Dr. Rolando Figueroa Roberto, MD

Written 2017 I had my first surgery in March 2012. It could have been successful had he and Dr. Powers followed up on their statement about soft bone in their surgery report. Dr. Roberto swore up and down that a young man such as myself could not have osteoporosis. He was dead wrong. This man is evil! He ordered a DEXA in my presence and canceled it after I left the office. I had to get my primary care physician to order it. I went to Sutter bc i was afraid the results would be tampered with. 13 YEARS! That was how much older my bones were and he still denied it. I had Sutter telling me to try not to fall and my PCP telling me I have osteoporosis. *crickets* from Roberto. BE WARNED! Once you have surgery, no other surgeons will touch you. It's 2025. I exercise as much as possible. I'm limited to 25lb dead lift, though carrying a gallon of milk above my waist? nope. I'm sure normal people do fine. I know when I hit soft wood, I stop. Reevaluate.

Dr. Roberto and his team did a excellent job on my back. Surgery was from L3-S1, fusion, bone grafts, rods and screws and a very small scar. Dr. Roberto and his team stopped by every day when I was in the hospital and the care I received at U.C. Davis was perfect!! I am about 95 % pain free and am working to get back into shape as the surgery was 3 mo. ago. No longer need a walker and just put my cane away. This is the way all surgeries should go.

I’d do it all again! Dr. Roberto operated on me three years ago and today I am functioning well, for a 79 year old! My surgery took 12.5 hours in two sessions due to my age and corrected severe scoliosis. I was in much pain and now am pain free. For addional info. please see HealthGrades.com.

Dr. Rolando Roberto MD Orthopedic surgeon. IMO, look for questions about the medical opinion he gives you. He really screwed me over. I made the mistake of trusting ANY surgeon based on their words, ratings, personal recommendations, and reviews(of which you're reading here). The human body is unique. That's my problem with Roberto. He doesn't think this way. He treats people like a statistic. Example: "You're too young to have Osteoporosis". That's what he told me after my 2nd surgery failed. I wish I could post pictures here. It would scare the heck out of you. They are on Yelp though. I was diagnosed with Schuerrman's Disease. I'm 95% sure it's a combo of Scoliosis and Kyphosis (hunchback). Directly after my 1st surgery where i had 21 pins and 2 titanium rods attached to my spine, he told me, my wife, and my cousin that I heavily sedated because he found my bone to be soft. He didn't want me to move for fear of cracking vertabrae. Understand that they drill holes in your vertebrae… and then screw in an anchor to a certain torque. I would suggest looking on YouTube for spinal fusion surgery and also look up "installing concrete anchors" in construction videos. It's basically the same thing, in my opinion(IMO) Now, here's the problem with Roberto. Since your just a statistic and what you might read about spinal surgery on UC Davis' website doesn't apply to him, you may still be in for big trouble. They don't tell you how much your life will change. Now, you could get lucky and have great success, but I have inside information about Roberto that I wish I had known before I signed the surgery authorization. BE INFORMED! GET EDUCATED! Before you commit to Anyone. Educate yourself on your diagnosis. Educate yourself on Who is about to possibly put you in a state of constant suicide thought. My surgeries started in 2012 and I still think about it daily. I can't lift, I can't do yardwork, I can't take long car rides without paying the price in pain. My "soft bone" turned out to be severe osteoporosis. It's so bad that I have to get reclast every year. That's a bone growth medicine. It's not improving my health. it is slowing down the degradation though. I'm 56 this year. I have 2 daughters and a grandson. To think daily about leaving them behind and hurting them by taking my life hambunts me all the time. Here's another thing. DO NOT EXPECT HELP FROM MEDICAL MALPRACTICE OR THE MEDICAL BOARD. They are there to protect the medical community AT ALL COSTS. IMO, Do not let Dr. Rolando Roberto touch you. I have only spoken to one surgeon who actually understands spinal fusion. If you want to reach out, i will share his name. I wish this had never happened. I would rather be dead than how I live now. I have no life and no hope. I have no love either. My family avoids me because I'm in constant pain. No one wants to deal with that. I didn't and I don't. If you got this far, thank you for taking your valuable time to read this. Take it to heart because it's your life. You only get one. Take care and God Bless you!

Dr. Rolando Roberto is an outstanding Orthopedic Spine Surgeon that truly cares about the health needs of his patients. I have never met a more competent, compassionate, and professional doctor.

Dr. Roberto is an excellent, top-notch spine surgeon. He has a professional, easy-going demeanor, and an excellent bedside manor. I recently had two disc replacements in my neck, and the UC Davis hospital experience was the best I've had (unfortunately, I've had other previous surgeries at other hospitals). Dr. Roberto, his entire surgery team, and UC Davis Hospital in Sacramento are indeed top tier. Should I need surgery for any future issues, I will surely opt to return to UC Davis.

