Harris S. Rose, M.D.

Unreservedly recommend Dr Rose! I broke my wrist– potentially devastating as I am a surgeon myself. Dr Rose advised the best course of action to get me back to work as quickly as possible, and he delivered! Surgery Friday, back at work Monday, and in the operating room soon thereafter. Trust Dr Rose’s expertise and skill, and he will deliver!

Dr. Rose was very helpful in my pain and I believe my problem is fixed. He was kind and very caring doctor. My thumb is still sore from the injection but I’m hoping it heals completely.
Update. My thumb seems to be fixed and working so much better now.

When our six year old son broke his femur last year we were very fortunate to have Dr. Rose as his orthopedic surgeon. He is very patient, considers his words when speaking in front of an anxious, scared patient, and does a phenomenal job at easing the parents concerns and fears. His office staff is extremely friendly and always had warm smiles on their faces and made our son feel special and as calm as they could under some of the situations.
Fast forward six months and our adventurous son broke his arm. We knew just the orthopedic surgeon to visit. The care was more phenomenal this time. We ran into a bump in the road at the hospital the morning of surgery. Dr. Rose and his staff took the opportunity to help us navigate and find the best solution for the problem. This was not at all their job and they went above and beyond getting us the best solution for our issue.
If you are in need of an orthopedic surgeon I highly recommend Dr. Rose!

I met with Dr. Rose in early 2015 as I was having issues with carpal tunnel and what I thought might be a broken bone in my other hand. His nurse met with me, looked and pressed on my hands and told me what she thought I had. After about 5 minutes the Dr. came in, barely looked at my hands or touched them and told me I had Carpal Tunnel, Trigger Finger and Depuytren’s disease. Yanked out two pages of paper and told me to read them. Was shuffled to another room for steroid shots that would «fix» the issue. Didn’t work. Had double hand surgery scheduled for 5 months later. Although I did NOT enjoy his bedside manner, he was highly recommended by a doctor I trust and my time was limited, so I went forward with it. I arrived early to the hospital (4:30 am instead of 5), and NAMC was great. Met with every possible person before my 7 am surgery EXCEPT my Dr. Was literally asked 4 times if he had been in yet. At 6:58 am he rolls in «ready to go». NOT impressed. I had carpal tunnel surgery on one hand 15 years ago and it went famously. That Dr. retired (Adler — and her practice is being pointed to Rose as well). It has been 3 months since my surgery and countless rehab appts with his staff. Erin is PHENOMENAL, but I could see that she was as discouraged as I was at how my two botched hands were healing. After another steroid shot, and a suggestion for one more (that I declined), all Rose could say was «Sorry it didn’t go as planned». Strange that out of 4 people doing therapy at the same time as me that day, 3 of us were complaining of not being able to move fingers, or experiencing things unrelated to what our surgeries were supposed to heal. He said that I should give it another month and come back in to see how the scar tissue and pain were doing. I will not be doing that. On another note, they requested I pay $ 325 that would be returned once my insurance was billed. My OOP had been met fully since May, but I was not refunded until December after requesting the refund 4 times. NOT a good business practice. Front staff is rude, PT staff and his nurses are much nicer.
Today, (and at a total loss at what to do with my now ruined and painful hands), I met with Dr. Steven Henry as a consult, 3 months after surgery performed by Dr. Rose. I would love to reverse time to have seen this Dr. instead. He performed surgery on my mother’s carpal tunnel flawlessly, and you could see the dismayed look on his face after seeing what happened to both my carpal tunnel and trigger finger surgeries that went awry. What I liked best is that he was very well-​versed in his explanations of what is happening with my hands — Highly educated, without being cocky. Complete 180 of what I experienced with Harris Rose. I wish I had trusted my gut feeling and looked elsewhere. There are no guarantees in surgery, but I can honestly say that I felt 100% at ease with Dr. Henry, whereas I NEVER felt that with Dr. Rose. Do yourself a favor and put Dr. Henry on your schedule, get two opinions, and I can promise you that you will return to Dr. Henry for the procedure. I will see him again in September for a 1 year post op follow up (even though he was not my doctor). Hopefully my hands will get better, but if not, it will be Dr. Henry who I will have step in for sure! I also should add that I was impressed that all who worked at his office, including Dr. Henry, looked healthy and represented themselves well. In so many Dr.‘s offices these days, I notice that the staff and Dr.‘s do not seem to radiate good health practices. Being Diabetic, I would want my practice to exude a healthy lifestyle aura. This is the first time in a long while that it seemed that a Dr. and his staff cared about healthcare. Skip Rose and head over to Seton Reconstructive.

