Hospital for Special Surgery Reviews 

Heartless and unkind. If you have a post operative complication they will dismiss you from care. No bad outcomes allowed. They actually told me in writing to go to NYU. At NYU they have been very helpful; I’ve seen their pain management, neurology, rheumatology and revision surgery. HSS was so concerned about protecting itself from any hint of malpractice they wouldn’t try to help figure out what’s wrong.

I recently had a total hip replacement at Hospital for Special Surgery in NYC with Dr. Alberto Carli and his incredible team, and I truly cannot say enough about the care I received.

From the moment I entered the hospital, through my surgery and recovery, every member of the care team was exceptional. I wish I could remember everyone’s names so I could personally thank each one of them.

The organization, professionalism, compassion, and empathy I experienced were beyond anything I could have hoped for. They went above and beyond—not only while I was in the hospital, but even after I returned home to recover. I never felt alone or forgotten.

We don’t always experience this level of care, and I feel incredibly grateful to have been in such capable and caring hands every step of the way.

If you or someone you love ever needs an orthopedic joint specialist or is considering where to receive this kind of care, I cannot recommend Dr. Carli and his team at HSS highly enough.

Thank you to everyone who cared for me. I am deeply grateful. ❤️

I have been sitting in my room in this for over 2 1/2 hours waiting for people to disconnect me from my before I can be discharged. It says if I don’t this quality of care is unacceptable and an embarrassment for this establishment, especially after I received excellent care from my surgeon, Dr. Kim and nothing short outstanding care from my nurse Alex Ball who has kept me informed through the whole process and calmed my nerves when I wanted to jump out of this bed and start screaming. He is an asset to this Hospital with and a good sense of humor if you are concerned about inefficient administration, don’t get your radio work and while the other support staff in nursing are very good Alex was and shoulders of them. I hope he continues to success.

I had spine surgery (Laminectomy) March 2026 with Dr. Lovecchio. The surgery was a success and I have no more sciatic pain. Dr. Lovecchio, his staff, and the operating room assistants took great care of me as well as the nurses that attended to me after the surgery. I have only positive things to say about the entire experience.

My 2 drs & techs are excellent BUT radiology's lazy, nasty & passes the buck, leaving you in a red tape black hole. I spent 5+ hours on the phone/email re getting a copy of my Dexa. They keep it in a 3D program, so unless you want to pay $35, you need to convert it yourself, which I did w/ AI's help. For a scoliosis x-ray, spent 10+ hours w/ advocate, radiology getting runaround, nasty comments, passing the buck for over a month. They had me ask my pcp to write a letter w/ Cobb angle requests, which I did. Then said it needed his name, which I got. Then it needed to be faxed. Everyone I spoke to wanted to hear the story again & again, which wastes time so do not do that. Still haven't gotten corrected report from Dr. Theodore Miller, radiologist.

Medicaid Patients: HSS Administration is Blocking My Care"
"I am a Healthfirst Medicaid patient with a direct referral from my surgeon and a valid out-of-network authorization, yet HSS administration is refusing to sign the Single Case Agreement (SCA). They are steering me toward other providers to save themselves money, ignoring my medical necessity.
Do not bother complaining to the Department of Health (DOH). In my experience, they do not truly investigate these administrative steering tactics and they cannot force the hospital to sign the SCA. If you have Medicaid, HSS will treat you like a transaction rather than a person. Save your time and find a facility that actually values you.

Again, HSS Administration has proven they do not care about patient outcomes, even in the most extreme cases. I have a direct referral to an in-network provider and a valid, approved out-of-network authorization for a critical brain-to-nerve-to-bone limb salvage reconstruction (Triple/Plantar Arthrodesis).
Despite the medical urgency and official approvals, HSS is refusing to sign the Single Case Agreement (SCA) with Healthfirst Medicaid. They are effectively blocking life-altering surgery and steering me elsewhere simply because they value their bottom line over saving a patient's limb. If you are on Medicaid, be warned: HSS sees you as a financial transaction, not a human being in need of specialized care. They will abandon you at the finish line for the sake of money

This hospital is all marketing hype. The only competent doctors do not accept Medicare, in contrast to every other NYC hospital at the highest levels of professional achievement and competence. Even doctors who are marginal at best reject Medicare, the largest insurer in the country. I saw one of the doctors who accepts it but should never have been hired. I was left under that person's care with a life-long injury and chronic pain. There is competition between doctors that should be transparent to the patient, but takes on an ugly turn. US World News grants a high ranking but it you look at that website they admit there are only 2 adult specialties that they evaluated and considered. It's a stretch to extrapolate to #1 for every orthopedic specialty in the entire country, no less. It is rare to find any doctor who has anything remotely resembling a doctor patient relationship. No care is taken; a dismissive attitude is the default. This hospital causes harm for boasting on all media its excellence but is silent about the inferior care patients receive if not offering high enough paying insurance. It creates the assumption that no matter who they select they're in the best possible hands. This is wrong. Try searching online. HSS dominates every search for an orthopedic specialist, frustrating a search. Impossible to navigate its own website to find out who is who. Doctors dismissive, some outright unprofessional. There's a handful of top doctors in all but the small sampling of specialists who will see patients using high-paying insurance or self-paying. They make enough that all patients should have the option to benefit from those at least on a selective basis but this elitist hospital is intransigent. Hip patients do the best at HSS. I find it hard to watch the HSS miracle TV commercials. No compassion for the patient at HSS. Closing in on a year as my injuries worsen. Doctors rudely cancel appointments at will with no reason. Be aware that what drives a decision for a doctor to see a patient is money, not medical need. You will lose a lot of time given the few poor options a try. If not so limited, I would travel and pay lodging as experts are out there throughout the country who are dedicated to helping patients. This is not the focus at HSS. I have never seen such indifference and unprofessionalism in those with a degree to practice medicine. Hiring is indiscriminate without regard for patient experience. The marketing unrealistically raises patients' expectations. I used to boast the care because I believed the marketing which brainwashes, until I needed care. Doctors at other NYC hospitals are amazed at this little-known elitism inconsistent with the role of a doctor. Knowing the truth about this hospital, how political, how unresponsive is an awakening. And indeed there is some bad behavior. What can be said that is positive is the imaging work is excellent - which is not to say doctors at other hospitals do not disagree with the findings - and a selection of the physical therapists are exceptional, but even for rehab there it is a mix. Don't buy the hype. Don't limit yourself to one hospital or locale when searching for an orthopedic specialist.

The person who answer the phone for appointments at 833-477-7100 was rude and condescending. For now reason she suddenly started a pedantic attitude, I didn't start a fight or I was claiming anything, she just flipped and gave me s***.