Dr. Thomas C. Chen

When my HMO referred me to the Keck Spine Center for multi-level fusion surgery, I was imagining a huge informal place where the doctor would not distinguish me from any other patient. I was disarmed at the first meeting with Dr. Chen. He was so kind and soft spoken and so clear about the procedure with its benefits and risks. Both my husband and I were confident I was in the right place. The surgery was a complete success and I am still amazed how all that long standing pain could just vanish following surgery. At each of my follow-up visits, Dr. Chen showed the same quiet kindness and interest in my welfare. I feel very lucky to have been his patient.

Dr. Chen is a top-notch neurosurgeon/spinal surgeon, and I am grateful to him for the successful two-level cervical spine surgery (ACDF) two years ago. He is very personable and genuinely cares about his patients and their quality of life. I have great confidence in Dr. Chen and his team and recommend him without hesitation.

Dr. Chen saved my life. I was told if I did not have my surgery, I would die within weeks. He is kind and caring and I wouldn’t be here without his help.

I had a double fusion (L4-L5-S1) about 3 years ago with Dr. Chen. My family and I still raise a glass to him regularly because we all feel like he saved my life. For years I had been suffering with severe back pain. And I had tried everything (yoga, pilates, nerve ablation, cortisone shots, PT, you name it, I tried it.) Nothing helped. And the thing I truly value about Dr Chen is... he made me do most of it all again. He only operates when it is necessary, when all other options have been exhausted. To me, that speaks volumes. He's not just gonna operate to make money. He's gonna operate because it's the right thing to do. And for me, it really was the right thing to do. Once I was fully recovered, I was able to go to the gym and finally exercise without pain. I sleep better, I walk better, I can play with my kid and no longer have to say "sorry, I just can't." I now know what the absence of pain feels like. Truly amazing. And it's all because of the extraordinary skill of Dr Chen. So, as we say in our family, "Thank you, Dr Chen!!" I had a double fusion (L4-L5-S1) about 3 years ago with Dr. Chen. My family and I still raise a glass to him regularly because we all feel like he saved my life. … More

Dr. Chen is a terrible doctor. I would strongly advise anyone reading this to run far far away from his office. I came to him complaining of pain from Ehlers Danlos Syndrome. He flat out refused to believe I had EDS. Instead, he swore my pain was coming from crushed nerves in my spine. He pressured me into having spinal fusion surgery saying it would “cure my pain.” I should have never listened to him. He robbed me of my mobility and ruined my life. Dr. Thomas Chen butchered my spine with this surgery. My pain is 1000 times worse now. The surgery went 6 hours longer than expected, lasting a total of 8 1/2 hours. This was an L5/S1 fusion. Just one spinal segment! When I came out of surgery I was in a horrific amount of pain. But my veins were too fragile to support a port for morphine. The IV morphine was pooling up under my skin burning me and leaving bruises all over my arms and hands. I begged the nurses to call Dr. Chen for 6 days during my hospital stay but Dr Chen did not respond to repeated phone calls and pages. He did not come to check in on me. I was completely abandoned after surgery. Important to note: Fragile veins are another symptom of Ehlers Danlos Syndrome. Yet Dr. Chen’s nurses again denied this was the issue and when my parents tried to advocate for me and get me some pain relief, the nurses accused me of being an IV drug addict who ruined her own veins. They withdrew morphine on day 2 and let me sit in the hospital screaming in pain for 6 days. I was fainting the pain was so severe. After 6 long days, my parents were able to convince hospital administrators to release me so I could see my geneticist and pain management doctor and get actual help. My geneticist who diagnosed me with EDS could not believe the torture I endured at Dr. Chen’s hands. Spinal fusions should not be performed on EDS patients unless absolutely necessary. Post surgery my pain became worse and I’ve lost a great deal of mobility. My disc above is now herniated and causing great suffering. It’s hard for me to even sit up without being in pain. I’ve gained over 50 pounds because I can barely move anymore. Dr. Chen admitted no wrong doing and stopped returning my calls. He’s a butcher. He will slice you and leave you with no concern for your health or we’ll being. His office only cares if your insurance pays out for th as ridiculously expensive procedures. Dr. Chen is a terrible doctor. I would strongly advise anyone reading this to run far far away from his office. I came to him complaining of pain from Ehlers Danlos Syndrome. He flat out refused to believe I had EDS. Instead, he swore my … More

