Dr. Joseph Martin Kowalski, MD

Dr Kowalski has been great, he was very informative through the process of my surgery. He has helped me tremendously. Mary Jo the Nurse Practitioner was so helpful and went out of her way to make sure my admit to Ecmc as an emergency went smooth and followed up with me.I was very impressed, her bedside manner is like no other. Office staff was incredible and couldn’t have been so successful without them. Jonelle was my go to, she made everything so efficient and was absolutely a key role in my situation. She is so kind, understanding and patient. She really made a difference in my care. I highly recommend Dr Kowalski and all of his staff. Thank you for everything.

I have had multiple surgeries completed by Dr. Kowalski, all have been successful. Dr. Kowalski is a very talented surgeon with a great staff. He has truly helped me a lot and I am very grateful. Thank you!

I recently needed surgery after an athletic injury and Dr. Kowalski had me walking again the same night of my operation. Throughout the process he was very knowledgeable and reassuring, and staff went out of their way to express their confidence in his abilities.

Dr. Kowalski saved my life actually since my cervical vertebrae (C2) was broken. He did an excellent surgical procedure and he is following up recovery and advising me regarding my activity. He is the best doctor whatever I had to see in my life. I can recommend him to any one who need a spinal surgeon.

I was the first appointment of the day, got in at 7:30am. Never saw the doctor my entire time there. I saw one PA for about 5 minutes. She was extremely short and rude. I left at 9:30am, 2 hours after I got there, because I had been waiting in the exam room the entire time. No idea where the Dr was or what he was doing. Horrendous experience. Won’t be scheduling an appointment here ever again.

I met Dr. Kowalski over 20 years ago as a nurse working in the PACU and on the surgical floor at ECMCC. Watching how he cared for his patients is why I initially saw Dr. Kowalski and continue to see him to this day when I’m having issues. Recently I started having acute arm nerve pain and numbness. My PCP (whom I’ve seen for about 30 years) couldn’t figure it out, so I called on Dr. Kowalski again. Based on the symptoms that I was experiencing Dr.Kowalski narrowed it down to a disc and set me up for an MRI. Being in the healthcare field I appreciate Dr.Kowalski’s listening, understanding, knowledge and experience. The MRI results were exactly what he thought. His office staff have been with him for better than 10 years. I have called upon the office staff for their assistance and they have been very Responsive and helpful. The addition of Mary Jo Kish, NP to the team was a smart choice as she has added other dimensions to the orthopedic-Spine team and care of the patients. I’ve had to… wait to be seen but usually less than 30 minutes. They’ve always apologized for any tardiness but it’s likely due to another patient so I get it. That’s part of being a good doctor.

high rate of infection and other complications

My 88 year old mother fell and had a burst fracture of the back in the lumbar area. After carefully studying her situation with his team, he decided her mobility was at risk, cleared his calendar and operated on her the next day. She was able to walk again with the aid of a walker and lived to the age of 94 1/2. A neurosurgeon saw her initially, and was patiently explaining to my brother and I that our mother would be bedridden for the rest of her life. Dr Kowalski changed that diagnosis, and he is a top gun in imho. I am his patient for the last 20 years as well (crushed discs), and, he is a surgeon who believes in trying other methods before doing any cutting!!! (I have not had surgery)

Poor explanations, ordered unnecessary x-rays resulting in excessive radiation dose with little or no diagnostic benefit.

Dr. Kowalski did my second surgery to remove screws that his partner put in back in 2004. It was apparent that he had no bedside manner, but back in 2006 I was desperate to alleviate my pain. That never happened for me. I loved life in chronic pain and in 2011 I decided to see a. Ew doc, who is wonderful. However, I thoight I should at least go back to Dr. Kowalski for an opinion. Much of what has been said here is all true, and he tried to paint me as a drug seeker to my primary in his letter to her. He also said I walked slow and "deliberate " as if I was faking my pain! My whole 40's and 50's have been plagued with chronic pain to which I had to be on meds to be able to be employed in my busy director position of an HR department. I went to get his opinion since he did the second surgery. He was condescending and said he couldn't help me. Not many people do this, but I asked my primary for a copy of his letter to her and it was inflammatory and libelous! I responded with a letter… to my doctors, his colleagues, and ECMC. He told my primary that this is the first time this has happened to him. I beg to differ, I'm sure he has had issues because he really is an arrogant, uncaring example of who should NOT be allowed to work as a surgeon. People need to ask their primary's for copies of what other doctors send to them. It may be a real eye opener. I was so angry. It was uncalled for when pain was causing me depression which as a surgeon he should understand. This man doesn't get it. I feel sympathy for the folks he's magled under the guise of surgery.