Dr. Kevin J Setter, MD

2 hr wait time. It is abusive. He appears to see 6-8 people in hr. Staff don’t have any empathy. Some days he’s on and some days Setter is off and very tired. Secretaries. Don’t get back to you. Patient portal messages are routinely not answered. You’re really on your own after you have surgery. Unless you can show up in person. A couple years ago right before Covid. I had more appointments rescheduled in the office than he was able to keep. Already rescheduled in 2023 twice between January and April. I think he sees too many patients. He sees too many patients and mistakes will be made. It’s inevitable. Never even close to being on time. And there doesn’t seem to be any system or desire or a process where this will ever improve. It’s been like this for 10 years. He reacts to everything all day long instead of managing the situation, which might include a lower patient load so that the people he sees really get treated to the fullest and properly. He made a mistake with my thumb told… me it was in the joint and it wasn’t. I don’t know if he read the wrong x-ray or he read my x-ray wrong but I ended up going to another doctor and my thumb was dislocated. I had to go somewhere else to clean up his mess.

Wait, time is over two hours. He doesn’t remember things about you. I had surgery and the office couldn’t execute medication prescriptions post surgery because the portal doesn’t work or they do not read it. Never bother to leave a portal message because no one responds. Upstate should just disable the my chart. You leave the medication refill request on the portal and they don’t get it in the office. I leave phone messages with the office (they say returned within two business days) and no one calls you back. Some of my surgeries after a car accident worked out great but then others didn’t and the repair didn’t hold. The last surgery didn’t work out that great either. I felt very lost and abandoned after the surgeries. Medical notes were not clear for a no-fault case either. I had an awful time getting medication refilled after surgery. I got the runaround from staff. They have a systems failure. They can’t execute the electronic health records, my chart system, and it terribly… impacts care. A patient should be able to see the medical records on my chart but when I go to see Setter there never available. My other Upstate doctors I can see my medical notes, but not with Setter.

Dr Setter performed two failed shoulder surgeries on me. When my range of motion was reduced to 15%, he suggested that he would remove all of the hardware!! And then what?? I went to Columbia Presbyterian Hospital and was operated on by a compassionate and skillful surgeon, Dr Charles Jobin. Night and day difference. Dr Setter should have gone into veterinary medicine. Never ever go to him. I'm a nurse and fell for his BS at first.

I had rotator cuff surgery a few years ago. I continued to have pain after my surgery so he gave me a few cortisone injections. 6 months later, had another MRI that revealed same tear and arthritic changes. What?! Supposedly he fixed that. NOT! He recommended open shoulder surgery. That’s when I had a second opinion. I’m permanently disabled from him. Beware folks, this guy doesn’t know what he’s doing!

I had an issue with my shoulder and Dr. setter brushed it off and never got to the bottom of it. I had to struggle to have him order tests for me and he often ordered the wrong tests. He lacks any attention to detail, creative thinking, and persistence. I would never want any family member to be cared by him.

I posted a review on the long wait, Q's not answered but learned today Dr. Setter can remove the painful cmc tightrope button and maybe that is causing the popping and pain. He is a talented surgeon and my last review was harsh- nonetheless, the wait is long, truly my Qs after being sent for an x-ray were ferry'd from me in waiting area back to him in-between patients via his nurse. I was justifiably upset but after reflecting on his care- he is a good surgeon you just have to be a patient patient - hard to do though when in pain, a long drive to see him etc. When you do see him face to face (not via a nurse)- he is courteous, pays attention, works to help you- just getting to see him is hard, part in bc he is good and also upon further reflection, he probably takes on hard cases. He needs 2 of himself.

I have been a patient of Dr Setters for 6 years. I have shoulder issues that started at birth. He has done surgery on me , well this month will be #16, I have 100 % faith in him as a Dr. He listens, but also lets you help in the decision for your care. His office staff although very nice, needs a shake up. They do not return calls, don't schedule tests and surgery promptly. Takes several calls to get anything done, but with that being said, when it comes to me being put under and cut, I would only let Dr. Setter as long as I have a choice.

I had thumb surgery and thus far a very poor outcome. I have been going there for 18 months and have had 10 appointments rescheduled. Office is poor at returning calls. With an acute problem after the 8 week post op surgery period, you can not beg your way into the office. Average wait time is 2 hours. He is always at least an hour behind. He is constantly rescheduling patients- and hence double hard to get in. God forbid you live an hour away like I do and plan a trip into SYR.

I went to Dr. Setter for a frozen shoulder and found him to be one of the most compassionate doctors I have ever met. Not only did he understand the complexity of my situation, but also was able to offer me other options besides surgery. Although I had to have surgery, I was well advised going into it right from the beginning. He is a superior surgeon second to none and because of him, I am still able to practice in my line of work. Truly one of a kind. He is not bad to look at either.

After my upper humerus was damaged beyond repair in an accident, he was recommended for my shoulder replacement. He may be an excellent surgeon, but his follow-up is terrible. He has no time to answer questions or offer advice that might help with recovery and rehab. I told him I have no insurance, and asked him to suggest some exercises to help with rehab. His response "see a physical therapist". Without insurance , I am paying him in cash for follow-up visits. I cant afford PT, but he does not care, as long as he gets paid. After waiting over an hour to see him, and paying $125 cash, he only had 55 seconds to spend with me.