Dr. Christian Nabil Athanassious, MD

Dr. Christian Nabil Athanassious – A Surgeon Who Truly Saved My Life Nearly two years ago, I sustained a traumatic neck injury that left me unable to feel my entire right side of my body, and I was in debilitating pain. Despite visiting numerous doctors throughout Sonoma and Napa counties, and getting a dozen MRIs of my spine, I was repeatedly told I was fine and that my pain was psychological. No other surgeon or doctor could find what Dr. Athanassious was able to find right away. While I understand the value of mental health support, no amount of therapy addresses the kind of physical suffering I was experiencing. Over time, my condition deteriorated to the point where I could barely walk, could not lift my arm above my head, had significant numbness and loss of sensation throughout my entire right side — arm, neck, and legs — and was unable to perform even basic daily tasks like driving, eating, or working my part-time job. The pain became so unbearable that I reached a very dark… place. I want to be clear: I am not someone who sought out medication as a solution. I simply needed someone to find and fix the root cause. Dr. Athanassious did exactly that. Within a short time, he was able to clearly identify compression at my C5–C6 vertebrae that had been the source of my suffering all along. He got me into surgery within a month, and the relief I felt was almost immediate. Two weeks post-op, I can already drive, walk, eat, and function in ways I hadn’t been able to for nearly two years. What set Dr. Athanassious apart from every other physician I saw was not just his surgical skill — it was his humanity. He was the first doctor in two years to look me in the eye and say, “I’m sorry you’ve been in so much pain for so long.” That simple acknowledgment meant the world to me. He never dismissed me, never made me feel like I was exaggerating, and never treated my pain as anything less than real. His entire team reflects the same standard of care. The office is busy — which speaks to how sought-after he is — but the nurses, assistants, and staff are all professional, attentive, and genuinely helpful. Recovery is a process, and some days are harder than others, but nothing compares to what I endured for nearly two years. I am so grateful surgery was performed before any permanent nerve damage occurred. If you are in Sonoma County and need a no-nonsense, highly skilled surgeon who actually cares about his patients, Dr. Christian Nabil Athanassious is the one. I cannot recommend him highly enough. He gave me my life back.

Be cautious of Dr. Athanassious! I had L5 S1 fusion surgery and from recovery forward, my symptoms were worse than prior to surgery. I complained at every appointment and always got the same answers. Never any concern about why my symptoms were progressing worse. After second and third opinions with surgeons at Stanford and UCSF, I was told the cage was not placed right, it was oversized, not centered and off to the left, therefor compressing my nerve. UCSF was concerned that due to the timeframe the nerve may have become imbedded with the cage. I recently had revision surgery with UCSF. My nerve pain/symptoms have already started to improve and now I pray they continue to improve. Dr. Athanassious was negligent, he SHOULD have seen this and recommended correction!

Dr. Athanassious is a wonderful surgeon. He listened to me and included me in the decision making process. I am doing so much better. I would highly recommend him.

my name is Franklin Ramos, I lost my hearing around 1990, I have a cochlear implant, I do not hear out of my ears any longer my right ear I still have about 5% which u might say there's nothing there , my left ear is completely gone because I'm implanted on my left side my hearing comes from a little micro chip I have implanted in my head that's the internal part for the external part I wear a small computerized box on my belt it runs on rechargeable battery's it's called a speech processor the cable plugs into that its has is about 40" long there's a little piece that plus into that called a headpiece it magnetic sticks to the implant in my head sometimes it will fall off but most the time it sticks pretty good, with this implant I have around 40% hearing with the capability of hearing 8 different sounds a lot of things& words sound alike speech don't sound like yours sounds it sounds robotically when a person talks to me they have to look at me& have to speak slowly when I asked the… Doctor to slow down I don't think he liked that also when I asked him to look at me when he talks I don't think he was happy with that either since I have lost my hearing I have realized a lot of people don' like dealing with someone who has a hard time understanding what they are saying I know the doctor is probably a very busy man but someone who' name starts with the same name as our Lord & savior would be a little more under standing other than that he seems very smart & new what he was doing that's my opinion I hope he or someone on his staff reads this

There seems to judgement if you are a relatively young, healthy patient (middle aged). You are not taken seriously nor treated with seriousness ... He was aloof, and when xrays didn't show conclusive evidence was flippant and dismissive. I traveled far to see him and spent an hour waiting, filled out extensive paperwork, and was treated patronizingly in front of his med intern. I felt like telling the intern that if he was to learn anything from this it would be not to treat every patient the way this doctor does. Sad.

I am 15 months post spinal fusion surgery that was performed by Dr. Christian Athanassious and my back is better than it has been in quite a few years. Back surgery is a BIG deal but Dr A explained all of the steps and really put my mind at ease. Great job!

Dr. Athanassious and his staff were very welcoming. I was also impressed with Dr. A's ability to make me feel so comfortable.

Dr. Athanassious is the most thorough physician I have ever been to. He diagnosed my spine symptoms and prescribed the right PT and pain medication and for the first time in 9 years I have very little pain.