Dr. Richard Yung Chung, MD

saved my life 10 years ago david hanks

I was told I needed immediate surgery to avoid permanent foot function loss. I was in HORRIBLE pain. I was promised IMMEDIATE relief along with outpatient surgery. He said I needed to get into surgery as soon as possible. I didn't want to lose functionality. I chose surgery. I came out of surgery in MORE PAIN than before I went in! I also lost ALL feeling from my knee down AND lost all strength in my left leg. I WAS TERRIFIED of the results. I was shaking from the pain. Since the surgery, my ankle and knee will randomly give out causing me to fall because they are weak. I go monthly now to a pain clinic. I now am on my 2nd electronic pulse stimulator as the first one tried to "fry" me internally. I'm now on temp disability, have lost my boyfriend as he couldn't handle me being in this state, and I have also lost my job. I'm young... And this has completely thrown me into some dark moments during the last three years as I struggle to get better. I never thought I would post on here… except I recently obtained copies of my medical record and I have been reading everything he wrote after each visit with him and he COMPLETELY MINIMIZED EVERYTHING! When I told him I had no strength in my leg it was after an incident where I tried to step on a small stool with that leg (trying to reach up to a chirping smoke alarm) and because that leg had NO STRENGTH in it the leg gave out completely and I would have collapsed completely to the floor had my dresser not been right there to catch my fall! In reading his notes, he states: "she had to change a smoke alarm battery in the middle of the night and climbed up on a footstool and she did notice that she felt some slight sense of weakness in her leg which has not been obvious otherwise in terms of walking." !!! He COMPLETELY downplayed the entire event! I told him how much it concerned me, how weak my leg was, and reading his notes (like if I was another doctor), I wouldn't give that sentence another look. I also mentioned above I lost all feeling in my left leg from my knee down. I told him that as well. I told him specifically that I could take the tip of a knife and poke myself anywhere from my knee down and feel NOTHING. His notes: "There is still quite a bit of numbness in the left calf". That's it. It wasn't just the left calf. I'm having a VERY HARD time reading his notes as what I told him in the visits versus what he wrote about the visit are two VERY DIFFERENT THINGS! I realize it has been roughly 3 years now, but I always had someone with me in the visits and I'd always text people after the visits to update them. These statements are taken in combo from texts and conversations verified with those that were with me in the visits. It's very frustrating thinking that you are doing everything right and working with everyone properly and finding out that the notes entered are not correct. Everyone else whom I have been working with in this challenging process has been great. I am always looking back at my original surgery wondering if he was the right doctor for my apparently challenging situation...considering the outcome.

Dr Chung is a wonderful surgeon. He helped me thru each phase of my surgery. If you are looking for a personality icon to hold your hand, this is probably not the place for you. If you need your body fixed, you could'nt have chosen a better place..Dr. Chung does not choose everyone as a patient.

Appt. was a consultation of a back problem. He was knowledgeable and was not eager to perform surgery but only as a last resort. Explained all options.