Felix Chen

I saw Dr. Chen for the first time today. I have never been treated with such compassion, understanding, and thoughtfulness. He explained all details completely, was patient with my questions and: was the most attentive listener I have ever encountered in a medical setting. I am so fortunate to have Dr. Chen as my Dr, I'd never consider going elsewhere for these issues. Way beyond 5 stars. One THOUSAND ...

He will go the extra mile to make sure he gets the right spot to work on. He is so kind and treats you with respect.

Wonderful Dr and human being. Helped me out tremendously with lower back pain. Works hard to make sure insurance covers and needed treatment.

I couldn't be more grateful for having the opportunity to have met with Dr. Felix Chen. At the time I was experiencing severe back pain in my lumbar and frequent back spasms that would put me on bed rest, unable to move for 3+ days. I did have to wait almost 6 months to get an appointment with him, but honestly it was worth it. By this time I had already met with three other back surgeons/orthopedics and was extremely unsatisfied (to say the least) with their quality of service, the dismissive responses I received, the solutions offered that completely contradicted everything I was communicating to them in regards to the long term vision/goals I wanted for my recovery, and not to mention still in severe pain. I felt completely disregarded, especially considering I was 25 years old at the time I sought professional and medical help, and no one exactly wants to do back surgery on a 25 year old. Dr. Felix Chen was more than anything I could have expected, especially after going through all that. I honestly cried at our first appointment because it was the first time I felt heard by a doctor who actually looked at me as a real person, and not just another number on his roster of clients. He ordered x-rays that no doctor had even suggested. He identified an imbalance in my hip alignment that was contributing to my pain and suggested non-surgical methods to help ease the discomfort it was contributing to my pain. It wasn't an end all solution to my lumbar pain, but that's exactly my point - Dr.Chen is invested in his patients and looks at things from every angle. My specific injury and pain is progressive and will definitely be a life long battle/journey, but since becoming a patient of his I haven't had a back spasm in almost 2 years and can genuinely feel the difference, not just in regards to my levels of pain but in improvements in my strength. Dr. Chen came up with a plan to help achieve my long term goals, ranging from medical methods to daily best practices I can do at home to reduce the pain and tension in my lumbar. Even when I told him I was soon to be relocating, he referred me to another doctor in his trusted network that worked in the area I relocated to and who I could see to take care of me in his absence. I still prefer and fly back to the bay area to see Dr. Chen because he truly is the only person/opinion I trust. I have no words to express my gratitude for him and even with everything I've already said, I still don't feel that I've provided a just depiction of how amazing, caring, intelligent, experienced, and thorough Dr. Chen is. DO NOT BY INTIMATED BY THE WAIT TIME FOR AN APPT. IT'S FOR A REASON. HE'S THAT AMAZING.

A year after anterior/posterior fusion surgery and I am back! My back withstands me being on my feet for 2 mile walks, short hikes, cleaning the house, teaching and my normal ( not sedentary but not crazy active either lifestyle. At the end of a long day, my back is fatigued and slightly sore, but I am virtually pain- free. Popping some pain relievers a couple of times a week. I hope I never have to see Dr. Chen again, but I am relieved to know he is there if I,Or any of my friends need him! The

Great Doctor, explained everything so I could understand. Very caring.