Dr. Rolando Roberto operated on me in 2016 and he paralyzed my foot and half my leg! I woke up from the surgery and couldn't feel anything. I've had several Scoliosis surgeries so I know the drill; after surgery they poke your feet and ask if you can feel anything. My answer to the residents (Dr. Roberto wasn't even there) this time was "No, I can't feel anything." Did Dr. Roberto bother to make an appearance when he learned that I was partially paralyzed? No. He did NOTHING to find out why my foot was paralyzed! I have since learned (from talking to other spinal surgeons) that he should have immediately done a CT Scan to find out what was wrong, or taken me back to the operating room to determine the cause of the paralysis. But he did NOTHING. Not even an X-ray. And here's where his "theory" - I don't know what else to call it - story, cover-up? starts. He told everyone that my nerves had been "stretched" and that the paralysis was temporary. He had NO BASIS OR PROOF for this. He… fooled everyone - the nurses, my family, the residents, and especially me - after all, aren't I supposed to trust my surgeon? So I believed I would get better. I never got better. But back to the surgery. It was estimated for six hours but instead mysteriously took thirteen! Why? Could someone have made a mistake? And because it took so long, I then had to be intubated for thirty-six hours because I couldn't breath on my own! This is serious, folks. There's a big difference between a six hour surgery and a thirteen hour one. In a separate review on the UC Davis hospital, I will detail my screaming pain in the ICU and the incompetent nursing care. So here I am in the hospital, now paralyzed in half my leg and also part of my other leg. Did Dr. Roberto come to see me, do any tests, anything? No. In one week he came to see me exactly twice and then I was transferred to the "rehab" ward of the hospital, a hidden ward where all the "mistakes" go. Did Dr. Roberto come to see me while I was on this ward? After all I was his patient...I was paralyzed, one would think he would check on me. No. I stayed in this "rehab" ward for one week and then was discharged in the rain barefoot since I had no shoes to fit over the brace I was given for my paralyzed foot. I went home and basically died as I could barely move and live alone. Four days later, knowing I was in serious trouble, I called my GP and she admitted me to another hospital. When I arrived there by ambulance that ER doctor immediately called Dr. Roberto. He came back into my room shaking his head in disgust. His exact words to me were: "I can't believe it, your surgeon is trying to pretend he doesn't know this has happened to you." Meaning, he was trying to pretend he didn't know I had a paralyzed foot. This doctor immediately ordered an MRI to determine the cause of the paralysis. But nothing could be seen. I was admitted to a nursing home for a month. During all the time Dr. Roberto's office never once called to see how I was doing or anything. I made it to my six week follow-up with Dr. Roberto and he STILL didn't order any tests, he just stuck to his story of my nerves being stretched. He told me to go home and wait and that I would get better. A few months later I began to be suspicious; I wasn't getting better, so what was I waiting for? I ended up diagnosing myself off of the internet and to make a long story short, Dr. Roberto had placed FIVE screws wrongly in my spine, one completely in my spinal canal; I'm lucky I wasn't paralyzed from the waist down. I can understand making a mistake; what I find unconscionable is his lack in trying to find out WHY my leg was paralyzed, as well as his lack of interest in me. This is NOT the standard of care in spinal surgeries. My entire surgery had to be redone at the University of San Francisco, where I received excellent care. The wrong screws have been replaced, but my nerves have been severely damaged and I don't know if I will ever get better, or walk on my own again. I now have severe "Foot Drop," and the pain from it is unspeakable. My foot is paralyzed, but it burns with a hot poker sensation, feels like spiders are crawling all over it, like a tight blood pressure cuff is on it, and like I'm dragging around a 100 pound bowling ball. The pain and discomfort that I feel 24/7 is indescribable and I have to work very hard to forgive Dr. Roberto for being such a lackadaisical surgeon. One last note: Trust your instincts when dealing with doctors. There were several red flags with this doctor including a disagreeable nurse practitioner, two hour wait times, rushed appointments, and one time when he even yelled at me. I should have walked out right then and there. Instead I got my foot paralyzed. I can't walk and my life will never be the same.

Dr. Roberto was superb in my son's care. At age 4 he performed a lower spine fusion on my son and at age 5 an upper spine fusion. My son has congenital scoliosis that was rapidly progressing. He is now leading a normal VERY active life with no limitations. His spine curve is only 10 degrees now! The support Dr. Roberto provided was excellent and the interaction with my son priceless. I will never forget the red Popsicle he brought Jack in recovery. My son to this day thinks a red Popsicle is delicious! Thank you Dr. Roberto for giving my son quality of life.

Dr. Roberto is awesome! I had a 13 hour surgery to straighten my spine. I've had scoliosis for years and the pain had finally become intolerable. I was told to expect a long recovery period - about a year. The first few weeks were tough but so worth it. it In six months I was feeling great! I'm now pain free and am so grateful to Dr. Roberto! He never had one foot out the door like a lot of doctors do and he answered all my questions and never seemed in a hurry to move on. So happy with results of my surgery.

Dr. Roberto was recommended to me by my spine surgeon in Rochester, NY. I am fully satisfied with the care given and the compassion shown by Dr. Roberto, and highly recommend him. I hold him in high regard when it comes to the care of my spine. He performed surgery on me 2 years ago which relieved all of my symptoms and has restored me to a full and complete life once again.