Mr Christopher Thien graduated from Monash University with honours in 1985. After his internship at the Alfred Hospital, he spent two years working in surgical research for the Alfred Hospital Department of Surgery and Monash University. This was followed by three years of general surgery resident and registrar positions. He commenced neurosurgery training in 1992 and completed this in 1995, becoming a Fellow of the Royal Australian College of Surgeons.

Further specialist training was undertaken via a fellowship in epilepsy surgery at the University of Washington in Seattle, Washington from 1996–97. During this period, Mr Thien combined working as an attending neurosurgeon at the Children’s Hospital and Medical Centre with teaching responsibilities as an instructor in the Department of Neurological Surgery at the University of Washington.

Mr Thien returned to Melbourne to commence practice as a consultant neurosurgeon in 1997. He operates at the Epworth Hospital, St Vincent’s Public Hospital and St Vincent’s Private Hospital. His main rooms are at The Epworth Centre but he also consults regularly in Box Hill, Ringwood and services the regional centres of Albury-Wodonga and Mildura. He is a member of the Victorian Road Fatalities Trauma Committee reviewing state deaths resulting from road traffic accidents.

Mr Thien manages all neurosurgical conditions, both cranial and spinal. He has a special interest in neurovascular surgery as well as intracranial tumours and epilepsy. The focus of his spinal surgery is a minimally invasive approach, though sometimes more complex reconstructive spinal surgery is required.

Through his appointment at St Vincent’s Hospital, Mr Thien is actively involved in the under-graduate teaching of medical students and the post-graduate training of neurosurgical residents and registrars.

Mr Thien is fluent in Cantonese, Malay, Hakka and Mandarin.