Dr. Choll Wan Kim, MD

I found Dr. Kim to be arrogant and pompous. He promised but did not deliver. I had issues two weeks after surgery and I was not able to see him for three months even though I begged his assistance. When I finally got a zoom call with him he mocked me and basically said you’re on your own and deserted me horrible bedside manner no follow up. I recommend you stay away from this doctor.

I was very disappointed in the surgery with Dr. Kim. I had it done Dec 10, 2020 and just had to have the whole thing redone in Feb. 2021. He did a bone graft which did not take and a fusion which also had to be redone. He took no responsibility for his mistakes. He said to do PT for 4 weeks and get back to him. I was in a lot of pain and could not do the PT. So I went back to my original Ortho. Dr. Neville Allyene and had the whole surgery redone. I am doing amazing. Dr. Kim claims to do less invasive surgery (which is why I went to him) . I am doing well 3 weeks post second surgery. I would not recommend Dr. Kim. He seems too sure of himself. And took no responsibility for his huge mistake.

Dr. Kim is a stand up guy with a great since of humor. You can tell he loves what he does. I have been in pain for the last four years. All I wanted was the quality of life back to enjoy life with my two young children. Dr. Kim performed l.e.s.s surgery on my L-4, L-5 S1 and I walked out of surgery with zero pain. The following day I took ibuprofen no pain pills. I am three days out of surgery and it’s scary how good i feel, still no pain and no pain pills. I can now look forward to doing Jiu-Jitsu with my boy and not worrying about moving the wrong way and getting layed out for weeks and even months at a time.

I did my home work. which brought me to Dr Kim. He has excellent reviews and high ratings. After my first appointment it became apparent He did not even familiarize himself with my condition. Dr Kim asked about past Physical Therapy. I answered, I had seen Dr. Dagistino in North County. Dr Dagistino recommendation was for surgical intervention as PT would not offer any lasting relief for my condition. Dr. Kim responded with "We are going to send you to a real Physical Therapist. This backfired terribly because He sent me to the very same place Dr. Dagistino does his business! Dr. Kim never looked at my file and was flippant about it to boot! Then a new MRI and then injections. This is all standard insurance protocol. The new injection was intended to be a diagnostic tool BUT he instructed the injection to be inserted at the wrong level of my spine problem! No Plan was discussed about this what so ever. Poor Dr. Patient, communication. Going here and going there all for… the wrong reason! And now I am stuck. Again. Back to square one. The man may have great hands and I will never know. The rest is just SOP for the insurance company. I cannot, in good conscience, allow this man to operate on my back! Ask lots of questions, Forrest Hoyt Olsen

I am not sure where to begin-I suffered for over a year and a half with severe back pain. I had several Epidurals - which worked for a short while and then things just got worse and worse. I was in so much pain day and night and then my friend recommend I call and get a phone diagnosis with Dr. Choll Kim. Besides being “over the top qualified” he was so reassuring over the phone and he felt he could really help me. Following our phone call - I went to see him and was immediately ready to do the surgery - I did not feel like I was a number - he was so gracious and reassuring - even though he said I wouldn’t like him for the first 3 months. It has been 6 months now and there isn’t a day that goes by that I don’t think of him and what he did for me - no pain - I have my life and smile back. He is the best!!!!

In 2012, Dr. Kim treated me for severe pain in both my legs due to bulging L3-L4, L4-L5, and L5-S1 discs with moderate bilateral neuroforaminal narrowing and a small posterior annular tear in one of the discs. I had sciatica pain for years, but it had become debilitating in 2012. Dr. Kim performed a minimally invasive discectomy on my L5-S1 disc, which eliminated the pain. It's been over 4 years since the surgery and I still have no pain. I highly recommend Dr. Kim.

