I have been under the care of Dr. Gatto for 3 months following a work injury to my lower back. He has not addressed my pain and refuses to do any studies or prescribe any medications because I am pregnant, even after receiving a letter from my OB stating exactly what interventions carried no risk. I fear I have been misdiagnosed and will be requesting a second opinion from my workers comp insurance as he has essentially refused to treat me. Today after noting that my symptoms were worse, he released me back to work. I cannot even go grocery shopping by myself I will be returning to work full time.
In a nutshell:
He will not listen to you, or even talk to you. If you want to know what is up with your case pay close attention to what he says in his dictaphone.
Clear your schedule: be prepared to wait 2 hours for a 5 minute visit.
The office staff, while polite has failed to put my appointments on the schedule 3 times resulting in the need to reschedule appointments or wait even longer to be seen.
If at all possible see a different doctor. I have had enough excellent care to know seeing this guy is a waste of time. I am about to return to work worse than I was 3 months ago due to his inattentiveness and lack of care. I intend to follow this experience with complaints to the medical review board and a consult with a lawyer as I feel my pain has certainly been prolonged due to lack of treatment while under his "care."

Submitted May 26, 2015

Run away. Please. I was never one to care about bedside manner. As long as a doctor was highly skilled, personality was not too important. But, Dr. Gatto not only is rude and never even came to my bedside after delicate 2 level c spine surgery, but he has ruined my body. I can no longer work, I can no longer enjoy life. It's been almost 2 years. I went to a neurosurgeon and he said Dr. Gatto really messed me up. This neurosurgeon was visibly upset when he looked at my pre and post operative MRIs. Unfortunately, he told me the damage has been done and there is no more surgery that could repair what he has done. This is your life. Do your research. Don't allow workers compensation to force a hack orthopedist to do your surgery. Fight tooth and nail and go to a Good neurosurgeon.

Submitted April 19, 2015

After having bad back pain on and off for 25+ years, Dr. Gatto and his team did a great job.
I knew after surgery, that i was better. After 8 weeks I was snowboarding again. Thank You DR. Gatto and your team!!

Submitted April 9, 2015

Worse DR. Will never even send my enemies to him because he is just so terrible. Very rude, never spends time with you to allow you to ask questions, and never tells you anything. He leaves me clueless all the time. Then prescribes all these crazy medications that do not work (they NEVER worked for me and I kept telling him again and again). On top of it all, he prescribed me a medication that he KNOWS I am allergic to because it is in my medical record, as well as me telling him NUMEROUS of times I was allergic. Truly does not know how to treat a patient!

Submitted March 14, 2015

Dr. Gatto is a fantastic surgeon! He did an ACDF surgery on my herniated C5/6 disc. It went so well that I was in almost no pain afterwards! I took a tylenol a couple times, that's it! He spent a lot of time with me helping me to understand my condition and the surgery process and answering all my questions. He was easily accessible via cellphone after the surgery for any questions I had. He can come off as kind of curt in the office, but this is just because he is all business and very serious about what he does. In the OR he is completely in his element!

If you have a condition that does not require surgery you might not be satisfied as to his bedside manner, but if you do need surgery this is the surgeon for you!

Submitted Feb. 8, 2015

After feeling comfortable with Dr Gatto after my first visit, I entrusted myself to him. In the history of my personal medical profession, I have witnessed every surgeon come the next morning to see how his patient was fairing post operatively. I was in Morristown Memorial for 2 days post op. He never came even though I was told he was coming. That was just the beginning of my post op experience. I had several complications, and quickly learned that he did not even get on the phone to talk. I had to wait 14 days until I went to his office to see him and quickly realized I was just a number. I mentioned several things that were of concern and instead of addressing me he spoke into his dictation recorder. I told him I was in pain at a high level on pain scale and as he walked out of the door heard him dictate that "patient denies pain". As a nurse nearing 1 year since surgery I urge any prospective patient to really consider seeking out a doctor who is more skilled and takes time after delicate spine surgery to listen to concerns. Make sure the doctor you choose is one who will take a phone call and see you while you are confined in the hospital. I never have been treated so poorly by a doctor in my entire life. My outcome has been poor. He has several high ratings , but be careful to read the poor comments here. Head the warnings.

Submitted Oct. 18, 2014

I had faith in Dr. Gatto on my first visit. He looked at my mri and said "I know what is wrong and I can fix it." He is very confident and very knowledgeable. Everyone on his staff was wonderful, and I recommend him to anyone with a back problem. I was in pain for almost a year and no one could find what was wrong with me except Dr. Gatto. I had surgery a year ago and the pain that I had is gone.

Submitted Dec. 18, 2013

I've had back problems since my 20's (now I'm in my late 40's)and just dealt with it the best I could. However, in Aug 2012 I suffered a severe injury that was very bad and I could no longer deal with the incessant pain. I was referred to Dr. Gatto and after a couple of months of working with him I elected to have surgery. Dr. Gatto performed a decompression and fusion using the infuse bone product and the usual hardware (screws, rods, pins, etc.). It's been 4 months since the surgery and I feel better than I have in the last 25 years. Recovery has not been easy but I have followed the docs plan and the results have come quickly. In my opinion there's two components to this process; one is the medical care and the other is the personal commitment to recovery part. Dr. Gatto held up his part quite exceptionally and the other part is up to you. Thanks Doc/Sarah and office staff - great job and it is much appreciated as is sleeping through the night and tying my own shoes again!!!

Submitted June 25, 2013

I had a herniated disc caused by a rear end car accident. Dr. Gatto gave me my options, let me try different methods to heal the herniation, and finally performed the surgery on my back. I really appreciated Dr. Gatto's clear concise view of the injury, and his help and compassion in getting me through this issue. One thing that really stood out to me was his interaction with my wife after the surgery. He took the time to tell her exactly what happened and assured her that I was going to be fine. His assistant Sarah is outstanding as well. I would highly recommend Dr. Gatto and his staff to anyone with back related issues, as he was very helpful in my case.

Submitted Feb. 20, 2013

Dr Gatto got me back on my feet after a discectomy in a couple days and back to regular unrestricted exercise in 4 weeks. Staff was great at Tri County. thanks to all

Submitted Dec. 12, 2012