Gryzlo Stephen, MD

I was a patient of Dr. Gryzlo in 2003. He took my hamstring and made me a new ACL. He was professional, kind, thorough and everything you want to trust your doctor/​surgeon to be. Now, 12 years later, because of his work, I have the same if not better range of motion and strength in my knee than the other one. I’m so thankful for his work and am happy to recommend him to anyone needing such a referral.

After waiting 5 weeks post a meniscus tear, to have an MRI and appointment with Dr Gryzlo my meeting was rushed. He suggested I make another appointment for the cortizone shot — to which I mentioned I did not think I could wait that long, could he just give it to me now… which he did. Three weeks after the shot my knee POP’d loudly and the pain was excrutiating. I called the office first thing in the morning and was told I would have to wait for my follow up appointment to even be seen — which was a month away. Dr. Gryzlo would not even call me back, but told the receptionsist to relay the message. I explained to three different people, my knee was reinjured and worse with swelling and pain and I could not walk with a cane and would need crutches. To which I was told the doctor suggested I go to the emergency room and wait for my follow up appointment — A MONTH AWAY.
I called Illinois Bone and Joint — got in to see a specialist the same day, got my MRI the same day had my surgery to clean up the jpint 4 days later. That is how medicine should be done when pain, swelling and inability to function is involved!
Gryzlo is not worth the wait.

I had a fantastic experience with Dr. Gryzlo. My shoulder issue was complex having been in a few injuries over the past few decades. I don’t consider myself an athlete, although I bicycle to work most days.
I went to him for a second opinion after working with another generalist orthopedic surgeon.
He and his team were very helpful and explained exactly what the issue was, what the treatment plan was and what to expect in follow-​ups. As another reviewer mentioned, the shoulder is a difficult joint to treat. Injuries are always painful and complicated.
I highly recommend him and his team if you need a second opinion. Personally, I wish I went to him first and bypassed the suburban experience.

I’m writing this after being surprised by one of the recent reviews.
1^st of all, I’m a non athlete.
I saw Dr. Gryzlo in January 2014 and had a great experience. His team of Joe, Patricia, and all the residents he works with are fantastic.
I had shoulder issues. Shoulders are complicated. and I happen to be a high maintenance and nervous patient with a million questions.
I always found response time to be quick. I found Dr. Gryzlo to accessible when I needed to see him, although I also had many of my questions answered by his team.
Dr. Gryzlo didn’t push for surgery, he took time to present the surgical and non surgical options, as my situation was complicated. He also answered all of my questions in a caring fashion. Honestly, I would have been annoyed if I had to deal with me :)
When I decided on Surgery, the process was great.
Very successful and I would recommend Dr. Gryzlo and his team to anyone.
Feel free to ask questions.

Real patients that aren’t athletes, beware. Two month appointment wait time for nothing.
I visited his office previously and saw Patrick, the nurse practitioner. Patrick was amazing but was left stumped after my MRI. He said my symptoms and my MRI and X-​rays didn’t match up and that we don’t treat the MRI we treat the patient. He then referred me to follow up with a surgeon at Northwestern.
I waited in the lobby for 70 minutes (after my apt time) for my appointment.
When did finally see me he came into the exam room and looked at my MRI. He said there is nothing he can do. He didn’t give me a chance to ask questions or do a exam. He went off what was on the MRI alone. Both the NP and my physical therapist reiterated that there are several things do not come up in MRIs that require surgery to see. He was not interested in treating me or helping me come up with a solution.
I left the exam room less than five minutes after he arrived. I was very distraught and reported his dismissiveness to his administrator.
I have seen several MDs at NW and he was by the far the worst and least helpful. He must be too busy only caring about his athlete patients.

Dr. Gryzlo, Joe his PA, and Patricia his MA are all amazing! There are so many options in Chicago, most of which are great, but I would highly recommend Dr. Gryzlo for any shoulder, elbow, or knee issue. He has now done 3 surgeries on me since I’m such a klutz and they have all worked out great. Dr. Gryzlo has a such a friendly bedside manner, Joe is wonderful at all the post surgical follow-​ups, and Patricia is on top of all the scheduling/​paper work.
I can’t say enough about this fantastic team!

Torn medial meniscus.
Who you gonna call?
Dr. Gryzlo! Dah, dah, dah, dah, dumm.
Thanks to Adrian, secretary, for working me into the schedule so that I’d only wait 2 weeks instead of 4 weeks to be seen by Dr. Gryzlo.
Dr. Gryzlo’s resume is quite impressive. He works on professional athletes (think Cubs & Blackhawks), so if he’s more than qualified to work on my puny wanna be runner’s knee.
I was nervous to meet up with Dr. G. Thought he might be some intimidating attending who barely looks or talks with his patients. Wrong. He’s got amazing bedside manner, and calmed my nerves about the surgery by spelling everything out for me. He’s one of the friendliest and most informative doctors I’ve ever met.
I was directed to Patricia, Dr. Gryzlo’s medical assistant, to set up my surgery schedule. She informed me that he operated out of both Northwestern Memorial Hospital (Olson building) and a surgery center on Erie and State. Apparently no residents practice out of the surgicenter so I preferred that location and was assured by Patricia that the cost would be the same if not cheaper than the hospital. Wrong. I called my insurance company and found out that my deductible at the surgery center would be $ 1,000 and services would only be covered at 50%. This is opposed to having my surgery at Northwestern Memorial Hospital where my deductible would only be $ 100 and services would be covered 100% after that. So please, always check with your insurance company! Minus one star.
On surgery day, traffic was insane so I was 1.5 hours late for surgery. Nonetheless, Dr. Gryzlo was so understanding and fit me right back onto the surgery schedule. Surgery went smoothly, My pain was kept under control. Dr. Gryzlo spoke with my husband right after surgery about how things went and then to me once most of the anesthesia wore off. Talk about effective communication.
If I ever have to have orthopedic surgery, knock on wood, I wouldn’t hesitate to give Dr. Gryzlo a call.
Dr. Gryzlo’s specialties:
–ligament injuries
–knee problems
–shoulder reconstruction
–sports medicine
–elbow reconstructions/​injuries