Parents Talk

This is a new section that has been added to the website as a result of the many letters and messages Dr. Sanders and Sanders Clinic receives from parents.

We hope hearing about the experience of other parents will help those parents faced with finding medical care for their child and contemplating treatment at Sanders Clinic feel more comfortable.

Dale LeBlanc, 26
Mother of an athletic 19-year-old daughter
Metairie, LA (suburb of New Orleans)

Dr. Sanders was the only doctor to tell my daughter to ride a stationary bike an hour a day to get strong before her surgery. I was so amazed to see my daughter take her first steps hours after surgery (that same day!), riding the stationary bike at the clinic four days after surgery and sitting in a chair with her knees bent days after surgery. That was just incredible! It's been six weeks since her surgery, and she is doing great. I sometimes forget that she had surgery just six weeks ago! She is walking normal (never used crutches), working at her summer job and standing all day. Last week she started working with a sports trainer.

Dr. Sanders gets involved. He was there at the hospital encouraging my daughter to take those first steps after her surgery. He cares about his patients and wants to see them be active again and get their lives back to normal. My daughter liked his confidence.

My daughter tore her ACL playing volleyball two years ago. Since that time, she's had two knee operations - the first to repair the torn ACL and the second to repair the torn meniscus. After my daughter's first surgery, I went online researching ACL injuries and came across the Sanders Clinic website. It was a great site and thought if only I had known Dr. Sanders before my daughter's surgery.

My daughter re-injured her knee playing volleyball last year, and I was again online checking out any information I could find on knee injuries and again came across the Sanders Clinic website. I read the entire site and saw that I could send Dr. Sanders an email, and that’s what I did. I didn't expect a reply, but I got one, which surprised me.

After my daughter had her second knee surgery to repair the torn meniscus last year, the local doctor told us that her ACL was torn and stretched and that surgery was needed to repair it. We could not believe it! Once again, I emailed Dr. Sanders, and he replied.

That's when we decided it was time to go to Houston and see Dr. Sanders, and in May my daughter had her third surgery with Dr. Sanders repairing her torn ACL.

My experience and that of my daughter's was such a positive one - something we never expected or experienced before. My daughter was not looking forward to having surgery again and spending her summer on crutches - wondering if she would be able to work at her summer job and stand all day. Well, she's a trooper and did everything she was told to do.

I was so amazed to see my daughter take her first steps hours after surgery (that same day!), riding the stationary bike at the clinic four days after surgery and sitting in a chair with her knees bent days after surgery. That was just incredible! It's been six weeks since her surgery, and she is doing great. I sometimes forget that she had surgery just six weeks ago! She is walking normal (never used crutches), working at her summer job and standing all day. Last week she started working with a sports trainer.

We even sent follow-up knee pictures to Dr. Sanders when the support stockings came off and my daughter was concerned about her scars, and he replied that everything looked good.

Dr. Sander gets involved. He was there at the hospital encouraging my daughter to take those first steps after her surgery. He cares about his patients and wants to see them be active again and get their lives back to normal. My daughter liked his confidence. The Sanders Clinic website is the most informative site, and getting a response from Dr. Sanders when you have questions or concerns is incredible. Dr. Sanders was the only doctor to tell my daughter to ride a stationary bike an hour a day to get strong before her surgery.

My daughter was on crutches for a month after both of her previous operations. After the first surgery she was told to rest and didn't get moving until a week later for a follow-up doctor visit.

What my daughter accomplished hours and a few days after surgery with Dr. Sanders was just amazing. She walked hours after surgery, without the use of crutches (even though we brought them just in case), riding the stationary bike and sitting with her knees bent days after surgery. My daughter was working with Ed, the trainer, the next day after surgery and doing exercises three times a day at the hotel.

Dr. Sanders introduced us to other patients at the clinic, and we enjoyed talking with them and hearing about their progress. Everyone was so positive that it gave us hope and was a very uplifting experience.

The ladies in the office were so helpful and cheerful. And Ed was just the kind of professional trainer you wanted working with your child.

I believe the reconditioning program played a significant role in the recovery. Seeing my daughter up and moving after surgery, walking without crutches, riding the stationary bike, sitting, doing range-of-motion exercises. It was all such a positive step in her road to recovery. I told Dr. Sanders how pleased I was with my daughter's recovery so far and that my only regret was not coming to see him sooner.

I would highly recommend Dr. Sanders to any parent(s) that are contemplating a visit to see him. I would tell them to take the time to check out the Sanders Clinic website. Contact Dr. Sanders with your questions and concerns, and you will get an answer. I know and understand it's a tough decision to make. I've been there and know we made the right decision and have no regrets.

For the first time in a very long time, my daughter has a positive outlook and is looking forward to participating in sports again. Thanks Dr. Sanders.

"Dr. Sanders did surgery on Blake's shoulder yesterday. Nobody else would even see him until the end of the month. Everyone in this sport should put his number in their cell phone now!! You can't believe the response and care that he has for these athletes. Also his office staff and Mr. Ed (certified trainer) are unbelievable.

We wanted to say a HUGE THANK YOU to him and his staff. Blake will be back in no time thanks to them!"

C Rider
The Carlile Family

Cindy Giffith, mom
Wellington, FL

(Christian Griffith, 15, MX racer Fractured Collar Bone)

I was impressed by how much work he did with motocross riders - actually helping them get back to their sport rather than trying to talk them out of it. We couldn't be happier with the outcome and continue to recommend.
Dr. Sanders to fellow riders. In fact, I bought a book that talks about him, Medicine Men of Texas and just pull it out when I'm talking to someone about him. What's great about Dr. Sanders is he talks to you directly. He gave me his cell phone number in case we needed him!

