Outstanding Doctor! I have had a bone spur removed in my back & 4 yrs later had Lumbar Fusion-Cages in 2 areas & I have no back pain anymore!Dr. Wetjen explained everything in great detail to give me a great comfort level. He & his staff were the most pleasant group I have ever seen. I highly recommend him! Tammy H.

Doctor Wetjen is by far one of the best doctors I’ve met. I feel very fortunate to have had him. He and his team are extremely skilled and modest. They were attentive and answered any questions I had and explained the MRIs to me. Though I’m a younger patient, he never spoke down to me and made sure I understood what the next steps would be. When it came to surgery he kept me and my family at ease even down to when they wheeled me into the operating room. His whole operating team introduced themselves to me in the OR and even joked a little to keep me relaxed. He does life changing work and I couldn’t thank him enough!

You are in good hands with Dr. Winjen. I had a brain tumor removed. I cant thank him enough for improving the quality of life for me - no more headaches. Hes very good at what he does.

Was with my husband for an appointment. Dr. Wetjen spent maybe 5 minutes with us, didn’t explain MRI results, was walking out the door while we were asking questions. So disappointing when someone is waiting so long to get an appointment and then the doctor acts like this. I will be calling administration, I would not recommend this doctor at all.

He performed brain surgery on our baby girl approximately 2 years ago (one of his 1st in Des Moines) and did a wonderful job. At our follow up appointments he has answered all of our questions. He was able to be reached during a weekend when she had a worrisome ER visit. Could not be happier to have a surgeon like him available to us.

In May 2019, I was diagnosed with a disc between C4C5 that had ruptured into my spinal canal space, compressing my spinal cord approximately 90% and causing significant symptoms. My best friend and neighbor is an anesthesiologist at Methodist in Des Moines, and when I saw my MRI I was surprised I was still breathing and my own and my extremities were still moving, I sent him my image and asked for two names. One of them was Dr. Wetgen. I always joked with my wife because of my parents great experiences at Mayo, that I always wanted to go there if something happened that was life threatening, not locally.I got the best of the best. I had a Mayo trained neurosurgeon, who is distinguished in pediatric neurosurgery also, agreed to see me with urging from my internist Dr. Van Der Veer, and I could stay in the area with my family present. Surgery was scheduled almost immediately, I had a ACDF, ANTERIOR CERVICAL DISCECTOMY WITH FUSION. My friend did the anesthesia, and now that a year plus has gone by, I know that I had a gifted surgeon, Dr. Wetgen. I also had a gifted anesthesiologists. My friend told me about a month ago that one of the highlights of his career was that when I was in recovery, he asked me if I could move my fingers and toes, and they did.I could have lost the use of my extremities. I could have had my phrenic nerves be damaged and be on a ventilator. I know from my study of anatomy, that neurosurgery is risky. The many fragments of my cervical disc that were teased off my spinal cord were done with precision and skills that were developed with many years of training, study, techniques and personal sacrifices and successes.I told Dr. Wetgen today on my one year follow up that I appreciate his skills, I was so grateful that he is MY DOCTOR, that his training helped me get a positive result. I hope I won’t need his expertise in the future again. If I do, I hope he’s available.If you have need for his expertise you have a Mayo trained expert here, to help you. I was a provider. You want a provider that can give you the best options for treatment success. I only received the best care, explanations and personal care.Thanks Dr. Wetgen

I saw Dr. Wetjen because of severe pain from an accident. He spent roughly 2 minutes reviewing my MRI. He asked some basic areas of pain and symptoms questions and had me raise my toes & heels, even though I was in a great deal of pain with minimal mobility but I complied as best as I could, causing more pain. He referred me to pain management for injections. No explanation of the MRI findings or why surgery wasn’t considered. After a total of 5-6 minutes, he started walking out of the room, as he told me to come back in 3 months. Didn’t ask if I had any questions or other concerns. Extremely frustrating!

Very attentive. Explained everything that was wrong and how he was going to correct my back situation. Very personable. Easy to talk to.

Dr Wetjen did back surgery on my husband (laminectomy L1-L5) which was a total success. He got his life back after suffering so much pain and now is pain free! Thank you Dr Wetjen!!!!

It’d be nice if he’d actually take time to answer questions. He was ready to get up and walk out after a MINUTE IN A HALF. Please have some bed side manner.