If it wasn't for Dr Chu I wouldn't walk today he is so great I wish I could see him again as I have other problems but I cannot find him if you're able to find him you're lucky cuz he's a great doctor and a great back specialist read more

Dr John C Chiu performed a 17hrs surgery on my spine...he and hand picked staff in 1997 inserted a cage on my spine (Percutaneous Microdecompression Endoscopic SpinalDiscetomy with New Laser Thermordiskoplasty for 200 Non-Extruded Heniated Nucleus Polposus Intervertebral discs.) from day after surgery (I) have been 99.99999% pain free ( no drugs, no Therapy) ! That was done in 1997 ...I'm 77 yrs old now...and truly believe that I'm 100% pain free of pain. To this day I still follow his instructions in what to do and not to do with my body, and to do my exercises. Thank You ... Dr. Chiu, Sonny and rest of staff for the pain free back !!! read more

Dr. Chiu did microdiscectomies at C3-4 and C5-6 more than twenty years ago and I still haven't had to get the dreaded fusion surgery that was recommended by other neurosurgeons. I am doing well thanks to him. The main thing is keep moving. read more

Dr. Chiu I hope you read this, and are not doing any procedures on anyone!!! I hope this place is closed for good. sure it all looks good on the outside. STAY AWAY. PLEASE DON'T have anything done at this place especially a Microdisectomy done with Laser. I had the surgery shortly after the new building opened in Newbury Park, CA. After my procedure I was led to believe that I was getting better for ten months. I finally went and had a second opinion which is when I was told my neck was butchered. As a result I am fearful of anyone touching my neck area in anyway. Post surgical collapse of C5-C6, and now all C Spine neck area has collapsed (bone on bone). Chiu does not know how to treat his patients and lacks professionalism on top of that. This is my only recourse to post a warning here now just wish I had done it sooner. read more

I am beyond disappointment that I didn't come here to read these reviews before my dad was operated on by this man. My dad now shares a similar story to that of Didi's father (below) and its far too lengthy to lay out here...just know my dad will be in pain for the majority of the rest of his life now in retirement and this doctor isn't willing to do a single thing about it... not even refund him the $45,000+ spent on a botched surgery STAY AWAY read more

Stay away from this guy he put his knee in my back herniated for my discs in my lower back I never had a low back problem when I went there I was in surgery for my neck. I was supposed to be sedated but he didn't use enough anesthesia and I was half awake and I remember plain as day. Telling his assistant who I think was a work comp insurance nurse that I want to be disabled. I was in so much pain and I had no pain medicine I didn't know what to do. I'm sure he's done it before he should be in prison. read more

I had a terrible experience with this doctor. He never familiarized himself with my file, routinely made me wait hours for scheduled appointments and talked a lot about his personal life - big ego. He also did not oversee my PT plan there - was using Medex machine to strengthen my back which re-injured me each time I used it. The physical therapist was nice and tried to be helpful, but if you are seeking medical care, I do not recommend this place. read more

My family is writing this truthful review with a heart full of pain and sadness hoping to stop the potential tragedy for any individual or family who is even thinking to have Dr. John Chiu perform the so called "minimally invasive spine surgeries" at California Spine Institute. The life of our most beloved father has altered completely as a result of these procedures performed by Chiu. He became handicapped. Do not let the all smiles Dr. Chiu deceive and mislead you like he did to our father. Like one of the other reviewer suggested, you can search for Dr. John Chiu on the official website of California Medical Board and review three disciplinary case decisions by the Board regarding his outrageous and negligent conducts. Our father was referred to Dr. Chiu sometime in 2012 after a horrible 18-wheeler truck accident. Our father had been a professional truck driver for more than 30 years and before then, he was in great shape- physically and emotionally strong and healthy. He sustained back injuries during the accident and was experiencing lower back pain. When our father first consulted Chiu at this facility, Chiu immediately and aggressively started a brainwashing process by persuading our father that the only option to solve his lower back pain was to have a minimally invasive procedure. Chiu gave no explanations as to why the procedure was indeed needed, what exactly would be done during the procedure, and what could be the potential risks in having such procedure. He made his procedures sound like a piece of cake to our father. Our father was a Chinese immigrant and he was so naïve and took in his doctor's words like an obedient child believing it was the only option he had back then. From 2012 to 2015, our father underwent three minimally invasive spine surgeries done by Chiu. After the third procedure, his back pain became so excruciating and constant and he couldn't walk at all. No physical therapy was done or recommended by Chiu throughout these years. At that time, our family realized the situation was becoming so wrong. We decided for our father to have a secondary expert evaluating his conditions. The second surgeon was a well respected surgeon in the state and after hearing our story, he felt so truly sorry for our father. At one time, he even said to our family that Chiu is outrageous and it is a shame to have a doctor like Dr. Chiu in their profession. He told us Dr. Chiu clearly took advantage of our father by making him undergo three procedures and those were sham procedures. It was emotionally painful to have our thoughts and feelings about Dr. Chiu confirmed by an expert in this profession. In order to fix our father's back pain, our second surgeon performed two major spine surgeries on our father in 2015 and 2016. The first one was a spinal decompression and second one was fusion at three levels L-2-L3, L3-L-4, L4-L5. Our father recovered well after these two surgeries. His back pain was finally gone. We thought at last that was a happy ending. Six months after his spinal fusion surgery in 2016, he started to experience extreme and constant lower right leg numbness, weakness and radiating pain. As a result of this, he underwent a 6th revision surgery for further spinal decompression and we were told one level of his spine fusion didn't fuse. So the surgeon had to correct the fusion at this specific. Our father just had a 6th surgery in the span of five years, yesterday on November 21, 2017. Lying on his hospital bed and regretting the wrong decisions in believing Dr. Chiu years ago, which led to his current physical condition, our father is asking us to write this review and share his private and personal experience with all the others who are thinking to have minimally invasive spine surgery with Chiu. Our father is 61 and the rest of his life is destroyed. Do not let our tragedy happen to you. Our father suffered physically and became disabled and our family suffered a great deal of emotional pain all because of what Chiu did. He is a true disgrace to our race. His doctor license should be taken away from him so the next patient won't be deceived and plagued. There is is no doubt in our mind that Dr. Chiu is going straight to hell for what he has done as a doctor to our father and his other innocent patients. read more

