Dr. James Douglas Schwender, MD

Thanks to Dr Schwender and his team, I no longer have pain! I suffered for more than 8 months with server sciatic pain. After Dr. Schwender's minimally invasive surgery fusing L3 and L4, I am pain-free and off pain meds. I will be forever indebted to him for giving me back a healthy life!

I am going to begin by mentioning that I am very surprised at others who did not have a 5 star experience with Dr. Schwender. His ethics are beyond reproach and he would surely not perform a procedure unless he was positive it would repair the problem, or at the very least, better the quality of life. I am very sorry for each person who has posted a negative review on this site. I wish your back issues could have been resolved for you!!! I know of a lady who went to him for several back issues and she was kindly told that he was unable to help her! How many doctors do you know who would ever be this honest? As for my personal experience - I had 100% success and felt absolutely great immediately following surgery. I had problems for literally decades and am now pain free and I couldn't be any happier with my decision. My total experience with Abbott, Allina, their employees and Dr. Schwender could not have been any better. Each person went over and above to make my… experience extremely positive. This is how all hospitals should operate. I'm grateful every day now that I finally got my quality of life back and thank you Dr. Schwender for giving it to me!

I have a connective tissue disorder. All surgery’s need to be reworked. Just typical. I came to Dr. Schwender and couldn’t move my head and thought I’d go crazy with cervical spine pain. 14 years later I have OTHER spine issues due to Ehlers-Danilo’s Syndrome and I would not see any other spine specialist. I just couldn’t trust any other surgeon. Period.

Was told surgery fusion was necessary due to twist in back which would take about 6 hours. Ended up to be 11. Also risk was low and wouldn’t have much pain afterwards Worked on neck area which I was told they found oriole S now can’t lift or tilt my head back and restricted side to side. And had to have second surgery 3/4 years later to remove hardware. Also was told while being prepped I was making the right decision. Second surgery I wasn’t given pain meds other than what was my daily prescription. Didn’t want. T. Address S or talk about what to do about problems with neck that weren’t there before surgery. Other doctor at st Francis in Lacrosse who is head surgeon said second urge the to remove hardware. Had to be done by surgeon who put it in and I’m lucky I didn’t die it get paralyzed and lucky to be walking even wth pain So I did t go for follow up at The spine center Now I am limited in waking any distance without being in extreme pain in my back lie mid and… upper including my neck which is restricted and cannot tilt backwards after the first surgery he was polite and on time wth being seen but my neck sea never should have touched and my condition is now much worse after the fusion which he said had to be from t2 to t10 because of degeneration and my back twisting in my mid back area. Surgery changed everything g in my life to the worse including how my now ex wife and I now going our seperste ways because of my now physical condion I hope this helps so nobody has to go through what it done to effecting me and my physical abilities and social as well as marital status. I do not recommend this to anyone

Have had neck fusion and lower back fusion with Dr Schwender. Both very successful. Now 13 years later and at age 72 am having problems and am going to make an appointment with him for advice.

Dr. Schwender is a rare breed of doctors who truly cares about his patients. He is always available for questions and brings a high-level of expertise and out-of-the-box thinking to his treatment plans. He considers the patient as a whole and not just the actual injury. I would recommend Dr. Schwender without hesitation.

He was very nice and seemed to know what he was doing. My husband was with me during the first appointment. Doctor said he had a 93% success rate. Well after 18 months it should be down. My surgery was not successful. Had a discectomy on the L4-5. I was sent surveys every quarter for the first year and have heard nothing now for 6 months. Evidently no one wants to know anything. I have had acupuncture many times and chiropractic adjustments and ultrasound over the past year. My back still hurts and my leg, ankle, foot and big toe always hurt and my balance is awful. Never again.

Dr Schwender performed surgery to correct the vertebrae in my cervical spine. He stabilized the area with a titanium plate and six screws. That was in 2007. He performed the surgery on a Friday afternoon. He came into the hospital (on his day off) to check on me. I was discharged that afternoon. I am absolutely thrilled with the work he did. I told him the pain was FINALLY gone after two years of suffering. I have full range of motion and have not had a single problem with the work he did. He also helped a friend of mine with lumbar MVA injuries. She is completely satisfied with the work he did. I believe he is one of the best surgeons I have ever met; I should know, I'm a nurse.

I was surprised to read some of the comments on here. He did a laminectomy (sp?) on my lower back about seven years ago for severe siactic pain. The surgery went very well and anyone who has seem my back (massage therapist, etc.) commented my scar is the faintest and smallest they have ever seen. He did not try to talk me into a fusion like some other doctors did but instead tried a less invasive and less expensive procedure first and it worked. I am so glad I didn't get a fusion.

The surgeries caused more harm than good. He performed procedures without my knowledge or concent. Now there are new, more debiliting pains in my back and leg. I am now house-bound and have great difficulty simply walking from my bedroom to the kitchen and can no longer go for walks. He may be a technically compitent surgeon, but I would not recommend him.