Dr. William Dirkes, MD

I embedded a fish hook deep inside one of my fingers. I cut the hook close to the finger so that it wouldn't get caught on anything while driving home but there was still enough of it protruding that it could be removed by a competent physician. By the time I arrived home my only option was to go to the ER in a hospital. I was seen by Dr. Dirkes who spent probably less than 15 minutes total time with me. After looking over the x-rays he told me that the hook was so close to the bone in my hand that it would be best to have a hand specialist remove the hook to avoid any nerve damage. He told me that he had never personally removed a hook that had been embedded so deeply and close to the bone and that he would reluctantly do it if I wanted him to. On his recommendation I went to see a hand specialist, he was puzzled by the fact that Dr. Dirkes was reluctant to extract the hook. He easily removed the hook with some forceps. The bill I received from Dirkes' office was unbelievable!