Dr. James C. Johnston, MD - Orthopaedic Surgery at GBMC

"I could not be happier for the way Dr Johnston repaired my fractured Tibia. If I had to do it over again he would be my choice of surgeon. I am very grateful to have had Dr Johnston. Excellent!! Thank you"

"Dr. Johnston is the best! He did my TKR on 5/7/25 and my recovery rate has been absolutely great. I followed his pre surgery and post surgery instructions and I have had minimal pain. My pain was more discomfort from flexing through the swelling, however following his directions of icing and I stressed icing and rest esp the first two weeks helped remarkably. My therapist were very impressed with his work and are looking forward to working with more of his patients. If I could rate a 10 Star I would! Alexa his PA-C is awesome and very compassionate about her craft. She is very knowledgeable and is able to answer questions and concerns on a level that you are able to understand."

"Dr. Johnston performed total left hip as well as right knee replacement surgery 2 years apart. Great job, superb results, and he has a warm, consultative bedside manner. I recommend him unqualifiedly."

"During a routine hip replacement, Dr. Johnston shortened my leg by 3/4 inch. Without orthopedic lifts, it is like walking with one shoe on, one shoe off. It feels so awkward I don't even get out of bed at night to pee without slipping into my lifts. I shower wearing one flip flop. What kills me is that this was 100% avoidable and 100% inexcusable. If you are contemplating surgery with Dr. Johnston, I urge you to read my story. As soon as I stood up after surgery, I felt my leg was too short, and I told Dr. Johnston when he visited me the next morning. His answer shocked me. "Yes" he said, "I shortened it. Your right leg was longer than your left leg. I made them equal." When I protested that my leg lengths were equal to start with, he calmly tried to reassure me that I was mistaken, and that I would see over time that he was right. But I knew for a fact he was wrong! I told him another doctor had already sent me for a CT Leg-Length Scanogram (the most precise radiological measurement test available) precisely to rule out unequal leg lengths as the source of my hip pain (something which might have been treated with shoe inserts). But the results showed that my leg lengths were, in fact, equal! Dr. Johnston seemed totally unmoved. "Give it time" he assured me, and I would see he was right. During my follow-up office visit, I handed Dr. Johnston a copy of the radiologist's report from the CT Scanogram. You should have seen his reaction. His calm demeanor suddenly transformed into defiance, and he gave me a very stern reminder that I had signed a waiver (as all hip-replacement patients must do) in which leg-length discrepancy was accepted as one of the risks of surgery. But the full egregiousness of his actions became clearer through several incidents over the next few months. First, speaking with two women who were going for hip replacements with other doctors, I learned that both of their surgeons had sent them for the CT Scanogram that I had taken prior to my ever having met Dr. Johnston. Their doctors then met with them to review the results. One of the women did, in fact, have a natural leg-length discrepancy. However, her doctor felt that her body had long since adjusted to the discrepancy, and that if he were to 'correct' it, he might first introduce problems. He therefore recommended to leave the discrepancy as is. Second, at an office visit with a new orthopedic surgeon, I recounted my saga, and asked if there was a surgical option to restore my original leg length. His answer made me absolutely furious at Dr. Johnston. He said that if I had been his patient, then as soon as I alerted him to my post-surgical problem, he would have immediately ordered new tests to confirm the leg measurements. And if it turned out that he had, in fact, made a mistake, he would have rushed me back into surgery ASAP to perform the correction BEFORE THE GLUE DRIED while the artificial stem can still be extracted from the femur. Once it is dried, the only way to remove it is basically to chisel away the entire bone, and in the process, inflict more damage and greater permanent pain than the pain that drove me to hip surgery in the first place. 1) Why did Dr. Johnston not suggest a pre-surgery leg-length analysis and review as other hip surgeons do for their patients? 2) What kind of doctor suddenly makes a discretionary physical alteration on his fast-asleep patient, one that is outside the scope of the original surgery, and which was never even mentioned beforehand? 3) What kind of arrogance does it take to completely dismiss a patient's insistence that something feels very wrong, thereby letting the window of opportunity wherein a fix could have been made slip away forever? 4) How sincere can a doctor's friendly bedside manner be when his demeanor turns to suppressed anger as soon as you show him evidence that is contrary to what he would like to believe? When your doctor exhibits a pattern of behaviors contrary to his Hippocratic oath, a botched outcome - one I am made cognizant of numerous times each day - is simply unforgivable."

"Wow words can't express my happiness. Dr. Johnston helped me gain my life back, his skills and knowledge got me off a cane and I am walking again without no pain. He educated me about my hip and his awesome staff was there to answer any worries that I had. Thank you "

"Could not miss the chance to let dr johnson know again just how popular he is. While having a father's day dinner at the Peppermill Restaurant in lutherville/timonium when a friend stopped by our table to inquire about my son in law's foot boot. He started talking about how he broke his leg playing pickleball about a year ago and what a great dr/surgeon he had by the name of dr James Johnson. Needless to say, I had to speak up telling him dr johnson was also my dr for a hip replacement last year. So everyone at the surrounding tables also heard about dr johnson. We were singing his praises. Wish he could have heard us."

"Dr Johnston literally is the best doctor I have ever seen. He took the time to listen to me and fixed my problem. He is a life saver. If I could give 100 stars I would. Love love love him."

"When a local Doctor in Westminster failed to advocate for me he lost my trust. I researched and found an excellent doctor. This was my first surgery and I was nervous. After my first appointment I was convinced there was a reason I was having this doctor do my surgery. My total expetience at GBMC was all I could have asked for and more. I go back Aug 6th 2019 for my one year check up. I have 5-10 year before my other hip will need a replacement and guess who I will be calling? Thank you to Dr. Johnston, the medical assistants at his office and the nurses at the hospital. I could keep writing....."