Vincera Institute — Local services in Philadelphia

I am a physician and researched intra-articular hip pathology/athletic pubalgia (more appropriately termed CMI: core muscle injury) for 6 months prior to choosing my arthroscopic hip surgeon, Chis Larson, who performed the first trials of simultaneous vs staged repairs of intra-articular hip pathology and CMI in 2011. Dr. Larson repaired the hip, but informed me that the only physician in the US that would both be able to perform the appropriate CMI repair & take the time dissect out each muscle/tendon/nerve requiring surgical management for my particular successful outcome is William Meyers.

It took 20 years & self guided education to obtain a diagnosis, confirmed by Dr. Larson who fixed the hip & referred me to Meyers for the CMI

Dr. Meyers has CMI repair results with 90-95% success. Other center results worldwide are only around 33-50% due to lack of biomechanical understanding/adequate training.

WHY SO BAD?

General surgeons are used to operating on traditional hernias, which are NOT the etiology of CMI. They are well trained on hernia repairs which involve defects of abdominal wall fascia, yet are UNRELATED to core muscles injuries (muscles from the chest/abdomen/back that insert into the pelvis from above AND muscles from the thighs that originate or insert into the pelvis from below). Orthopedic surgeons train to repair muscles of the proximal thigh (below the pelvis), but NOT of the core muscles ABOVE the pelvis.

This creates a dilemma where no surgical training programs address core muscle injury biomechanics or repair - CMI repair requires understanding of the anatomy, pathology from both ABOVE & BELOW the pelvis. Dr. Meyers researched pelvic biomechanics with Duke Univ Orthopedics when in Gen Surgery training giving him a UNIQUE training program.

For me, Larson left all CMI care to Meyers, including portions he as ortho performs, knowing incomplete repair is risk for failure & Meyers would address it all.

Dr. Meyers spent 1 hour w/ me pre-op, listened to my 20 year old injury story, examined me & clinically found a diagnosis w/ treatment plan. He THEN looked at MRI imaging obtained at his office, discussed it with his radiologist (Dr. Zago: top US MSK CMI radiologist) & returned with recs. His MRI protocol identified areas missed by 7 prior MRIs including Mayo-MSK protocols. His exam identified my pathology, some which is impossible to see on imaging, but WAS confirmed intra-operatively.

Dr. Meyers identified/addressed etiology which led to the defects/injuries, RECONSTRUCTED/reinforced the pubic fibrocartilage/core attachments, & freed up entrapped tendons/muscles/nerves. He does NOT simply remove nerves as many surgeons do. Nerve resection decreases ability to sense pain, but does NOT fix the actual problem, a reason many other surgeons have low success.

Dr. Meyers gives you his cell phone & texts post-op. He gave me realistic expectations of the repair. He saw me the next day in PT. His PT is incredibly well trained. My local PT cannot start treatment until they call Vincera and coordinate with their PT protocol. They are available ANYTIME for questions/guidance. His yoga instructors work w/ the Philadelphia Eagles. Approved by Meyers it includes 20 CMI rehab movements. You leave w/ handouts & contact info for help w/ option to continue Yoga via Skype. YOGA helped SIGNIFICANTLY more than ice, meds or PT for pain.

Dr. Meyers texted my ortho before/after surgery & myself Sunday after surgery.

His unique training and approach are UNPARALLELED. Ortho sports med or general surgery programs should offer fellowship training under Vincera guidance as a subspecialty field. CMI are common. They are COMMONLY missed on exam/imaging & when finally diagnosed frequently improperly managed. I am VERY grateful to Dr. Meyers for his lifetime of studying CMI biomechanics/repair. He is a life saver to countless patients and myself.

In practice, I've seen many patients have improper treatment from incorrect or delayed diagnoses/protocols. This does not occur...

I’ve been waiting nearly 2 years to write this review. I live in Seattle and flew out to Philly to have core muscle surgery on both sides after months of PT and rest did not help and learning that Vincera was pretty much the only clinic that handled the surgery I needed. The lone bright spot in the experience was the lovely Dr. Meyers. He was kind and caring and is obviously THE MAN when it comes to these injuries. The experience went downhill after the surgery.

This surgery is still considered “experimental” by insurance companies (despite it being shown to be nearly 100% effective in elite athletes for several decades), so insurance does not cover it upfront. I had to write a check for $16k the day before surgery and was instructed by Vincera to submit the claim for reimbursement to insurance myself. The Vincera office staff assured me they would provide me with resources to appeal to the insurance (although they were not optimistic that I’d be successful). The “resources” were a couple of articles from the early 2000s on the effectiveness of the surgery. After spending hours compiling more recent research and getting letters from another orthopedic doctor I’d consulted with, my general practitioner and physical therapist, months later, I successfully won my appeal for the medical necessity of the surgery. However, because of the technicality that Vincera had me submit the claim to insurance vs. them submitting it, Premera said they could not process the appeal. Easy fix – I just needed Vincera to submit the claim. However, they refused to do so, stating this was “not their process”. The staff members I talked to were very rude and clearly didn’t have any interest in helping me get my $ back. Premera reached out to them directly on my behalf to try and get them to cooperate and got the same rude attitude and unwillingness to help. This dragged on and on for another year, with me having to file multiple appeals and spend hours at a time on the phone with Premera. Eventually, Premera made a one-time exception (probably because I’d been pestering them for over a year) and I ended up getting paid back in full, 22 months after my surgery.

This whole ordeal could have been avoided if Vincera had been willing to simply submit the claim. They are used to dealing with professional sports clubs (50% of their business), where $ is not an object. And they have a corner on the market, so customer service isn’t a priority. I wonder if Dr. Meyers is aware of the unethical billing practices and horrible customer service of his...

I contacted Vincera seeking recommendations for surgeons who treat athletic pubalgia/core muscle injury in my geographic location, as I’m unable to afford surgery out-of-pocket. Since Dr. Meyers is a renowned expert, I assumed Vincera would be a great source of recommendations of other surgeons who treat the same type of injury — every good doctor has a network. I work in healthcare, where recommending other providers is a standard practice, especially for clinics where procedures aren’t covered by insurance. The admin staff was rude and dismissive once they realized I didn’t intend to get my surgery from Dr. Meyers. I spoke to 3 people and each time was told “no one else does the exact surgery he does, so we can’t recommend anyone else.” That’s like saying, “Because I have a unique treatment for PTSD, I won’t recommend anyone else who is competent in the treatment of PTSD.” Not only unhelpful, but unethical. Eventually the office manager told me she’d consult the doctor and email me recommendations. I have to assume she was just trying to get rid of me, as that was a month ago and I’ve heard nothing. In the meantime, I’ve received opinions from four excellent surgeons at Cleveland Clinic and Pittsburgh’s UPMC hospital system, and am moving forward with a surgeon whose research on the treatment of athletic pubalgia has been praised by none other than Dr. Meyers. No doubt Vincera is great for the few who can afford it, but some of the best doctors in the country have assured me that going into debt to see a rockstar surgeon is not necessary in the majority of cases. There are many skilled and well-reviewed surgical teams who take insurance. Take your time interviewing surgeons, get multiple opinions, and beware anyone who tells you that they are your...