Update 12÷10÷15:
Had follow-​up today. Dr. Rose confronted me about my previous review, refused to order an MRI (recommended by the 2 other doctors I saw in the interim), couldn’t/wouldn’t explain why he dx’d trigger finger in the first place when I recounted my symptoms both before and after surgery, and upon learning I had an ultrasound yesterday that showed no indicators of Dupuytren’s Contracture, he suddenly changed his opinion of my post-​op complication from a confident DC dx to a DC-​like presentation.
I don’t doubt that he cares about fixing his patients, in theory at least, so it seemed reasonable to offer him a chance to be part of the solution. But the fact is, he doesn’t have to live with the results – his work is pretty much done after surgery. So it’s equally reasonable to expect my doctors to trust my experience with my own body and listen to me when I advocate for myself, preferably before any major decisions, but even after the fact would do. Sadly, for whatever reason, today Dr. Rose was more concerned about being «right» than doing the right thing. He declared ours an incompatible patient-​doctor relationship and dismissed me from his practice. He did offer a list of other doctors, but at that point I just left.
While I’m not surprised by the dismissal, after today’s experience I must deduct another star from my original rating.
Original review:
Misdiagnosed me with trigger finger. Did the surgery for it while performing a couple of other procedures on the same wrist, which I found out later is NOT recommended.
He had previously done those same wrist procedures on my other hand and I had no complications and healed well and quickly, so a couple of stars for that.
However, the «trigger finger» was not fixed by his surgery (not to mention the wrist’s healing was impeded & delayed; complications/​limitations with the finger made some of the prescribed post-​op physical therapies impossible for me). Not only was the problem not fixed, I now had additional problems that I’d never had until he cut my palm open.
When I told him this at my first follow up, and explained the problems I was starting to have as I resumed normal activity, he admitted that it may not have been trigger finger and he might have done the wrong procedure.
He told me to come back in a month, which I did yesterday. Now he says he doesn’t remember admitting possible misdiagnosis because he would’ve put it in his notes, and says that I must have misheard him… I’m not stupid. I know what I heard. I remember it precisely because I was pleasantly surprised that ANY doctor would admit to making a mistake. (They are often arrogant and paranoid – both somewhat understandably, and I don’t hold it against them IF they are doing their main job, healing, or at least not doing any harm.)
When I brought up my concern that the adhesion – tissues healing together that aren’t supposed to be attached – that had formed at the incision site might be causing the new problems, he said my words were «inflammatory» (an obscure medical joke maybe? But no). He insisted that the cause of my new problems was not a complication from surgery, but some genetic disease – one which I was already familiar with from researching my original finger problem, and I’m pretty sure I don’t have it. But even if I do: a) What a stunning coincidence that it was completely dormant, surfacing only after this surgery! b) There’s radiological testing, which he didn’t bother to order, that could confirm the genetic disorder. And most of all, c) who cares about my words being inflammatory when my hand works worse than it did before? My health trumps your ego. End of story.
Needless to say I’m seeking a second opinion and deeply regretting that I ever recommended him to a number of friends and acquaintances.

5 months post-​op and recovery is complete. Still with some occasionally annoying pain in arthritic thumb and wrist but functional preservation of my dominant right hand has been accomplished! I’m pleased and very thankful.

Had a fantastic experience at Dr. Rose’s office for a minor procedure on my hand. Dr. Rose was extremely professional and skilled, and the office staff was wonderful.

He made my thumb pain go away with 1 steroid injection. Upon my request, he even made the injection much less painful with some topical spray he applied to the site. Thank you!

I had the worst experience with a doctor after I went to visit with a hand injury and was told to go home and create as much inflammation as possible, book an appt. then and hopefully come to get a correct diagnosis. Really? Go injure myself some more? I really could not believe my ears. And no help or prescription for pain, cream or treatment, when I use my hands professionally everyday. Do yourself a favor and find a competent doctor to take your damaged hands to.

