Doctor Profile: Ioannis Pappou, MD, PhD

Dr. Pappou: (00:06) I basically treat patients as if they are my family members or friends and I try to incorporate them into the decision-making, try to explain to them the condition in as plain words as possible, layman’s terms. Your wrist itself is fine. I try to be very realistic about the outcomes and expectations. When we move the wrist, that’s not too bad. It’s just the rotation that bothers you.

Male respondent: I had surgery on Thursday, and it has been excellent so far. He has been terrific. He came highly recommended from friends and family that have used him before.

Dr. Pappou: Your drill hole is right at the right spot. That looks good. I try to avoid surgery if possible. We try to reserve surgery as a last resort for most conditions. Both thumbs up, straight up as you can get them. Rotate the hands away from each other like that.

Male respondent: I’m very pleased that he took a non-surgical approach. I’ll get a shot and see what kind of results we get.

Dr. Pappou: Most of the conditions in the body, they improve without surgery (01:00) with conservative management including activity modification, rest, anti-inflammatories by mouth, cortisone injections, physical therapy. Some conditions are amenable to injections with other agents such as lubricants for general arthritis or growth factors for degenerative or partially torn tendons. Your extension is good, but deflection is still pretty painful.

Female respondent: That hurts.

Dr. Pappout: Mm-hmm (affirmative). If you feel like it has healed enough where you don’t need a cortisone shot then that’s it, we’re good.

Female respondent: He’s a very, very good doctor. He’s concerned, he’s all over it and that’s something, as a New Yorker, I like.

Dr. Pappou: Any soreness here?

Female respondent: It doesn’t hurt. It only hurts a little.

Dr. Pappou: What about here?

Female respondent: A little.

Male respondent: He has been good to deal with, providing a lot of information, so we know what to expect with Ruby. He has been very gentle with her. I think she was really scared coming in here, and I think he calmed her down and made her feel better, so it was an overall good experience.

Dr. Pappou: (2:00) When I know that I can help someone to live pain-free, and we have helped them achieve their goal, that gives me an internal sense of satisfaction, and it makes me very happy to relieve the pain of my fellow human being.