I've been seeing Dr. Chen for about a decade, initially consulting him about a lumbar issue. Since then, as I've grown older I've racked up a host of other pain conditions, too many and complex to enumerate here--and he's helped me navigate every single one. He has helped me with the usual diagnoses and medication prescriptions/management, and also performed lumbar and cervical facet joint and epidural injections, and nerve blocks--office and hospital procedures. What I especially appreciate about him: about my multiple co-existing intersecting pain conditions and diseases, he doesn't compartmentalize, piece-meal, or get myopic--he steps back and see the bigger picture, and somehow appreciates the enormous difficulty living with all this. He 'gets' the dramatic impact of mobility impairment, and was proactive about referring me to a PT and OT, both of which I benefited from. He's very thorough, super competent and experienced, deeply invested in treatment outcome, with rich expertise. Every single procedure I've done with him has been successful with zero complications. There are many physicians out there, and I've gone around that medical block, been the object of authoritarian ego-ridden physicians' accusations of malingering and the rest. Dr. Chen is the opposite. He is remarkably open and without ego, very warm and caring. Every single office visit I know that I'll be able to go over my concerns and needs, know that he'll genuinely listen and come up with a plan of action, a strategy which will give me hope. In my world of relentless chronic pain, hope is my only currency. I live on hope--and he intuits this with ease. He never goes through the motions, never phones it in. He shows up with his whole-hearted gentle presence and kind heart. He is empathetic and understanding, unfailingly sensitive. He's unusually humble and open to my input, e.g. when I come in with an idea for an off label med, he's willing to try it. I also appreciate that he knows and trusts me and my intentions, e.g. doesn't automatically put me in the bin of a "drug-seeking" patient, as doctors have default done in the past. He seems to get that I was that nerdy, squeaky clean high school kid. When I first began to see him, I had only two medical conditions, and was consulting with him for one of them. My health issues have increased in chronicity and severity, and he has never once made me feel as if if was becoming too much for him to deal with, never once intimated that he was overwhelmed with my complexity ... and though I've become exhausted, he has been the epitome of professional aplomb. Btw., he has a penchant for educating the patient, e.g. whenever I see him, for whatever condition, he'll show me my MRI, X-ray, or model of the spine ... and explain in infinitesimal detail whatever's wrong with me. It's important to him that I understand what it is that's going on, what procedure he's about to do, the mechanics and process of it. Frankly, at this point, I humor him and listen ... because I'm so exhausted and overwhelmed, I no longer care about the details--my attitude is, "please, just fix me already" :-) I also have difficulty visualizing three dimensional space and forget the medical jargon. But I do appreciate his efforts to explain, and after all these years, I do think some of it has sunk in, lol. His communique is excellent, e.g. every time I've emailed him with a question or concern (sometimes from out of the country), he responded in a timely fashion. About scheduling, because he's in high demand, it's hard to get a quick appointment; I schedule months in advance. But this is something I've come to accept, because I know it will be worth my while to wait and when I do go into see him, he will not be rushed and try to get me out of there in 10 minutes. He actively engages--this is sadly uncommon in medicine these days. He actually listens and bases his response on what I say--he takes in data I give and composes a suitable strategy on the input his getting. What a concept, huh? This is something I feel like celebrating, because it feels so great :-) His assistant, Adriana, I also love: she's warm, caring, and solicitous, on the ball and always efficiently scheduling surgeries. She's been working with him for many years and knows his process--they make a terrific team, and I'm thrilled that she migrated with him after he moved from his private practice in San Mateo. They're now at Mills in Burlingame, where there's tons of free parking conveniently in front of the clinic (you don't need parking validation). The hospital/clinic follows the usual COVID protocols of checking temperatures, requiring hand sanitizer, and fresh masks. If I could give six stars here: I lucked out when I first stepped into his office. I'm beyond grateful and thankful I get to be a patient of his. Dr. Felix Chen is a rare quality human being where he gives much of himself, and the planet is a better place for him existing.

Dr. Chen found a diagnosis for the pain in my hip and back when no one else could. I am forever grateful to him. He is professional and personable. It takes a while to get your first appointment, but do it. He is worth the wait. A rare find in the pain field.His nurse is also pleasant and accommodating.

My experience with this doctor and his staff, Adriana in particular has been overwhelmingly positive. It takes a special kind off man to make a choice to work with people who are suffering debilitating pain and work to find them partial or whole relief and a better quality of life. Dr Chen truly listens and his office staff, including the wonderful Adriana are efficient, effective and partIcularly caring individuals. Who clearly communicate and work as a team. My back is NOT better. It's fractured, I've got lumbar disc degeneration. I'm basically a barely walking disaster. The pain is unbearable. I'm waiting impatiently for epidural cortisone injection number 2 and looking forward (not at all) to anterior and posterior fusion surgery. I need to first find a neurosurgeon who I feel comfortable with and trust, the way I trust Dr. Chen with my pain management. Not an easy task. The medical system is so broken and don't get me started on insurance companies. The best that anyone can hope for is to find altruistic people who happen to practice medicine. They are few and far between, especially in the surgical specialties(full disclosure my ex- husband is an orthopedic surgeon). Even doctors who start out with intention to help people, are highly de-incentivized by the companies that monitor their practices. Dr CHen treats the whole person and will go out of his way to follow up, check in and think outside the box. Adriana and Dr. Chen worked with me to help me manage working with pain, future travel plans, a temporary handicap placard and the right pharmaceutical protocol. It makes me sad to read negative reviews about Felix Chen's office staff. My experience with them, is that they go far above and beyond their job description to guarantee patient satisfaction. I'm difficult to deal with when my pain flares up ( ask my teenagers) and my guess is that most of Dr. Chen's patients are crabby and grumpy and in a lot of pain too. The world needs more competent,kind physicians and medical support staff who are there to help people who badly need help to return to the quality of life tHat they had before their neurological issues began. This doctor is one of the best!

I have seen him twice and am very impressed. He is patient, he listens and does not rush. He seems genuinely concerned with my condition and in finding the best solution.