Dr. Yousef Zarbalian, MD

After wasting a year and a half with a doctor that was rated one of the top doctors in NOVA, I was lucky enough to find Dr. Zarbalian. I truly feel like I have won the Lottery! It is the luck of the draw because you can do all the research to find the best doctor and end up with someone like I did. Dr.Z. is the opposite of the doctor I had gone to get help when I was 1st diagnosed with Rheumatoid Arthritis. He honestly listens to what you are saying and cares about how you think things are going. Several times he has spent more than 90 minutes with me discussing issues, new treatments, and new research that has been done. He wants you to feel comfortable with what he is thinking and presents things so you can completely understand what to expect. I honestly started to improve after my very first visit. So many doctors have a god complex but not Dr. Zarbalian. He is down to earth and so refreshing. I went from not having much hope to getting back to the old me to now believing that… is absolutely possible and probable. I want to thank you Dr. Z. for your companionate care and for thinking outside the box. He wants his patients to regain their life as they knew it and he told me that from the beginning! It is so nice to have hope again.

I don't know why nobody's reviewed this guy yet: he's awesome. He *listens* to and considers what you're saying He doesn't present his initial ideas/hypotheses as irrefutable facts He references/incorporates new research, citing various studies performed by various experts in the field, instinctively giving them credit for the findings rather than attempting to claim it for himself He's calm/subdued, and not at all condescending. I felt like I was a having a rational discussion with a down-to-earth professor, or even an extremely-intelligent colleague. I also appreciated his knowledge of--and sensitivity to--the emotional component of chronic issues. I saw him at his Reston, VA office. Be forewarned: half the office staff is great; the other half is incredibly rude/condescending. Don't let it get to ya. And anyway, he didn't hire 'em.

Dr. Z is a wonderful Doctor. He is thorough a listener. He explains information clearly and concisely.