I needed encouragement. Others may have recommended more surgery and bone grafting, but he, as we would want in any clinician to do, counseled the "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" view. I am now moved past the wheelchair, walker, two crutches and one crutch phases and now am moving, albeit slowly, to a full recovery. I will always remember his proficient surgery and the equally proficient clinical follow up. There are many ways the train could fall off the tracks with a patient like me, but he skillfully has guided me toward the finish line.