Dr. Chen is a very professional and effective surgeon. He performed a lumbar fusion for me. I appreciate his efforts and the care I have received at USC post-surgery has been the best. I would recommend Dr. Chen to anyone in need of spinal surgery.

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Dr. Chen gave me the ability to move my neck and arms when I lost it. He is hard to get a hold of but when you do, he is patient and listens carefully to what you have to say. He explains resutls and questions to the last detail. Dr. Chen gave me the ability to move my neck and arms when I lost it. He is hard to get a hold of but when you do, he is patient and listens carefully to what you have to say. … More

Very knowledgable, professional, no nonsense doctor. I trusted him with my life!

Dr. Chen performed a multi-level fusion on my spine and it was 100% successful. Prior to surgery he wanted me to try all other options again (shots, PT, etc.), which I appreciated because it showed he believes surgery should be the last option, not the first (like many other surgeons I met with). He also really took his time with me during our pre-op meetings. He patiently and clearly answered all my questions. But mostly I'm grateful to him for his surgical skills. I've heard many, many stories of botched fusion procedures, but mine has truly given me my life back. It's been a year since the surgery and I am able to swim, exercise, walk for hours, travel, lift things, get up with out grunting, sleep, and I don't have to constantly be taking Advil or other meds.

I have been seeing Dr Chen for a few years now. This was a follow up from past surgeries. Dr Chen is very honest with his information. I have had back issues for many years and all of the doctors that I had seen in the past wanted to either fuse or pin the vertebrae. That worried me and I put it off. My family doctor referred me to Dr Chen I am so happy he did. Dr Chen had me do an MRI and when we went over the results he took a great deal of time to explain by both showing and telling me what was going on with my back. He did it in a way that I understood 100% of what the problem was. He did say I would need surgery and I asked if he would need to fuse or pin and he said "No if this were me I would just do decompression surgery and that should fix your problem" I was very happy and we did the surgery and when I woke up I could feel both legs and my feet. It was amazing. Well about 2 months after the surgery I had a car accident. Dr Chen did a 2nd surgery and 3 years later perfect. THX

My dad went in the emergency room and CT’s can show he have blood in his brain. They notifying DR Chen and said he will contact us. He never show up and his assistant show up 24 hrs later and said my dad need surgery. The dr perform the surgery the next day and never spoke to us after the surgery while we are waiting in the waiting room. The CCU office call us and inform us my dad is there. My dad went in the emergency room and CT’s can show he have blood in his brain. They notifying DR Chen and said he will contact us. He never show up and his assistant show up 24 hrs later and said my dad need surgery. The dr perform the … More

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He saved my life! Thank God , for people like you, Dr Chen!

Dr. Chen took my case AFTER the doctors at UCLA made my back worse after 2 spinal discs blew out in 2001. Even though my back refused to fuse Dr. Chen NEVER gave up. On the 3rd surgery he went in from both the front & back side of my spine using permanent hardware to help keep the spine in place along with other techniques the back FINALLY fused. That 3rd surgery took almost 13 hours to complete! BUT, he never gave up on me. THANK YOU Dr. Chen!!!

Dr. Chen is knowledgeable and very thorough on explaining the procedure for my brain tumor. He is very experienced. I felt safe when on the day of my Surgery he had to cancel due to safety reasons. He said I had to embolize the tumor before surgery. I had successful surgery a month later and glad he was looking out for me. I would definitely recommend Dr. Chen. His staff Nurse Erika and Jeanette are knowledgeable and a pleasure to work with. My overall experience is excellent. Ruby-Pasadena

Dr. Chen is very knowledgeable and pleasant. I liked that he was decisive but took the time to explain and answer my questions.

