The office staff woman I spoke to was incredibly rude. I am surprised a physician would employ office staff that spoke so unprofessionally. Among other things, when I told her that I'd called five times in the last 45 minutes she said that she was looking at the call log and there was no indication that I called. Implying that I was lying was a surprise and very insulting. But really there are a host of other ways she was insulting and difficult. If Dr. Pettis is as careless about his care as the office staff is about their interactions with patients, then this place should be avoided. read more

I tried to make an appointment with Dr. Pettis and Jennifer, his office girl was so rude. This doctor was recommended to me, but she did not know that he only comes into the office once a month, and I could only see a nurse. The office is now on Barranca Pwkw. Dr. Pettis would never have any patients if they had to speak with Jennifer firsst. This office girl, named Jennifer should not be representing this doctor, and a doctor is only as good as his office staff. Jennifer appeared to me on this date of October 15th, 2025 as a very mean, rude person, who I do not wish to ever come in contact with, and Dr. Pettis needs to have a serious talk with her. Someone in his office should change all of this outdated information such as address, etc. which appears online. read more

Robert M Pettis, MD MSPH - author of this review October 12, 2025 Gloria Russell - Ear Nose & Throat Near Me - Irvine, California

"Dr. Pettis unavailable" I really liked Dr. Pettis. In 2022 He solved a 4 month sinus infection that didn't respond to Zmax or Vibratab I had been prescribed first through Urgent Care, then Mission Hospital ER. He said "no, those are not the optimal for what you have... let's go with Bactrim + Prednisone." that did the trick. When the same exact set of symptoms arose this year, entering month 4 I found Dr. Pettis is "unavailable". Had office visit w. NP Eunice, was prescribed "sinus rinse, more H20, more rest, nasal antihistimine and nasal steroid." I'm fatigued, coughing, headaches and bubbly stomach going on 3 mos now. The point is she DIDNT LOOK UP MY HISTORY. After 10 days, no improvement, I asked this NP Eunice "what did Dr. Pettis prescribe me in 2022... that worked". She still didn't bother to look it up in my chart.. Instead she prescribed me Vibratab (recall in 2022 that one didn't work, but I had forgotten). After that course, two days later I called and INSISTED she look up what Dr. Pettis prescribed me in 2022, and during an office visit, she prescribed the same Bactrim. Except she didn't prescribe prednisone to complement it. Just lazy, or indifferent, treatment protocol. So... if you've had Dr. Pettis treat you, and he is "unavailable", run, don't walk, to a different ENT practice. I really fell like this bait and switch has cost me a month in my recovery. read more

Dr Robert Pettis is excellent. He is a nose throat ear specialist. I went to him yesterday and I was very pleased with the professional, gentle approach to my ears and nose. He explained everything to me before he examined my ears. I felt very relaxed and confident . The office staff was very professional and nice. I was taken on time. Wonderful experience Thank You read more

Not value patient's time, waited 45 mins.... Staff should have told patients if wait time is more than 30 mins. Worst thing is this is not the first time. I'm done! Everyone's time should be respected. read more

Excellent and kind Dr. And friendly accommodating staff. I highly recommend. Thanks!

Dr. Pettis truly cares! He has helped my Mom abundantly so much! He helped every chance he can, from helping to get my Mom her PET scan & CT scan date pushed up earlier & also be been seen by him to have the appointment moved from Dec. 30th to Dec. 2nd!! And he has helped my Mom get her appointments with the Maxillfaciolary Specialist Surgeons at UCLA she needs to have her cancerous tumor removed & her bone reconstructed. Just an amazing Dr.!!! Wonderfully caring heart Mom wanted him to be her Primary Care Dr.! read more

Ive been seeing Dr. Pettis for several years. This man was the only person that truly diagnosed my TMJ. I had seen two other ENT's prior to him and he figured out my neck pain immediately. He is truly gifted in his craft and has been a true blessing to me. Not sure that the negative reviews are about, I have to totally disagree, I have never experienced nothing but the best chair side manner with him. read more

My first visit with Dr Pettis was very late in the day. His staff spoke with him and a time slot was opened for me. I don't think there's much room allowed for this review so I am going to make statements about the dr that I encountered. He took me in after 5:00 pm. There was no feeling of being rushed. He listened and he CARED about my worries. He conducted tests and shared what he was seeing. He put a tube through my nose down into my throat. Without any major discomfort! Gentle and a good aim. :) He gave a full explanation of what he saw and what he believed the medical issue was. If you are seeking a physician that schedules you in and gives you his full attention this dr won't disappoint you. I had never met dr Pettis before my appointment . I had an issue, I was very concerned and he was the doctor that would see me. His nurse told him I was stressing. He made the time. I have not written a review on a doctor before. I knew this Dr had to be recognized. read more

I went to Dr Pettis; I've had sinus issues for 30 years. I thought his staff was great, friendly and helpful. Dr. Pettis has a good bed side manner and listens to you. So far doing good. read more