After working with Dr Rose in the Operating Room for the last 5 years as a Surgical Tech at NAMC, I recently became his patient due to severe painful arthritis in both my thumbs. After 1 year of trying cortisone injections without much relief, Dr Rose and I discussed the next step… surgery. He is by far one of the best surgeons I have every worked with and knew without a doubt I was going to be well taken care of. As an athlete I definitely had concerns whether or not I would be able to continue Crossfit after having my thumbs fused. I can tell you 1^st hand that Dr Rose has a genuine heart for people, healthcare and for each patients individual care and their future success. He is very approachable, honest and was 100% straight forward with me about my surgery, concerns and the results I could expect. I highly recommend Dr Rose and his amazing staff for their excellence, respect and a true spirit of warmth that they have always given to me each and every time I see them. They have gone above and beyond their duty to make sure I am well taken care of. I cannot thank Dr Rose and his staff enough, so I bake for them as much as I can to try and show them just how grateful I truly am. Thank you Dr Rose for everything!!! I could not be in better hands, and could not ask for a better surgeon. Leslie Smith

Dr. Rose is a magician! He has managed excruciating pain in my hands as well as my shoulder — two separate issues. He has also been extremely caring and referred me to an excellent spine surgeon when I had issues with my neck. His manner and consideration are top notch. I would recommend him to anyone with hand or upper extremity issues. My only regret is that his procedures are so effective that I don’t get to see him very often.

I have a left elbow and left wrist issues caused by calisthenics-​type of body-​weight training. My elbow wouldn’t fully bend or extend and the ulna bone at the wrist joint would swell at different times of the day and wouldn’t let me do anything that requires outward hand rotation, ulnar radiation (I think it’s called) or wrist extension. Basically, I couldn’t do much as far as physical activity goes because most physical movements require both arms and training only half the body using one arm only doesn’t make any logical sense. Not being able to train with the intensity I train is a huge problem for me. It’s a lifestyle and I can’t remember a time in my life when I haven’t been able to train intensely.
I went to see Dr. Rose as a self-​paying patient (strongly encouraged by the good reviews here on Unilocal). I was charged $ 200 for consultation and paid an additional $ 70 for two X-​Rays — one for my elbow and one for my wrist. The total upon leaving was $ 270 out-​of-​pocket.
Problem was Dr. Rose couldn’t figure out what was wrong neither with my elbow nor with my wrist. The X-​Rays didn’t show any fractures and his tests didn’t tell him much. He insisted that only an MRI would tell the whole story but since I’m a self-​paying patient he’d rather have me go home and come back to see him if I start experience more pain, which would warrant an MRI expense.
It’s been a month an a half now and my pain in my wrist sharply increased, causing further limited mobility. My elbow is in the same condition — no improvement. At the time of the exam at Dr. Rose’s office I didn’t get the X-​Rays and later I decided to call his office and request copies so I can seek a second opinion. I was told over the phone that they cannot email me the files but they can mail printouts or I could stop by and pick them up ON THE CONDITION that I pay additional $ 8. Why? Didn’t I pay for the X-​Rays already? Why would I be charged more even if I went there to pick them up? This totally makes no sense to me… not to mention that I spent $ 270 in this office and left basically with no new knowledge about my left arm conditions. I was going to let that go, but after being told I must pay to go pick up copies of my X-​Rays (for which I’ve already paid) I decided that I’d share my experience here on Unilocal.
Two stars only because Dr. Rose was very straight-​forward and told me right away that he couldn’t figure out what my problem was. He was respectful as well, but I must admit that I felt rushed and didn’t feel that the doctor spent enough time with me — 7 – 8 min tops. About that mush time with his assistant and taking the X-​Rays.
I always seek to find good things to think about and to say about people and especially businesses (I have my own business and I’ve had to deal with «meh» reviews in the past). I tried this time as well, but I couldn’t. and I could not make myself let it go either. I tried that too.

I can not say enough good things about Dr. Rose, he is up front about all the information and doesn’t sugar coat things. He is also only willing to do things that he feels will truly help the patient, and not what price tag is attached. Even though I have something he can’t fix, I feel cared for as if he was a Doctor and a friend. Really just lovely to work with!

