Dr. Christopher John Smythies

The visit was brief, but to the point. I was informed of the procedures I did not need and was offered options for management of my pain.

I've had chronic back issues for over a decade. I received this recommendation from an emergency department. My appointment was at 11:15 - Dr. Smythies came in, let me know he looked at my MRI and unfortunately there was no surgery that could help me. Fine, that's all well & good - I completely understand that. What I have a tougher time accepting is his recommendation for losing weight. I explained that due to pain & physical limitations, it's hard for me to achieve weight loss through traditional methods. He then recommended I seriously consider bariatric surgery, which felt a little over the top, but again, I understand as I'm curvy and have a higher than tolerated BMI. When I explained that my insurance doesn't cover that type of procedure, he then decided that the appropriate next line of advice was to tell me to start eating 'lettuce and carrots' and proceed to just stare at me. I was back in my car by 11:27. Unprofessional and insulting to say the least.

I've had chronic back issues for over a decade. I received this recommendation from an emergency department. My appointment was at 11:15 - Dr. Smythies came in, let me know he looked at my MRI and unfortunately there was no surgery that could help me. Fine, that's all well & good - I completely understand that. What I have a tougher time accepting is his recommendation for losing weight. I explained that due to pain & physical limitations, it's hard for me to achieve weight loss through traditional methods. He then recommended I seriously consider bariatric surgery, which felt a little over the top, but again, I understand as I'm curvy and have a higher than tolerated BMI. When I explained that my insurance doesn't cover that type of procedure, he then decided that the appropriate next line of advice was to tell me to start eating "lettuce and carrots" and proceed to just stare at me. I was back in my car by 11:27. Unprofessional and insulting to say the least.

He was the first doctor who told me the truth about my illness and treatment,and I was able to make the rigth decision for my recovery.

Excellent service in all areas.

Buena experiencia

May have been busy but seemed like he didn't care about any type of follow in care or recommendations for care once he decided he couldn't do anything to help me. He was very short and trying to push me out of the office fast as possible

He is a great surgeon I received a fusion from him and I would go back if I needed another fusion

I have chiari malformation and this guy did a beautiful surgery and im convinced he saved my life. The surgery went great and I healed great, my incision looks amazing and I'm back to normal. Great neurosurgeon if your looking for someone to do decompression.

I had back surgery L4/5 partial laminectomy, which was a failed surgery. I went back to Dr. Smythies and told him I was still in extreme pain and need another MRI to see what is happening, and he would not authorize one. Dr. Smithies just stated that maybe he took off too much and now I was unstable and would need a Fusion for L4/5, but he does not do this surgery. My primary Dr. did order another MRI and I went to Dr. Treadway in Puyallup. My new MRI showed that Dr. Smithies did not correct the issue and now in fact I needed a L4/5 Fusion. Please remember always get a second opinion and do not use Dr. Smythies.