This doc operated on my friend who had her tonsils removed and when she was one day away from running out of pain pills (4 days after an excruciating surgery) he took 48 hours to finally call in the RX. She suffered in SEVERE pain after her tonsils were cut out and her throat cauterized. Not only that when we took her to his office in person the receptionist explained he rarely returned calls. AWFUL EXPERIENCE read more

The entire staff is rude and unprofessional. I had to wait for more than 1 hr 10 minutes and no one could tell me how much longer I would have to wait. I had to make sure that I will not be charged for a service which I did NOT receive. The front clerk completely ignored me, for more than 5 minutes, while I was standing right in front of her, until I spoke to her. Do yourself a favor, skip this office. read more

I went to the ER for an infection in my throat and neck and was told i needed an emergency procedure ASAP or my airway would close up. Dr Pettis dropped his plans, got off an airplane and came to the ER to help me. I cannot thank this man enough. The whole team at Hoag Irvine ER, ICU and hospital did an amazing job. read more

I wish I could give ZERO stars. Save yourself the headache and DO NOT GO HERE. The ENTIRE STAFF IS RUDE not an ounce of courtesy or customer service. It's a requirement to be unapologetically rude to work here. They all belong at the DMV. I visited DR Pettis LAST YEAR 3/8/17 never received an invoice until they sent a "warning letter" on 10/30/2018.. DO THE MATH, it's 1 year and 9 months later... suddenly I get a bill with threat highlighted that it will be sent to collections if it's not paid in 10 days!! I have attached a pic of it. WHAT is that? I called their billing department and spoke to the RUDEST of them all, she said "oh yeah we were sorting out our bills and realized this was pending.. if you have a problem with it then deal with collections" DOES THAT SOUND COURTEOUS TO YOU???? No a single phone call, a single letter... NOTHING.. the first notice I receive is a collection threat... why?? because their THEIR BILLING DEPARTMENT FORGOT ABOUT IT? Not even a simple apology for not sending me any notices or a simple courtesy CALL?? NOTHING! which I reiterated that I NEVER RECEIVED ANYTHING. It is not normal for a dr office to go almost 2 years without receiving a payment!!! My TIME IS MORE VALUABLE THAN TO SPEAK TO THESE INDIVIDUALS... and I have a different insurance now and calling my previous insurance meant hours on the phone for a dr visit that Happened 2 YEARS AGO ALMOST... Even though I KNEW LAST YEAR MY DEDUCTIBLE WAS MET. I PAID IN FULL OVER THE PHONE. But I'm writing this review because of how rudely I was treated. A small gesture, a little amount of sympathy, common courtesy, or common decency would have gone a LONG way... with me or anyone else, it always does... but No, they are thieves with stethoscope and their office minions don't give a fly... the Dr should though... It's a shame because we think Drs are there to save us and heal us... hopefully DR. PETTIS Reads what a marvelous experience his patient had.. because his employee pool needs heavy amounts of chlorine.. or maybe he doesn't care either.... EITHER WAY, NEVER EVER AGAIN for me!!! Hope sharing my experience prevents someone else from experiencing what I did. PLEASE SEND ME A CONFIRMATION LETTER THAT THIS NIGHTMARE OF AN OFFICE HAS CLOSED MY FILE. NOTE: THEY LIE AND GIVE RANDOM DATES THAT THEY SENT NOTICES, please stop these childish games. read more

Robert M Pettis, MD MSPH - Ear Nose & Throat Near Me - Irvine, California

Dr Pettis is a kind, caring, and knowledgable doctor. He spends extra time addressing all of my questions and I never feel rushed when I see him. With that said, be prepared to pay $150 - $250 out of pocket on EVERY visit. Every time I see Dr. Pettis, I am billed $250 for a Nasal Endoscopy (procedure code: 31231). His office bills this as a "surgery," but it is absolutely not a surgery. The "procedure" Dr. Pettis performs involves putting a metal rod about 1/4 inch into your nose for 5-10 seconds; nearly identical to what a primary doctor does to see inside your nose or ear. That's it. There is no incision or physical manipulation of any kind. Dr. Pettis has done this "procedure" with me 3+ times. Each time I have been covered under a low deductible PPO plan (i.e. a very good plan). Some insurances cover this (e.g. Aetna and Cigna), but others do not (e.g. Blue Shield of CA). Neither Dr. Pettis nor his staff have ever warned me prior to performing this "procedure." I believe Dr. Pettis is an ethical person, but his office staff and billing practices are negligent. At the very least, he should warn patients before "performing" the Nasal Endoscopy. Pay very close attention to your deductible and call your insurance company before seeing him. If 31231 is not covered, you will end up with a surprisingly large bill! read more

Dr. Pettis is truly amazing. He is knowledgeable and obviously an expert in his field but unlike other doctors I've seen, he is so kind and patient and explains everything slowly. Great bedside manners. Really good doctor! read more

