Harlan Bruner, MD

I went to Dr. Bruner in March of 2018 in horrible pain because of a cyst on mine spine. The pain was getting progressively worse and they worked me in for surgery right away. The surgery was awesome and I had immediate relief that day. I started having some pain again in fall of 2019 and went to him and got another MRI and it was determined that I needed a spinal fusion. My insurance company denied it but his office staff appealed it and after 2 months finally got it approved. I had surgery May of 2020 and I am 3 months post op and I am finally seeing some relief and I think this surgery will be again the best thing that I ever did. I cannot say enough how much I highly recommend Dr. Bruner. I have recommended him to numerous family and friends. If for some reason I ever need to have surgery again I would not let anyone but Dr. Bruner do surgery on me.

I came to Dr. Bruner at 24 years old after previously seeing two other neurosurgeons for Chiari Malformation. I came to him after months of tests and scans. My life no longer felt like my own. I was living in chronic pain with horrible headaches and numbness in my hands. DR. Bruner didn't sugar coat anything. He got right to the issue at hand and listened to my concerns and frustrations. He didn't tell me what I wanted to hear, but more importantly what I needed to hear. There is a lot of misinformation around Chiari Malformation and Dr. Bruner was able to give me some answers. He listened and gave me options of what he thought was best. Ultimately, I opted for a Fossa Decompression surgery and man was I glad I did. Dr. Bruner was phenomenal throughout the whole process. He made sure I knew what I was getting into before I decided on the surgery. His team and himself worked very hard to give me the best chance of returning to a full life, which I pretty much have, way better than before and I am only 4 months post op. Dr. Bruner and his team also worked extra hard to make me feel comfortable and safe with the absence of my family in the hospital and at doctors appointments due to covid. I am so unbelievable grateful to him and his wonderful PA Tony and his nurses. He is not a doctor who's going to hold your hand and tell you how good you're going to feel when you wake up from surgery because I honestly your not. Recovering from brain surgery sucks its hard and painful, and he is going to be upfront and honest about that. However, he is the doctor that is going to tell you how much better your life is going to be in a year after your brain surgery and that is more important. He is good at his job, but more importantly he authentically cares and takes his time to show it. I guess all I can really say is Thank you Dr. Bruner.nnP.S. His staff is on point they get you in and out. I don't think I ever sat in the waiting room for more then ten minutes, which is awesome.

Where should I start! Dr Bruner did my Mom's back surgery. Those that are saying he has a good bedside manner....wow! I'm glad he did w/you but I didn't see any bedside manner from him! After my Mom's surgery as soon as we were able to change her dressing on her back I did. As soon as I saw it I thought it didn't look good. I wasn't able to go w/her to her appointment to take her Staples out but I reminded her to ask about infection. Well, she didn't see Bruner but the PA that took out the staples said, oh it's just gonna look like that! Well, the redness spread! A couple of days after the staples were removed my Mom had a fever and was delirious! An ambulance had to be called to take her to the ER @ Piedmont. The ER doctor there wasn't any better! He didn't listen to me when I said I was concerned about her back having an infection. All he did was tell her to call Dr Bruner for a follow-up! She went home that night. The next day she had an appointment w/ her primary care doctor Dr Shock. He was outraged! He told her to go straight to the ER! At this point my Mom's back was red and swollen from the middle of her back all the way down to her buttocks on both sides! When Dr Bruner finally got to the hospital he scheduled surgery for the next day to go in and clean out the infection. All of this could have been avoided if someone had listened and taken a little more time w/my Mom. But wait it gets better.....on the day of surgery Dr Bruner talked w/my Dad before surgery. He said this shouldn't take long. Maybe about 45 minutes. I'll come back after the surgery to let you know how everything went. Two hours later my Dad and I are very concerned! My Dad frantic! Fortunately, I knew someone who works @ Piedmont. I found her and asked her to please call and check on my Mom. She did and my Mom was in recovery about to go to her room! Never saw Dr Bruner! I told a nurse what happened and asked her to ask Dr Bruner to come by my Mom's room. Nope, he didn't have the decency to come by he called! Now, I understand that doctors are very busy but if you are too busy to talk w/the patient and the patients family...I think you should slow down on how many appointments you make and how many surgeries you schedule! My Mom did have a follow-up appointment but she didn't see Dr Bruner. I would have thought since it was a second surgery he would have wanted to see how my Mom was doing. I would have also thought that my Mom would have needed physical therapy after surgery but No one not Dr Bruner not a PA No one said Anything about Physical Therapy! Because of this infection my Mom was on IV antibiotics twice a day for more than two months! Now, I admit Dr Bruner is not the only one who @ fault here. If the Piedmont ER doctor would have done his job better the infection could have been treated w/oral antibiotics instead of IV antibiotics! I would Never recommend Dr Bruner to Anyone!

Dr. Bruner has an awesome bedside manner. He takes time with you and you can tell he really cares. I'm 3 months out & have gone from a pain level 9 to a pain level 3! It was really rough for 2 months and I didn't plan on being down that long, so that is the only thing I would change. I would plan on needing help for at least 2 months depending on your problems.

Dr Bruner, Dr Olivia and staff have been very nice and professional. This team of doctors and staff truly care about their patients. The set the bar high for other doctors offices.