Cliff’s Notes: If you have hand, wrist, arm or other orthopedic problems and are struggling to find someone good to help you, Dr. Rose is simply THE best doctor to go to in and around Austin! If you are having some pains or problems and are really frustrated you aren’t finding relief, please stick with me and read the rest of this so it might make the decision on what doctor to go with that much easier.
First off, so you know who I am and where I’m coming from, I’ll tell you a few quick things about myself. I’m a highly analytical person, tend to find answers to all of my own questions, and am generally not easily pleased. Over the past 10 years, I have only been to see a doctor 4 or 5 times, and have rarely ever been satisfied. Unfortunately, many doctors focus on symptoms and masking them, as opposed to finding the root cause and fixing it for better long term health. Doctor Rose is not one of those doctors, and has been a godsend for me, even after just TWO visits!
Until 8:30am this morning, I have previously had an undiagnosed physical ailment for the past 8 – 10 years. I’ve had a serious wrist condition that, while mild or unnoticeable most of the time, occasionally would flare up, especially under physical stress to my hand/​wrist, and the pain would become so debilitating that it literally felt like my wrist was fractured. Dealing with this has been extremely frustrating, and the long term effects have resulted in me deciding to give up weight training many years ago, as well as a number of other things, ultimately resulting in a significant decline in my health, increase in weight, etc. I mean, what do you do when all of the things you enjoy doing, and that are healthy for you, cause serious stress on the one place that hurts the most! It’s even worse when it’s something like a hand, you enjoy turning wrenches and working on cars, have a tech job and you’re on the computer all day long, etc.
So, I finally got to a point where I really want to get back to weight training, and decided I have to figure out what needs to change to fix this problem and make that happen. My wife did an awesome job, and the first person she found reviews on was Dr. Rose, so she scheduled an appointment. Literally 2 appointments + an X-​ray + an MRI later and Dr. Rose had a clear and rock solid diagnosis of exactly what was going on with my hand. After 8 – 10 years, it’s kind of surreal that I now HAVE ANSWERS! :-)
Some quick things about my experience. Dr. Rose has been such a huge help through this, even though it’s only been two visits (though there will be several more in the future). He clearly explained everything, made sure all of my questions and concerns were answered, while also looking out for my best interests and recommending against procedures he felt were unnecessary or excessive for where I’m at right now. This gave me a lot of confidence that we’re making the right decisions, and that after 10 frustrating years, things are finally moving forward towards a better future. I really can’t speak more highly of Dr. Harris Rose.

Dr. Rose has been my hand doc and surgeon for the past year. Two Carpal Tunnel surgeries and now, a shoulder problem. My 19 year old came home from a rock concert in San Antonio last weekend with a broken distal radius and on Sunday I was desperately trying to get him an appt with a hand surgeon/​doc for Monday. Dr. Rose was on vacation and answered my email personally and got him in Monday morning with his PA, Kristen. Today, surgery at North Austin Surgery Center where Blake has permanent hardware for his right arm but I know he was in the greatest of hands. Thank you Dr. Rose and your great staff. Blake will be working with the OT there soon, Christy and I know she is great too! Great care doc! We appreciate you!

This Dr. is good as gold! In the last few months, I have had the (long overdue) carpal tunnel release surgery on first my right hand and then two months later, my left hand. Dr. Rose (and his office staff) went far above my expectations. They are very good at what they do and Dr. Rose is an excellent choice if you need this procedure done. He answered all my questions, made sure I was comfortable with everything related to the process and did a great job.
It feels fantastic to be able to type this review without pain thanks to his skill.

After cutting my hand when a glass I was washing broke (note: never put your hand inside a glass; use a bottle brush — I’ve since learned this is a common hand injury) and having to get stitches at what has to be one of the tiniest ER’s in the U.S., Ruidoso NM, once I got home I was concerned that some of the stitches were coming loose. I saw a different hand/​plastic surgeon in Austin who was concerned I might have partially cut a tendon; he mentioned operating to check out the tendon.
I decided to get a second opinion and asked my primary care physician, my husband’s primary care physician, and a nurse I know who recently had hand surgery and they all recommended Dr. Rose (he operated on the nurse’s hand). When an R.N. recommends a doctor, and especially if she has had personal experience with the doctor, that holds weight with me.
So I saw Dr. Rose a week ago and he reassured me that he did not recommend surgery; he thought I might have cut my tendon but if I did he said it was a very remote possibility that I had cut it enough to warrant surgery (which would be a cut of 50% or more of the tendon). I asked about the possibility of the tendon rupturing later if I did cut it severely, and he said if that happened he could repair it then with no worse outcome for having waited.
I saw Dr. Rose again yesterday to have the sutures removed, and he again put my mind to rest about the tendon. I also asked him about my painful left wrist (I’ve been diagnosed with De Quervain’s tendonitis and have already had a cortisone injection with a different hand surgeon, to no effect). Dr. Rose said that 90% of his patients with DQ have complete relief after he gives them a cortisone shot (the doctor who did my shot said only about 50% of his patients have total relief), and that for the 10% who don’t, he can do a simple, 10 minute surgical procedure to fix the problem.
I was impressed with Dr. Rose’s caring manner and his patience in answering my questions. Even though he had a very full waiting room at my first appt. and they had worked me in to see him, he was not rushed at all. He also has a confident manner but without seeming arrogant, like a lot of doctors. If I do need another cortisone shot for my wrist I will go to Dr. Rose, and I would feel very comfortable having him do surgery on my hand or wrist (he is Board Certified in orthopedic surgery and fellowship trained in hand surgery).