I had cervical surgery yesterday 03-10-21 and want t leave a review for my surgeon and his staff. From the first time I met Dr Van Pelt he has been nothing less than transparent with me. He don’t always tell you what you want to hear lol. but he will tell you the truth. I can appreciate a doctor that I can trust. He is an awesome surgeon. He is very thorough in his work. I HIGHLY recommend him if you are looking for someone to do your surgery. Also, I would be remiss to leave out his awesome nurse Kim T. I’m not a easy patient and I know I probably worked on her nerves with all the phone calls and questions. But, not one time did she make me feel like I was getting on her nerves or inconveniencing her. I want to say thank you guys, and I appreciate you guys for all of your help. Thank you!

Submitted March 11, 2021

My first experience with Dr. Van Pelt was in 2011. I was having severe pain in my left shoulder and arm and I was losing strength and movement in that arm. Dr. Van Pelt performed cervical discectomy surgery on my neck for which I stayed overnight in the hospital and went home the next day. I was back at work in 2 weeks. The surgery was completely successful with immediate relief from the pain and the return of strength in my arm within 2 to 3 weeks. I recently (2018) had need to see Dr. Van Pelt again due to severe pain in my right shoulder and arm and the loss of strength in my right hand. He diagnosed the problem as a herniated disc in my thoracic spine. He performed a laminotomy on the herniated disc the next day and I was able to go home that afternoon, pain free. Three weeks later I have regained total strength in my right hand. Because I have spinal stenosis due to osteoarthritis, there is a possibility that I may need additional surgery in the future. However, I have full comfort in knowing that Dr. Van Pelt is available if I need him. My advice to anyone in pain or suffering the loss of movement in a limb due to a spinal injury or spinal stenosis, please schedule an appointment with Dr. Van Pelt to find out what your options are. Don't make spinal surgery your last option, but instead, make it your best option. Thank you, Dr. Van Pelt, for giving my quality of life back to me.

Submitted July 11, 2018

I was thoroughly pleased with Dr Van Pelt's professional demeanor and expertise. He was most helpful, and not pushy, in making recommendations for care. He answered all the questions I had, and gave me room to make the decision whether to go with surgery or not. From my 1st visit all the way through to my follow-up visit, Dr. Van Pelt and his staff were very professional and caring. I would definitely recommend him to anyone needing spinal surgery, and if I needed further assistance, Dr. Van Pelt would be my choice.

Submitted Nov. 7, 2017

I would highly recommend Dr. Van Pelt to anyone with back issues. I had a laminectomy and a spinal fusion in December. I was up walking the next day and I'm totally pain free. The recovery time has been minimal.

Submitted March 10, 2017

I had been dealing pain radiating down my right leg for over a year before I decided to seek treatment. After talking with my General physician, he recommended Piedmont Orthopaedic Associates. During my first appointment, I was impressed that they had quickly identified the cause of my pain and recommended several options before jumping into surgery. After discussing all options, I decided to start conservative to see if I could get any relief without surgery. I tried all options, oral steroids, steroid injection in my lower spine, with no success but the staff at Piedmont Orthopaedics assured me they had the solution. I then was sent to see Dr. Christopher Van Pelt. Dr. Van Pelt talked to me about the surgery and how it would be performed and answered all my questions. I had many friends who told me stories of their spinal surgeries and I was a bit worried about taking the next step since they seemed to have difficult recoveries. I met with Dr. Van Pelt twice before deciding to schedule my surgery and he always made me feel like I was his priority while in his office. I scheduled the surgery in Mid. December. I was up and walking the very next day, and to my surprise absolutely NO PAIN. I was amazed. I had surgery on a Tuesday morning and was released from the hospital on Wednesday. By Friday I had no need for any pain medication. Dr. Van Pelt gave me my life back and after I realized my recovery was not as bad as everyone had been telling me I wish I had not waited so long to seek treatment in the first place.

