I came out of a hospitalization for cellulitis in August 2025 with a nasty wound on my lower left leg. I was treated by two different wound care firms for seven months with no results. Then our primary care doctor, Kathleen Whisman in Sepastopol, recommended Dr. Kivett. My wife and I met with him for three hours. It was an incredible experience. He had reviewed my history in detail, explained alternatives and recommended a course of treatment completely different than the prior doctors. He also recommended strict changes to my diet and the use of lotions to speed the process. He threw in some good humor along the way. He kept close track of my progress. Two months after the visit, my wound is completely healed. I cannot give Dr. Kivett a higher recommendation. Skip. Healdsburg, California. read more

I wasn't planning to leave a review since I didn't end up seeking this doctor's services, but I recently received an email from his office requesting feedback from his patients so I've decided to oblige. I visited Dr Kivett around a year and a half ago for help with a deep abscess next to my nose. This was caused by a mistake during a routine filling, and I ended up needing surgery to remove the mass as it kept getting infected. At my visit with this doctor, I felt disrespected from start to finish. I had a huge, gnarly infected bug bite on my face that day, so I was wearing a bandaid when I arrived. This small issue had absolutely nothing to do with the reason for my visit, and was the opposite side of my face, but Dr Kivett immediately zeroed in on it and demanded that I remove the bandaid. I said I'd rather not as it was embarrassing, and he said he couldn't treat me unless I showed him what was under it. I found this completely unreasonable and out of bounds, but I removed it since I genuinely needed help. Still not sure why he needed to see my bug bite, but moving on... He proceeded to roughly manhandle my entire face, pushing and pulling and poking my skin like he frigging owned it. He was so rough and clumsy, I found myself recoiling at the idea of him wielding a sharp object anywhere near me. When I asked him for specifics as far as how the surgery would go, he picked up what looked like a wooden chopstick, manually pulled my upper lip as far out as it would go and started prodding the underside where he would theoretically be making the cut. He openly admitted that this procedure could give me permanent nerve damage. I said I would like some assurance that he would do his best not to let that happen and he refused to give it to me. Toward the end of the appointment, I noticed the most unsettling thing of all--he has a tremor. His hands were visibly trembling as he read anatomical facts to me out of his text book. Nerve damage, in my opinion, would not have been a mere possibility had I allowed him to cut into my face; it would have been a probability or even a certainty. I was only 33 years old and the last thing I wanted was to be put under and wake with a permanently slack mouth, loss of sensation, trigeminal neuralgia, or some other horror. In my opinion, no doctor should continue to practice when they're past their ability to operate at their best. It's unethical and puts patients at risk. I left and decided not to go back. A much younger doctor performed my procedure and I'm glad to report that I can still feel my whole face. read more

Dr. Kivett is a refreshing change to assembly line medical treatment. He takes the time to explain the problem, discuss treatment options, and then treats it. I love his intelligent, personal, old-school approach to medicine, and am fortunate to have found him. Thank you, Dr. Kivett. Mary A read more

Though I was never an actual patient of Dr. Kivett I did accompany a close elderly friend of mine to multiple appointments. Not only did my friend receive excellent medical care from Dr Kivett she also received an extraordinary amount of support, compassion and aftercare from him. My friend was staying at a skilled nursing facility during this time and she was not getting much needed aftercare for her wound. Dr Kivett not only made numerous phone calls to the facility to stress the importance of her wound care he also took it upon himself to actually go to the facility to assure that my friend was getting the very important care that she needed. He is a Doctor who goes above and beyond with care and compassion for his patients and for that I am very grateful and happy to write this review. read more

I was referred to Dr. Kivett by Sebastopol Urgent Care for a very nasty (to me) skin rash at multiple sites. Dr. Kivett spent a long time examining the rash, explaining the type of rash and then providing treatment that not just involved medication, but also lifestyle changes including such things as colder and less frequent showers and a change in laundry detergent. Everything he suggested has worked great. He also spent a good deal of time answering my questions (and I tend to ask a lot of questions). Unlike some visits with physicians at the large HMOs (and there are very good physicians at those HMOs, but they seem to have a quota of patients that they are required to see each hour), I never felt that Dr. Kivett was rushing to get done with me so he could meet with another patient. He is obviously an extremely knowledgeable physician, but also a genuinely nice and kind human being. I am very grateful to be receiving care from him. read more

