I laughed when I read the previous reviewer who complained that Dr. Rooney "did nothing" for his/her neck pain. After reading the depiction of their conversation I am actually even more impressed with Dr. Rooney than I already was. You went to Dr. Rooney, a SURGEON, and he told you that your neck pain could not be solved with SURGERY. That in and of itself is so honest and amazing. Then when you told him what you were doing that was helping the pain, he correctly told you to keep doing those things. WHAT MORE DO YOU WANT? Would it have been better if he needlessly operated on you??! Hilarious.
I had a lumbar fusion by Dr. Rooney a couple years ago, and I can honestly say he saved my life-- my quality of life. I did extensive research before I went to him, and I knew all about the bogus legal problem he had -- which by the way, ended up being nothing more than a simple misdemeanor for a mistake he made over 10 years ago in the army. The reality is, Dr. Rooney is so widely regarded in the medical community (my brother-in-law is a doctor and he told me Dr. Rooney is the only spine surgeon he would recommend). I made the right choice and I'm glad I did. I cannot emphasize enough-- if you think you may need spine surgery, this is THE surgeon to go see. He is honest and nice, and he took the time to thoroughly explain my condition and the treatment options. He really is the best.

Submitted Dec. 22, 2017

I had an auto accident and had to have neck surgery and Dr. Rooney was the most amazing doctor I've even worked with. After going to multiple orthopedic surgeons, chiropractors and even hospital ER visits to try and manage the pain I was finally able to find a physician with not only the knowledge and expertise to accurately diagnose the issue, but also the willingness to spend the time to help me evaluate all my options and ultimately get the problem fixed. I can't thank him enough for everything he's done! Unbelievable professionalism, character and knowledge! Thank you!

Submitted Dec. 14, 2017

Complete waste of my time.
Learned: Nothing. (Ordinarily, I visit a physician hoping that she or he will know something I don't, or (at least) point me in a helpful direction. Dr. Rooney did neither.
Recommendations: He said "It will get worse, maybe take some ibuprofen". He offered nothing useful. I'm glad I had done my own homework, because he offered nothing.
Here's how it went:
I had injured my neck. They required X-rays before I could even speak with the doctor. He looked at them and said “Looks like you’ve got some degeneration there. Can’t really tie it to any trauma. Not much else to tell you.”
Um, what’s the prognosis?
“It will get worse over time.”
Is there anything I can do?
“Surgery wouldn’t be indicated for this.”
So it’s just going to keep hurting more and getting worse. Isn’t there anything you would recommend?
"You could take ibuprofen, I guess."
Anything else?
"No, not really."
How about physical therapy? That has helped thus far.
"You could do that, I guess, if it helps."
And we have a home traction unit that relieves pressure on the neck. That seems to help as well.
"If it helps, you could do that, too."
Anything else? No other suggestions, recommendations?
"No. I'll write you a prescription for physical therapy."
And that was it.

I would never, ever recommend this physician. If I had seen him and followed his recommendations (or lack thereof) I would be worse off than I am. Not just a waste of time - worse than a waste of time. If I could do "zero stars", I would.

Submitted July 20, 2017

These other comments are so misleading. First of all, Dr. Rooney is considered the premiere surgeon in the Northwest. That is why the physicians and administrators from Swedish send their families to him for surgery. There are no guarantees with surgery and despite the fact that mine was great, he made it very clear to me that there is no guarantee. The other thing to take into account is that he has consistently won awards from other surgeons throughout his career. These are patient popularity awards, these are other surgeons recognizing his skill type awards. As for the allegation of healthcare fraud, if you read the indictment instead of the newspaper you will see that it is basically a sour grapes accusation from a salesman who was selling low quality medical products.

Submitted April 25, 2014

Two and a half years, 2 level lumbar fusion with Dr. Rooney. Dr. Rooney told me at my consult that I could live with my horrible pain like they do in third world countries or I could have the surgery and he could relieve most if not all of my pain with a two level fusion surgery. He did say that he couldn't promise all the back pain would be gone but my leg & foot pain would be gone. Well my back is worse & my leg pain has gone from the right leg & foot to the right & left leg & foot. When I had my surgery he was at the Polyclinic and about a year after my surgery he left and went to the Neospine Clinic. The last three times I have made appt. to see Dr. Rooney he sends in his P.A. Chad Swaims and has told me that there is nothing more that can be done for me other than pain management, and that my condition is called FBS or Failed Back Syndrome. L & I will not approve Pain Management or a second opinion so I am basically waiting for my claim to close & living in constant pain...

Submitted April 4, 2014

Two years post lumbar spinal fusion surgery and still in considerable pain. Followup visit with two doctors (review of new MRI and CT scan) within the last two weeks indicates Dr. Rooneys' spinal fusion surgery failed. The disc herniation is still there and the fusion did not take place. According to the orthopaedic surgeons I recently saw, he used a device that had a low probabilty of success. It had been used in the early 2000's, but is rarely used today for that reason. As it stands, I'll probably need another surgery to remove the device Dr. Rooney installed and have it replaced with another. Be careful and insist on knowing which device will be installed if you face the prospect of lumbar spinal fusion surgery from Dr. Rooney, or any other orthopaedic surgeon.

Submitted Oct. 8, 2013