In 2012, Dr. Kim treated me for severe pain in both my legs due to bulging L3-L4, L4-L5, and L5-S1 discs with moderate bilateral neuroforaminal narrowing and a small posterior annular tear in one of the discs. I had sciatica pain for years, but it had become debilitating in 2012. Maintaining a normal life was nearly impossible with how much it hurt to drive a car more than a short distance and perform daily functions. Physical therapy and steroid injections did not help, and I had become nearly immune to certain pain killers. Dr. Kim turned all that around. I could not be more happy and satisfied with the care I received from Dr. Kim. Ultimately, Dr. Kim performed a minimally invasive discectomy on my L5-S1 disc, which eliminated the pain. I was impressed that Dr. Kim was confident that the pain originated from the L5-S1 disc, despite the MRI indicating that I had bulging from my L3-L4 and L4-L5 discs as well. He explained that its important to only operate on areas that are causing… the pain in order to preserve the longevity of spinal health. If he were to operate on the asymptomatic discs, they may degenerate more quickly and become symptomatic. I was a unique patient in that I am an Air Force pilot that routinely experiences high g-force maneuvers, which puts significant stress on my back. Due to my condition, I was removed from flying status and needed Dr. Kim and his staff to help get me back on track. To make matters worse, I had to fly to San Diego for all of my appointments since I lived out of state, and had a limited amount of time to get the surgery and get my flying status back. Dr. Kim and his staff were always very willing to work with my unique situation and correspond electronically as much as possible. When I finally arrived for surgery, it couldnt have gone more smoothly. I was able to walk out the same day as my surgery, which is a testament to the quality of Dr. Kims minimally invasive surgery techniques. The only pain during recovery was normal surgery pain, which was very tolerable. After my first check-up appointment, Dr. Kim prescribed physical therapy as a normal recourse. I had no complications during physical therapy. During subsequent follow-up appointments, I asked Dr. Kim if he would generate verbiage of my recovery for an Air Force flying waiver, which he was happy to do. His comments were key to me being granted a flying waiver. It was just under 4 months from the time of my surgery to me flying high performance aircraft again, which I could not have done without the support from Dr. Kim and his staff. Its been over 4 years since the surgery and my back is still doing great. I have no pain and am still able to fly high performance aircraft. Without a doubt, I would not have been able to maintain my flying career in the Air Force without Dr. Kims expertise and his great support staff. I highly recommend Dr. Kim. He is highly experienced, very reasonable, and treats patients as family.

In 2012, Dr. Kim treated me for severe pain in both my legs due to bulging L3-L4, L4-L5, and L5-S1 discs with moderate bilateral neuroforaminal narrowing and a small posterior annular tear in one of the discs. I had sciatica pain for years, but it had become debilitating in 2012. Maintaining a normal life was nearly impossible with how much it hurt to drive a car more than a short distance and perform daily functions. Physical therapy and steroid injections did not help, and I had become nearly immune to certain pain killers. Dr. Kim turned all that around. I could not be more happy and satisfied with the care I received from Dr. Kim. Ultimately, Dr. Kim performed a minimally invasive discectomy on my L5-S1 disc, which eliminated the pain. I was impressed that Dr. Kim was confident that the pain originated from the L5-S1 disc, despite the MRI indicating that I had bulging from my L3-L4 and L4-L5 discs as well. He explained that it’s important to only operate on areas that are causing… the pain in order to preserve the longevity of spinal health. If he were to operate on the asymptomatic discs, they may degenerate more quickly and become symptomatic. I was a unique patient in that I am an Air Force pilot that routinely experiences high g-force maneuvers, which puts significant stress on my back. Due to my condition, I was removed from flying status and needed Dr. Kim and his staff to help get me back on track. To make matters worse, I had to fly to San Diego for all of my appointments since I lived out of state, and had a limited amount of time to get the surgery and get my flying status back. Dr. Kim and his staff were always very willing to work with my unique situation and correspond electronically as much as possible. When I finally arrived for surgery, it couldn’t have gone more smoothly. I was able to walk out the same day as my surgery, which is a testament to the quality of Dr. Kim’s minimally invasive surgery techniques. The only pain during recovery was normal surgery pain, which was very tolerable. After my first check-up appointment, Dr. Kim prescribed physical therapy as a normal recourse. I had no complications during physical therapy. During subsequent follow-up appointments, I asked Dr. Kim if he would generate verbiage of my recovery for an Air Force flying waiver, which he was happy to do. His comments were key to me being granted a flying waiver. It was just under 4 months from the time of my surgery to me flying high performance aircraft again, which I could not have done without the support from Dr. Kim and his staff. It’s been over 4 years since the surgery and my back is still doing great. I have no pain and am still able to fly high performance aircraft. Without a doubt, I would not have been able to maintain my flying career in the Air Force without Dr. Kim’s expertise and his great support staff. I highly recommend Dr. Kim. He is highly experienced, very reasonable, and treats patients as family.

I had a lumbar disc herniation that caused debilitating pain for six months. I could not sit or stand without excruciating pain. Surgery was my last option after months of physical therapy. Based on my research, I could see that Dr. Kim was one of the top spine surgeons in the country. Dr. Kim performed a microdiscectomy surgery to repair my disc herniation. The surgery was 100% successful and the results were immediate. It has been 2 1/2 years since my surgery and I have had no pain. Dr. Kim truly gave me my life back.

I am an orthopedic surgeon and came from Arizona for his care. I was quite pleased in every aspect! His staff was courteous and helpful. Dr Kim took time to listen to my concerns and address them thoroughly.