Submitted March 9, 2017

After suffering for over a year with severe back and leg pain, I took the record of an MRI to Dr. Van Pelt. He assured me that surgery would relieve my pain. I am 73 years old and previously had cardiac surgery for a stent placement, I told him I would have to pray about it because I wanted to be sure that I made the right decision. I felt the Lord lead me to call back and we scheduled a lumbar laminectomy. The procedure is usually done as an outpatient, but I stayed overnight and was discharge the following day. After surgery, I was able to walk after only a brief time and had only minor discomfort from the small incision in my low back. From the first visit to post surgery follow-up care Dr. Van Pelt and his staff were very caring and provided excellent, professional care. The staff and St. Francis were also amazing. It has been a little over two weeks since the surgery and I have no pain and am able to walk easily with NO pain! I highly recommend him!

Submitted March 1, 2017

Dr. Van Pelt examined my complete history and recommended a laminectomy with fusion . Explained that I had stenosis with vertebrae misalignment. He explained the procedures and why he felt this would be best course of action . He performed the surgery and follow up. It has been six months and I have had no sciatic problem since the surgery. I found Dr. Van Pelt and his staff to be very professional and caring. I would not hesitate to recommend him !

Submitted Jan. 23, 2017

I was referred to Dr. Van Pelt with what turned out to be a ruptured lumbar disc - the third in 30 years (different locations, all in lumbar), due to degenerative disc disease that might be mostly congenital. (I am in my late 50's.) Dr Van Pelt acted completely indifferent and very obviously had no desire to investigate nor help in any way. His manner was curt and terse at best, and borderline rude at worst...a complete waste of time and money. My problem was finally fixed via a micro discotomy performed on an out patient basis by a neurosurgeon.

Submitted Jan. 17, 2017

I have suffered with sciatica back pain, in varying degrees, for many years. Thinking nothing could really be done to alleviate the constant, knawing pain running from my lower back, down the back of my leg, and all the way down to my right foot, I just did what I could to try to ignore it and live with it.

In January of 2016, I headed off on an awesome trip with my brother to South America for almost a month long, including a 14 day cruise. South America is very hilly, and walking up and down steep stairs and streets in the cities, threw my back into chaos! As a result, I ended up in the ship's infirmary, and on pain medicine for the whole cruise! By the time I got on and off four planes, and over 24 hours of flying home, I was in such pain, I could barely walk! Luckily, I was able to be seen a few days after returning home, and was scheduled for surgery, with Dr. Van Pelt 10 days later.

They were the longest ten days of my life! On the morning of surgery, the pain was so bad, it took two people to help me walk to the car, and I could barely stand to sit in the wheelchair, while getting checked into the surgery center. Dr. Van Pelt met me in the pre-op area, and was professional, friendly, informative, and very confident my surgery would be a great success!

When I returned to the recovery room after surgery, it was miraculous that my pain was gone! I had a small incision on my lower back, and I got off the bed, and walked to the bathroom, unassisted, and more importantly, pain free!

My post-op recovery pain was minimal, and I returned to my normal daily activities quickly. I'm still amazed, and extremely grateful, that such a minimally invasive and realitively easy surgical procedure, compared to the more radical back surgery done years ago, is available today, for people who suffer this kind of back pain.

My overall opinion of Dr. Van Pelt, as well as ALL the other doctors in the Piedmont Orthopaedic Group is nothing but excellence! I have also been a patient of Dr. Van, and Dr. Jennings, who performed my double knee replacements, several years ago. Every member of the Piedmont Orthopaedics team is top notch! I would recommend any of the doctors without hesitation!

Submitted June 30, 2016

I was having pain and numbness in my right leg and foot making it hard to walk. An MRI showed a cyst on my spine pressing on a nerve. Dr. Van Pelt removed the cyst and the relief was immediate. I am so thankful that he helped me.

Submitted June 1, 2016