Dr. Kivett is extremely knowledgeable and very caring. He explains everything in detail and always alleviates my concerns He has helped me and my husband with many skin issues. I highly recommend him. I highly recommend him. read more

My husband and I were treated successfully by Dr. Kivett at various times. We found him extremely knowledgeable and informative. He went into detail about explaining our skin problems and calmed down any previous fears. Dr Kivett is a most caring and friendly Doctor. He has years of experience internationally and locally and it shows in his successful approach to treatment. He is personable and just a fun person to meet. We highly recommend him. read more

Dr. Kivett came to see me while I was in the hospital. My lymph nodes were swollen and I had a horrible rash. Test results of a biopsied lymph node showed no cancer. Dr. Kivett suggested I get a skin punch because the rash didn't seem right to him. After being poked a lot during my week stay in the hospital, I was hesitant and satisfied with the results of the biopsy so I declined because I didn't want another procedure done. Dr. Kivett came back (at 10:30 p.m.) into my room and encouraged me to do the skin punch because he felt like it would tell me a lot. Finally, I agreed and I'm happy I did because it showed I have Cutaneous T-cell lymphoma which is a rare cancer that affects the skin. If it weren't for Dr. Kivett's knowledge, encouragement and caring nature, I would've never did the skin punch and would have never known I actually do have this treatable cancer. He's my hero! read more

My personal experience as a patient of Dr. Kivett has been nothing less than superlative. The office staff were polite, patient, and caring. Dr. Kivett is friendly, informative and meticulous. But above all his care and expertise are exemplary. He is one of the most trained dermatologists in the country (yes, not the state but the country) with multiple board certifications. He studied personally under the direct tutelage of Dr. Mohs, known world wide for his Mohs procedure for skin cancer (named after him). So for skin cancers, which are prevalent in the sun drenched Santa Rosa area, we as patients are blessed to have him here as a resource. I had a Mohs procedure done by Dr. Kivett, and he went out of his way to have the specimen tested genetically to create a better prognostic indication of the pathology. The wait time to get in to see Dr. Kivett is way shorter than any other dermatology office I know of. And you won't be shunted off to some non MD physician extender, like PAs or Nurse practitioners, which I feel strongly against. read more

I found Dr. Kivett and his staff to be professional and courteous. The care I received from Dr. Kivet was excellent, he explained everything he did and made the experience much less stressful than I had anticipated. I highly recommend Dr. Kivett . Stephen Hann read more

Recently I saw Dr. Kivett to remove several brown spots on my face that made me look much older than I am. Yes, I am a bit vain, but I believe we should look as best as we can. He treated me successfully, removed the several spots, and left me looking ten years younger. He is a 5-star doctor. read more

I've never felt as comfortable in a doctor's office as I did in Dr. Kivett's office. Before my appointment, I noticed some spots on my face that appeared following years of sun bathing. Worried, I asked my friend for a referral, and she insisted that I go see Dr. Kivett, as he helped her with a similar problem a year or so before. The surgery was well explained and I healed in less than two weeks. Lesson learned... I am now much more careful about sunscreen use and sun exposure. Thank you, Dr. Kivett! read more

I was looking through my papers and thought I would find out where Dr. Kivett is practicing now and saw this horrible review from some weird person. I can tell you years ago I was visiting wine tasting etc. in the Santa Rosa area and decided to have a face peel. I had a few friends with me that had procedures also. We were thrilled. I had the procedure and was on a plane in two days...the last time I had one I was in such pain ..on pain meds and my neck had weird red marks which made my neck very sensitive to this day. Dr. Kivett did such a great job and was so professional. His office got us a wonderful hotel where he could check on us too! I would like to find where he is practicing now so I can return for another procedure! Where are you Dr. Kivett? read more

Worst Doc. Experience Ever. Had moles removed, which left large, raised keloid scars, which he was unable to successfully diminish in subsequent visits. Did not consult me before simultaneously sending moles to TWO pathology offices to test for possible cancer--I paid out of pocket for both tests to outside doctors. Other minor laser procedures to the face were unsuccessful, though they were performed twice. Dr Kivett's staff was unprofessional, joking about the doctor's chronic tardiness--Kivett was more than 45 minutes late/behind schedule for all 6+ appointments. After more than 9 months in visits, I am left physically scarred, drained of more than five thousands of dollars, and with the same skin problems I had when I first visited, plus the new scars, of course. Horrible experience that did not improve with letters of complaint and subsequent visits. If there was an option to give zero stars, I would. read more