Winston J. Warme, MD

I first went to see Dr. Winston Warme for a freshly torn bicep tendon. At the time, I appreciated his bedside manner, which included confidence that he would repair the tear to regain most of my arm strength. Unfortunately, I would find out years later that I would up with a bicep tendon attached to the wrong bone (ulna instead of radius). I remember the first red flag was his noting in the recovery room that they had to significantly pull on a nerve to drill the bone tunnel for the repair. In the next few weeks, I began to note a soreness in my ulna that I reported during a follow up appointment with the resident who assisted the surgery. The resident assured me that this was not possible as the ulna was not involved in the repair. Years later, I found out that the reason my ulna was sore was because they had drilled into it instead of the radius (where the bicep is meant to be attached). The botched repair has been confirmed by multiple imaging studies and clinical visits to other… orthopedic surgeons. I don’t know whether it was Dr. Warme or the assisting resident who drilled into the wrong bone, but it was Dr. Warme’s responsibility to ensure the surgery was done correctly. The whole experience has shattered my faith in the University of Washington orthopedics department, and I continue to struggle trusting a surgeon who is “confident they can help repair an injury”.

Dr. Warme was friendly and professional in all of my appointments with him. He explained everything that was going on with my shoulder and was one of the best physicians I have been to.

Past summer I had an injury on my right knee which turned out to be an ACL tear. After I learnt that surgery is the only way to get this fully resolved and get my knee back in action, I started researching surgeons in the Seattle area. Once I met Dr.Warme, he presented all the options I have and carefully guided me through selecting the right grafting solution. Since this is the first surgery I will be going through, he made sure that I fully understood what I should be looking forward to and gave me full confidence about the outcome and next steps post-op. He also suggested that I go through pre-op PT which turned out to be super helpful during my recovery. Almost 3 months after the surgery, I'm recovering very well now, with frequent follow ups Dr.Warme and Emily (his Asst. Surgeon) ensuring various aspects of recovery. I really appreciate Dr.Warme and Emily for helping me through the recovery process & staying with me through this journey. I highly recommend Dr.Warme to anyone who… is looking for help with ACL/Knee related problems!

Dr Warme and his staff at UWMC are amazing!!! I’m a single father and I injured my knee ..Emily dr warme PA checked my knee and I had a torn meniscus..she scheduled me to get in for surgery within 6 days I was absolutely blow away!!!! It had been hurt for like 11 months with this COVID going on...all the UW staff was so welcoming and professional....I was feeling a bit anxious and then came in dr warme!!!! He came in and made me feel so comfortable and ready for surgery then he asked to pray for me and I more than welcomed it....to have such an amazing surgeon be so loving and kind in such a professional way was such a blessing for me to say the least..dr warme is an incredible dr and man!!! His gift as a dr speaks for itself and then to be such a remarkable man of god and to have the courage to stay strong in his faith and be such a loving and caring physician is what I feel all persons in the medical industry should aspire to be like!!!! I can’t say enough how grateful I am to… have been blessed with such a positive experience....UW medical gets 5 stars and specifically Dr warme staff would get 10 stars if possible!!!!! Dr warme thanks so much for helping make this single fathers life during such a hard time for our nation a better place...it’s been a pleasure and honor..thank you, Rob

Dr Warme is an exceptionally skilled surgeon that embodies total professionalism from the first appointment to the last post operative follow up examination/evaluation. This was my 10th orthopedic surgical experience so I have a well developed database for comparison purposes. I have utilized surgeons from Division I football team, NHL franchise and one of the "go to guy" for retired NFL players. I rank Dr Warme number one by a considerable margin. In addition to his surgical skills, Dr Warme demonstrates genuine personalized care tailored to my individual quality of life equation. He takes the time to answer all questions and detailed the recovery plan as well as future care and considerations. I am six weeks post operative with full range of motion, no pain, back to work as an airline pilot and back in the gym. Dr Warme is the patron saint of orthopedic shoulder/elbow care.

I had a recurrent shoulder dislocation that had come out more than a couple dozen times over a 10 year period. I was referred to Orthopedic Surgery at UofW and assigned Dr. Warme. Because of my profession as an F-18 fighter pilot, the surgeons near where I lived wanted nothing to do with my situation and the delicacy necessary to repair my shoulder to have both the strength and mobility necessary to still operate a high performance aircraft under heavy G loads and maneuvers. It has been 5 years since my surgery and have had zero recurrent dislocations since Dr. Warme repaired my shoulder. I have full motion and complete stability in all my daily and work activities. His knowledge, expertise, and professionalism is unparalleled and something all Dr.'s should strive for. At each appointment he personally attended and spent as much time talking with me and answering every question I had without ever giving a feeling of being rushed or in a hurry. He took time to go into great detail… using terms on a patients level to explain the procedure both before and after surgery. He spent as much time as necessary talking with me four years after the surgery going through dozens of pictures and explaining in each one what was wrong and how he fixed or repaired it. I know, without a doubt, I had the best possible surgeons to perform this type of surgery. After much research and my own personal experience, I see why he is highly respected by both his peers and his patients and regarded as one of the top surgeons in his profession.

Dr Winston Warme is an Incredible Surgeon and went above every expectation imaginable. i was fairly nervous heading into a ACL reconstruction surgery, and Dr Warme helped calm every nerve i had, actively listens, and makes a conscious effort to know his patients. His passion and care for his patients absolutely shows, by his persistent effort consistently communicating and checking to see how Knee Rehab was going. Coaching and encouraging every step of the way. He is incredible and i cant imagine having a different doctor. Thank you Dr Warme!

Dr. Warme has surpassed my expectations by miles. He is a skilled surgeon and a lovely human. I was very nervous about my shoulder and bicep procedure, but he has a way at setting you at ease and calming your fears. He's also a great listener. Do yourself a favor and give call !!

I cannot speak highly enough about Dr. Warme and the surgery/treatment experience I had with UWMC. I was extremely impressed all-around with their facilities, demeanor/interactions I had with all the staff and practitioners, and the surgery recovery process. Any patient is in great hands with this team.

Dr. Warme performed a Ream and Run Shoulder procedure which I understand is a bit more technical in some ways than the complete shoulder replacement. Besides being a skilled technical doctor, he was attentive, brave, calm, ethical, friendly, humorous, nurturing, observant, passionate, reassuring, selfless and trustworthy. He is vigilant and wise. As for my shoulder recovery, I followed his direction for stretching and heeded his staff's excellent Physical Therapist directions. I am almost 7 months out of surgery and am amazed at how far I've come under his direction and care. His staff is truly amazing and I could not have asked for a better outcome. I got back to work part time after 8 weeks, then full time at around 5 months. I am not in pain like I was the many years prior to surgery and am so glad. I still have a little ways to go in terms of gaining muscle, but I'm so much better. Thank you Dr Warme for my new shoulder! Sincerely, Roger