Sammy Sestito

My son is 14 years old & plays baseball/basketball. He was diagnosed with OCD (osteochondritis dissecans). In laymen's terms, that is a vascular disease which restricts bloodflow to the knee, causing lesions & therefore making the cartilage surrounding it more prone to injury. After a fall on the knee playing baseball, the cartilage + part of the bone cracked off. After getting an MRI locally in NJ, we were given a dire prognosis (will probably never be able to play contact sports again). Thankfully, we were able to schedule an appt. with Dr. MacGillivray at HSS.

He immediately diagnosed the OCD and scheduled surgery. He explained that he would attempt to fit the piece of cartilage/bone back into the knee, but that may not be possible. As it turned out, that could not occur & Dr. MacGillivray performed microfracture surgery on the knee (drilling the bone to make it bleed & hopefully new cartilage will be regenerated). Dr. M was succinct and quite clear that the prognosis was good if my son had good bloodflow and the cartilage filled in.

His goal was to have my son "up & running". After 6 weeks on crutches, daily exercises on the CPM machine, physical therapy, 10 more weeks off of crutches -- my son was given full clearance to start activity. Dr. M then checked my son's other knee to make sure there were no lesions (very rare to have in both knees). Unfortunately, OCD was in the other knee as well. Surgery was necessary immediately for that knee. This time, since the cartilage was hanging off (but not completely off), the surgery was different---the cartilage was "nailed" back in with liquid nails.

My son has just gotten off the crutches & will have an MRI to see the progress. We have been more than happy & satisfied with the level of service provided by Dr. MacGillivray's office. It is a very well-run office. We never have to wait (which is so important since it is such a long trip to get into NYC). Everyone knows their job so well---I can call up anytime to speak to a nurse or office manager & they always know the answer to my question or will find out the answer & get back to me asap.

Dr. MacGillivray is clearly very knowledgeable in his specialty. He is confident in what he diagnoses & with his prognosis. He is clear & concise with what he says. The appointments go very quickly, but if you forget to ask any questions directly to the doctor, you can always call the office & they will assist. We were also very satisfied with HSS. We needed to go there for MRI's & for 2 surgeries. It is a well-oiled machine: from the doorman to the intake personnel to the nurses to the aftercare personnel. Everyone knows their job completely. That is very comforting & allows a parent to breathe, knowing that their child is in good hands.