I cannot say enough good things about this surgical team and Dr.Chiu. The very best people from the front desk to the Radiologist. Treated more like family than just another person. Dr. Chiu is so caring ,he takes great pride in what he does . Never rushed spends as much time as needed to answer all your questions. Wish I would have known about him years ago. I truly thank God that he placed me in Dr.Chiu's very capable and Loving hands. read more

I had Surgery here, the receptionists have poor attitudes, the doctoral staff seemed good - too good to be working there. Dr. Chiu didn't tell me that there had been complications, I found out the hard way. Post surgical appointments - you will be waiting for hours past your appointment time to be seen. Read about him on California's medical board-click link scroll to bottom: https://www.breeze.ca.gov/datamart/detailsCADCA.do?selector=false&selectorType=&selectorReturnUrl=&anchor=db8ccb4.0.1 read more

I went there for a 2nd opinion, but ending up spending the whole day and having unnecessary XRAYS , MRIs and other tests. I gave them my own MRIs but they insisted to have another one there. He claims their MRI machine is special which is not true. I took the images to other doctors. They all say poor quality and had to do another one. I called to get my full medical report and history. Guess what they say? MRIs and XRAYs report are not ready after taking them 4 weeks ago. Doctor asking his assistant to put the CD into his computer because he does not know how the computer works. Imagine having hime operate on you!!! The staffs are nice but work slow despite the fact they have low number of patients in there. read more

What can I say? They have been amazing! Above and beyond what any office would have done. My first visit was on Wednesday (2 days ago) they spared no expense at making sure I had EVERY possible test done and went over the results same day. They scheduled me for surgery for Thursday (next day) but that's not the most amazing part. After my surgery Dr Chiu went to the pharmacy himself and picked up my prescriptions and the nurse brought me home! I have never been shown such care and compassion from any doctors office like this before. My husband was out of town and was hard to figure our a solution. They did everything possible to make sure my condition didn't get worst. As much as I love every single person who works there is hope after my post op appointment today I won't need to see you folks in a very long time. Lol read more

Best surgeon ever!! Highly recommended!!! Thank you for fixing my neck!! Great office/ staff. read more

Dr Chiu is a Genius. After 10 years of suffering with other Doctors he pin pointed my problem in minutes and preformed Minimal Invasive Spine Surgery on my L3 and L4 area and I feel 20 years younger again. NO MORE PAIN !!!!!! THANK YOU.......Joe F..... read more

On Sep 10, 2014 you gave us this review: 5.0 /5 I love Dr chiu's office. Everyone is so helpful and genuinely considerate. Betty is always more than happy to answer any questions I have and help me with any advice. I've had nothing but great experiences at the California spine institute. read more

I went to "California Spine Institute" a few years ago and even had physical therapy there. The therapy sessions were good (but no different from any other place). This review is specifically about my experience as a patient. Every time I had an appointment my wait time was around 3 hours(!) even though I would arrive on time. The setup was basically that they have Dr. Chiu and his entourage going from patient to patient (from room to room) and this ends up creating huge delays. First I had to wait in the lobby (a very nice lobby) for about 2 hours. Then I was put a room and waited for another 1-1.5 hrs in there before the doctor finally arrived. They didn't really help me either. Gave me a some cortizon shots in my spine, which provides some very temporary relief, but nothing substantial. Charged a bunch of money for PT. These days I am still in pain. read more

Dr. Chiu is the most experienced and talented minimally invasive spine surgeon in the world. He has operated on my neck (C3, C5, C6) which was injured from a serious rear-end collision over 15 years ago. No other doctor could do what Dr. Chiu has done for me. As a patent attorney, I followed technological developments pertaining to herniated cervical disks and pinched nerves for over 9 years from my injury. I didn't want any fusions in my neck (so I could continue surfing). My research indicated that Dr. Chiu is THE LEADER in minimally invasive spine surgery having been one of the first doctors to practice and develop such procedures. Dr. Chiu is also just a great person to have on your side in these desperate situations some of us are going through. He BELIEVES and LISTENS to me. He LOVES his patients and has NO EGO. He doesn't get offended when you tell him you researched the internet and think it may be this or that. Finally, I'm not sure if I was the captain or if he was the captain, but we BOTH (as a team) got into a space capsule together (along with his entire medical staff) and launched into the galaxy of healing, positivity and hopefully a new beginning for a 50 year old surfer dude with a thrashed neck. Cheers to Dr. Chiu and his entire staff. read more