Dr. Lokesh Shantanu Tantuwaya, MD

When I was working as a Cop I had a disc blown up in my neck and lost much of the muscle in the right side of my upper body. I was in extreme pain. I was given an emergency referral to Dr. Tantuwaya. Due to the nature of my problem he saw me on Friday and did surgery the following Monday. The surgery was successful and 12 years later I cycle many miles, hike and go to the gym four times a week. I am 63. Dr. Tantuwaya was an excellent surgeon. I would not hesitate to have him work on me again.

Please look at Dr. Tantuwaya's full record. There are several charges and allegations against him. You might want to remove his reviews from this site.

Never see him again

Dr. Tantuwaya is very personable, knowledgeable, and empathetic. I highly recommend him!!!

I have been seeing Dr Tantuwaya since 2010 for a workers comp injury. At first he was very attentive and explained my problem (herniated disc) very well. He had to do an emergency surgery on me again in 2012 for another herniated disc but this time with neuro problems. After the second surgery is when everything began to change. He would never complete the paperwork that workers comp required for me to get medications or MRI's or any other treatment. I would call his office every 3 days to check the status of the paperwork and was told " we have sent him a note to complete the paperwork but he hasn't done it yet" This went on for over 3 months with no medications and increasing pain from additional herniated disc. Seems like he is just to busy to care about his patients anymore. May be different with private insurance but if you have workers comp I would steer clear of him. Also if you are in the inland empire he is only in his Murrieta office 1 day a month

Excellet communication skills.

Dr Tantuwaya has been my doctor since 2012 he's a great doctor. I had one surgery on my neck and two back surgeries and I trusted him thew it all. Dr. Tantuway is one of best neurosurgery and spine doctors in san Diego.

Wouldn't recommend this doctor. I saw him privately with my own insurance first and he scared me to death to have surgery. As soon as he became my workers comp dr the song he was singing was completely different. He sabotaged my chances of getting a mri of a certain part approved by failing to mention anything in regards to the affected area. I'd ask him question in regards to burning sensations etc. And he'd say I don't know in response. Really? Your a surgeon but refuse to treat me entirely. Everything id asked and he'd say I don't know as he bolted out the door. Most visits were about 5min. And another thing he recommended surgery but wouldn't restrict my working hours or anything to fit my limitations. His scheduler, "b" said oh he doesn't do that at all, you either return to work or not. He aknowledged partially being disabled but wouldn't restrict my duties in a fast pace, strenuous, lengthy hours, work week? I have no knowledge of his surgical skills because I feel you can't… trust him so I'll never let him cut me open, but as a doctor who was my treating physician he sucked! Sad, just shows you really can't believe everything that's posted about someone even professionally because I chose him because of all the positive things their site said. Definitely get a second opinion if he's your first choice.

May I make myself clear as a bell! I am a new patient "to be" for Dr. T. I have NOT had my surgery yet, only my consultation, and it was excellent, and I have immediately put the "wheels in motion" to have Cervical Spine Surgery C3 - C6 with bone marrow replaced from my hip to spine by way of fusion, rods, screws with Dr. T. now.! NOTE: When I first started reading these reviews, I had already had my consult appointment with him; this was also my second opinion \consultation with a different neuro surgeon. I copied this Quote directly from the reviews I had read because I couldn't believe how accurate the below review I had copied was, and thought that that, really meant something! Here's the quote I copied from the reviews I read from the previous review page! Again, unbelievable how similar my experience was and can't wait for my surgery with this Doctor coming up soon! Here is the quote I found so interesting - "I went to his El Centro office for a consultation. I had… already seen a few orthopaedic surgeons out there from San Diego but when someone gave me doctor Tantuwaya's number to get a second opinion i said to my self another opinion wouldn't hurt so I decided to call his office and make an appoinment. His office staff was very helpful and courteous. When I went to my appoinment I was greeted by a very friendly staff member "B" she was very helpful and caring. I saw doctor "T" and he was the greatest he took his time explaining my problem to me and the different options I had. He actually took the time to look at my MRI and show me exactly were my problem was from that moment I decided I wanted my surgery to be done by him. This was the best choice I have ever made. Thank You doctor "T" and staff you guys are the best." That's exactly what happened to me when I had my consult with Dr. T. Now that is why I can't wait for the coming surgery, I know it's going to go just fine, either that or someone out their can explain in my own words exactly what I felt and has never ever met me. At the very least - call it a sign, and I don't believe in any of that stuff. See you soon Doc.

It has been almost a year since Dr. Lokesh Tantuwaya performed surgery on my lower back. The first part of the surgery was on 12/12/12 and the second part was on 1/07/13. On 12/12/12 Dr. Tantuwaya started with a Laminectomy Diskectomy on levels L3-4, L4-5 and L5-S1, which included the installation of titanium rods on all three levels. When I woke up in the care unit I was sore but otherwise felt pretty good. I was also pleased to see my girlfriend standing next to me before I was even taken to my room. The next day I had some pain but I pushed myself and slowly walked around the hospital with my walker. And shocking to even me, I never had to use the morphine drip button. I was released in 3 days and continued to get up and walk around (without the walker) everyday thereafter. On 1/07/13 Dr. Tantuwaya had to go through my stomach to insert the disc spacers, plates and to do a bone graph to complete the fusion. This surgery was a little more painful, however once again I… was up and slowly walking (with the walker) the next day. After 2 rods, 16 screws, 2 plates, 2 disk spacers and a bone graph from my hip it is now almost a year later and I feel like the person I was prior to my injury. I have just started working out again, which I hadn't been able to do since being injured 2 years prior to surgery. I'm so very grateful that Dr. Lokesh Tantuwaya was my surgeon. In addition to being a great surgeon, he was very caring towards me, as was his staff. He listened to all of my questions and answered them in great detail so that I could understand the process. To this day I feel that not only do we have a great doctor/patient relationship, but also a friendship in the sense that we can talk about sports, etc. Dr. Tantuwaya is a very caring and gifted surgeon and I highly recommend him to anyone who is contemplating spinal surgery.