Dennis S. Oh, MD

Sue Drumm

I suffered for over 3 months with severe nerve pain in my neck and went through all the steps that my primary care doctor and chiropractor recommended and the pain remained unbearable. Went to Holyoke Hospital ER and was immediately given a CT scan, Iv's of anti-inflammatory and pain meds and told I needed an MRI right away. My primary refused to order one, wanting me to do therapy instead. I advocated and fought until they agreed to the MRI, only to discover I had 3 bulging discs at C 5,6 & 7 along with severe nerve compression. I had lost the majority of use in my right arm and hand and couldn't sleep, work or function day to day because the pain was so intense. I was taking nerve pain and anti-inflammatory meds like they were candy and it wasn't helping. Upon recommendation from several people I saw Dr. Oh and he saved my life. He took one look at my MRI and scheduled me for surgery within 2 weeks to have a double neck fusion on 12/22/21. I didn't care that it was 3 days before Christmas because it was the best gift anyone could have given me and that day couldn't come fast enough! I cannot say enough great things about Dr. Oh and his entire staff at his office and at Baystate. From pre-op to post-op they were nothing short of amazing and I was home the same day. There was immediate pain relief and within 2 weeks I was virtually pain free, had regained full use of my arm and hand and was able to work again. Thank you Dr. Oh , you are a brilliant surgeon with a fantastic personality and you show that you truly care about your patients! I will forever be grateful to you for giving me back my life.

Brian Zippin

I went to see Dr. Oh for constant lower back pain. I had 3 round s of injections prior to my visit with him. He sent me for an MRI and scheduled a follow up appt. During my follow up he told me I needed a fusion of my L4/L5. He performed the surgery with great success. His bedside manner was terrific as was his follow up. I was home the same day of surgery and back to work in under 2 weeks. I was back to my regular activities after a few months. It has now been 1 year and I feel great. I cannot say enough about Dr. Oh.

Stephanie D

I'm a 29 year old female that went to see Dr Oh after about 8 months of a bad flare up of my L5-S1 disc herniation that wasn't subsiding as it has in the past. I first herniated the disc badly when I was 15 after a spinal tap I had had. I have had flare ups throughout the years but nothing like this one. When I saw him in September, we had discussed surgery and back injections briefly, he said he thought the best route was injections and said that I should be able to push the disc back in on my own so thats what I decided to proceed with. My first injection was in October, it helped for about a week and a half before the pain came back. Went for my second in early November. The shot was misplaced and caused severe pain. I walked out of the office in much more pain than I went it with. At that time, the pain doctor who was administering the injections said that I should consider maybe having surgery because of how bad my back was. I contacted Dr Oh's office and was told to keep on going with the injections. My next injection was mid November under a moderate sedation and they were able to administer the shot which gave me no relief. The weekend before Thanksgiving my pain increased severely and I was unable to control it with the pain medication I had it home. I was admitted to the hospital for pain control where they did an urgent MRI which showed my disc at herniated more and was impinging my nerve. The neuro team consulted with Dr Oh and he told them that I still was not a candidate for surgery and I needed to keep with the injections. I was sent home on several different medications from the hospital the next day. Being very frustrated with Dr Oh and feeling like I had been pushed aside mainly because of my age and was not being taken seriously, I decided to ask my primary to put another referral to Dr Wakefield in Hartford who I had heard good things about. It took awhile to finally see him but I finally saw him the beginning of February. I was taken very seriously on my first consult and he said that the disc needed to come out. He sent me for an urgent EMG to make sure I wasn't dealing with permanent nerve damage because of how long the nerve was being pushed on. I had the test done within a week and it showed that the nerve was very irritated but nothing that couldn't heal. 3 weeks later I had surgery. Dr Wakefield saw me the next day in the hospital and told me the disc was hard as a rock with absolutely no fluid or "cushion" left to it. My back muscles were difficult to cut through because of them being so tense for so long because of the pain. Because this was put off for much longer than it should have been, my recovery is more painful than it should be. I'm very upset about my whole experience with Dr Oh. I understand that I am young, but I've had this problem since I was 15. There were multiple times where I feel like I should have been taken more seriously but wasn't because of my young age. If you are looking for a good lumbar surgeon and/or are younger, I would strongly suggest seeing Dr Wakefield in Hartford.

Teresa Foster

I had a mini discectomy to correct a herniated disc in Aug 2020 with Dr Oh after suffering with a cute sciatic pain. I couldn’t be happier with the entire experience. From the first appointment to the follow up and every step in between I was treated with concern. Dr Oh made me comfortable from the first Hello. The surgery was highly successful. Quick recovery with my pain resolved. He was thanking me that I was doing so well when it is I who is eternally grateful! He IS THE MAN!