We are very happy we made the trip to see him.

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"I feel compelled to say that Josh and I are feeling blessed that he's back on the track quickly - and faster than ever. We feel at ease knowing that when the inevitable injury happens, Dr. Sanders and his crew are there for him. It's a relief and comfort to me as a racer's parent."

Andy MacKenney

"My son Garrett hurt his knee a few weeks ago and he (Dr. Sanders) really helped us out. We called his cell Sunday night and he told us to come in the morning and everything was taken care of - quick and easy. My son loved him, and he introduced him to several local riders that were in the office. Thanks for taking care of him. It is definitely worth the drive to see Dr. Sanders!"

#49's mom

I just wanted to let everybody know that Dr. Mark Sanders has another satisfied patient ready to get back on the track! My son had a terrible experience with an ER doctor that really screwed up a tib/fib fracture back in February. His leg healed crooked. We finally hooked up with Dr. Sanders, who surgically repaired the mess. He removed the rod and screws, rebroke the leg and put a plate in. My son was home in two days with no need for pain meds and almost no swelling. He had a minor infection and Dr. Sanders called from England to check in with him.

This is a doctor that really cares about his patients and their needs. It has been about seven weeks since the surgery and my son walked out of the doctor's office today with no crutches and the biggest smile on his face. He can ride again!

If you get injured, don't call anybody else. We had to learn the hard way.

Mr. Woods

"My daughter Angie, an 18-year-old gymnast, had ACL revision surgery at the Sanders Clinic (Dr. Mark). This was Angie's third major surgery after countless injuries over the last 6 years. We chose Dr. Sanders mainly because we were convinced the Patellar tendon would be the best graft source, and the Patellar in her ACL leg has already been harvested. He use the outer-third section of the tendon in the opposite leg - something we hadn't heard from any other doctor. I believed taking some of the burden from the ACL leg and rehabbing them both together made a lot of sense, so we made plans to travel from Philadelphia to Houston to see Dr. Sanders.

Surgery was the following morning. In recovery, she was set up with a CPM machine, an electric shuttle that automatically flexed and extended her ACL leg. Dr. Sanders visited around 5 p.m. and took Angie for a walk. She made two laps around the hospital (about 1500 feet). Trust me, this was not a piece of cake, but the more she walked, the easier it seemed to get. She did this unaided, without crutches, dragging her IV pole along with her.

Angie has recovered at this point and is doing great on second day home. She walks pretty much normally. One week after ACL revision surgery, she rode the bike for 45 minutes today, exercised, and has gone to a friend's house to watch the Redskins game.

It was difficult being away from home, but we think we made a good decision. He is a skilled surgeon who wants only the best life has to offer for his patients, and I think we will always be thankful we found him."
See Results and Read Update.

D. Hall
Philadelphia, PA

My son crushed his tibia in May and after seeing several specialists in the Sacramento area I was totally disgusted with their lack of knowledge and concern. I contacted Dr. Sanders, and he told me what he would do to fix my son's ankle - by just looking at his X-ray. When we arrived in Houston, Dr. Sanders met with us and scheduled the surgery the same day.

My son ended up getting an osteotomy and spent three days in the hospital. Dr. Sanders and his staff were very professional. It is very important to have a doctor that has treated the same type of injury and who understands motocross riders. Dr. Sanders also gave us his personal cell number and if he didn't answer the phone, he called back within two hours. Now try and get any doctor to call you back. I have never seen that before! Even his certified trainer, Ed, gave us his phone number and answered any questions that we had.

So, I say to anyone that needs an Orthopedic surgeon, call Dr. Sanders.

Paul Hadjes

My middle son, Bryan, made a nasty landing on his YFZ450 a little over a year ago and suffered a bad compression fracture to his Radius bone of his left arm. The surgery and healing yielded less than desirable results. The tendons and possibly another injury led to the bone healing with a bulge on the side of his arm and also with the bone ending up about inch shorter than it should have been. The result was limited use of his arm, wrist and hand (about 25%).

We went to Dr. Mark Sanders, who simply said, "I can fix that."

He had surgery Friday, January 12, 2007 and during the first rehabilitation session on Monday, January 15, 2007 he worked the wrist at 45% flexion. At the second session, he worked the wrist at 75% flexion. And we're hopeful that he'll have 85% use of his wrist back and return to normal riding in six months.

It makes a difference when someone cares. His first Doc just scolded him for riding!

Mike Fuhre
Cypress, Texas

Thanks Dr. Mark for all you do! My 9-year-old son Logan had his pin removed from his right arm yesterday -- he's doing great. The arm is straight and strong - I am so thankful I questioned our original doctor and posted a question on KTMtalk.com for Dr. Mark!

The original doctor had left the bone displaced and set the whole arm crooked. Dr. Mark took one look at the x-rays and said come see me - so we took the 3 hour drive down to Houston, and I'm so glad we did. The other posts I read were right. Dr. Mark, his office staff, and the hospital treat you so well. We kept in touch via e-mail or pm's after we left. It's so nice to have a doctor that you can send a question to at midnight and get an answer from him the next day (or within an hour or two)!

As a parent, you want what's best for your child. As a parent, you want to trust your doctor. I learned the hard way that you can't always do that from the local doctor here. If you want a doctor you can trust - that tells it like it is and is open and up-front with you with his opinion – Dr. Mark is your man! His goal is to have your child fixed, fixed right and fixed as soon as possible!

Brenda Poteet
Waco, Texas