After 20 years in pain due to a fracture in the tailbone, Dr. Chen fixed the problem. The surgery was a life changer and I have my life back with 0 levels of pain in my lower back. The expertise and state of the art facilities are a god-send and if any of my family moves out here - I will be sure to recommend USC Keck Medical.

I am blessed to know Doctor Thomas Chen . June 2017 he had a successful surgery on my back , which allowed me to stand on my foot again . Last October (2018) almost a year later I needed his experty which he operated on my neck . Due to sever spinal injury doctor Chen after a long hours was able to get rid of my disturbing neck pain . I feel younger , wishes never needed another surgery but if time comes I would ask for doctor Chen again . my sinscer gratitude , Ardy Saeid

I have never had a Doctor so thoroughly explain my situation and the manor of treatment that I would receive. To wake up from surgery pain free was beyond any expectations that I dreamed of. Thank you Dr. Chen

This guy is the worst! My mom has a neck problem and had a surgery done by another doctor, before coming to see him. Chen said the last doctor did not do the surgery properly and he had to re-do it for my mom. After the first surgery with him, it took my mom 3 weeks to get off the bed. And she did not feel any better than before the surgery. Chen said there is a second surgery needed, which he never mentioned in the first place. Ok fine, we figured he knows what he’s doing and agreed to the second surgery. Yet, after the second surgery, nothing improve, but my mom is in more pain afterwards. He said he did everything he could but don’t know why my mom is in pain. He just ordered one x-ray after another, but never ordered MRI to get a better picture of her spine. Making appointments with him is horrible!!! He would schedule 5-10 patients into the same time slot. But he would never be on time. His first appointment is 9:30 AM but he rarely arrives before 10:00 according to the staffs. He is only in the Garfield Center every Monday morning, until like 1 PM. He would just leave before finishing all his appointments. Average wait time during appointments is 2 - 3 hours. This doctor is the worst, no skills, not professional, no compassion for patients, and even not reachable in a sense. Do not see him!!! This guy is the worst! My mom has a neck problem and had a surgery done by another doctor, before coming to see him. Chen said the last doctor did not do the surgery properly and he had to re-do it for my mom. After the first surgery with … More

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I had a one disc cervical fusion 9 years ago and 2 additional cervical disc fusion in dec2016. Very little down time. Went back to work 2 days after discharge from hospital. Had very little pain after surgery. No pain at incision site at all. Dr Chen is top in his field and i trust him completely and felt so confident and relaxed about his advice and surgery. I highly recommend him. I had a one disc cervical fusion 9 years ago and 2 additional cervical disc fusion in dec2016. Very little down time. Went back to work 2 days after discharge from hospital. … More

Spent 2 years, underwent 2 surgeries with Thomas Chen. Nothing improved but getting worse and more painful everyday. He said he doesn’t know why patient is in pain. He spent averagely 7 minutes while seeing patient. And the wait time to see him is 2-3 hours on average. He only shows one morning a week in the Garfield Center. And he cancels his appointments very often due to varies of reasons, vacations, surgeries, emergencies, and so on. Staff named Erika is also horrible!! Don’t see him!

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Dr. Chen is a phenomenal doctor. He takes the time to really listen to his patients. I've never felt rushed or dismissed by Dr. Chen or his staff. I've had several spine surgeries and each time I've had positive results, with very little down time. He really is a caring and skilled surgeon.

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Dr Chen has what I consider the attributes of not only a good surgeon but someone who often inspires patient confidence. His team of Spine Surgeons performed a rather routine Decompression Laminectomy to relieve, reduce nerve pressure. He neither promised unrealistic complete and total pain relief, but his strategy increased my leg mobility. He has a complimentary bedside manner and very professional demeanor. A very busy Surgeon indeed, it is not that easy scheduling a convenient appointment

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