I waited for over 40 minutes and was getting frustrated, but Dr. Pettis was so good with my son and seems like a big kid at heart himself. He was so gentle and thorough during my son's checkup that it made the wait worth it. He has great bedside manner! read more

::look through the reviews and the PAID people reviewing them. Majority of the 5 starts are paid accounts:: beware: The waiting room staff are super rude and unpleasant. People are coming in with loss of hearing, smell and throat problems and you can't even get a hello. Without giving too much of my health issues away, I requested an allergy test, showed up for my appointment for an allergy test and was told I needed surgery first. Everyone knows surgery should be the last resort, especially in a non-emergency. I was lied to and led on for 3 months without solution to a very simple problem. 2 weeks with a new, better ENT and I'm feel relief. It's hard to believe that all the negative reviews are true but I am living proof, most of those things happened to me. read more

Have been seeing Dr. Pettis for several weeks now for an ear infection. My co-pay has been $145 each time. As recently as 4 days ago. Today they did a different method without even saying advising me it was something different. I come out to pay my bill as I always had. The receptionist told me it was over $600. When I asked why it was so much more the receptionist went and spoke to a lady named Edna. Edna came out very Aggressively and said "what's the deal" I explained I had always paid a significantly lower amount. She then said, "well, the dr did something differently today." I said that I wasn't made aware. Edna then loudly said, "well that's not the Dr's responsibility to do so." I said, I would have appreciated a heads up. She said, "well that's your issue". I had to tell her I was calmly asking questions and she didn't need to be aggressive with me for inquiring. She glared at me and walked away. I do not recommend this place. The Dr is nice, my infection still isn't cleared up and they discharged me before it was, hence why I'm back. I have now spent over $3,000 on an ear infection only to be treated with total disregard from Edna. I cancelled all future appointments. Edna this review is for you and your total disregard for the patients. Thank you for accosting me for asking a billing question. Avoid this place read more

Stay away. Dr. Pettis is a hack. He performs unnecessary services he knows are not covered by insurance without informing you of the ridiculous cost ($700 for a 5 min endoscope?) and expects you to foot the bill. On my second visit, when confronted about the unnecessary services performed, Dr. Pettis seemed apologetic and offered to waive the fee if I paid my co-pay before leaving the office. Two years later, I received a collections notice for the fees he had agreed to waive. After submitting all my documentation and a write up of the conversation, the office manager says Dr Pettis never offered to waive the fee and that I owe the amount in full plus interest. Worst part, the consultation Dr Pettis provided was use Flonase before bed to reduce my snoring. read more

Rosi is amazing. However, my doctor, Ashley Balaker, left without notice. It's a pain to try and reschedule shot appointments. I couldn't make it today and they want me to reschedule my weekly appointment to next week, when I already have an appointment scheduled. It's so frustrating! read more

Dr. Pettis is a wonderful doctor and human being! He spends the time needed to address your concerns and truly cares about your well-being. I would highly recommend him to anyone needing a good ENT doctor. read more

I am so impressed with Dr. Pettis and his staff. I found him through...wait for it...none other than YELP :) Feeling very grateful, because after experiencing my first ever bout of vertigo for the last three weeks, which is an incredibly unpleasant experience, I went to see Dr. Pettis early this week (I was able to get an appointment within a week of calling). The assistants and nurses in the office were very friendly and professional and made me feel comfortable. They took the time to make sure they understood the reason I had come in, and entered it in the computer for the doctor to review. When Dr. Pettis came in, he also listened to me explain my symptoms, and asked all the right questions. He definitely has a good bedside manner that put me at ease. He took me into another room to do some testing to find out the possible source of the vertigo. With one test, he ruled out a particular cause. Then he did what is called the Epley Maneuver, which in a nutshell induces the vertigo and flushes out the crystallized particle in my ear that was causing the vertigo...it was a bizarre procedure, but he made me feel safe and he is clearly very competent at his job! he explained the whole thing to me in terms I could understand, and I have had NO vertigo since leaving his office! That's what I call a successful trip to the doctor! Apparently I had benign positional vertigo, and he was able to hit the nail on the head. I am truly grateful for his service, and would definitely return here if I ever need an ENT! read more

Absolutely amazing this Doctor! My wife had a total Thyroidectomy and removal of a cancer there as well. Right after the surgery he came and explained why it took an extra hour. Dr Pettis' customer service and follow up is absolutely awesome! Following 2 mornings he followed up with visits to my wife in the hospital. Called me on the 3rd day for phone follow up. Returned my wife's call on the 4th day within an hour. Signed my AFLAC claims form and filled out Physician Statement within an hour! This Doctor really cares and his customer service follow up is nothing short of incredible! I am glad we had him for the complicated surgery as well! 5 + Stars!!! read more

Went here for the PicoSure laser for a partial tattoo removal I have had two sessions of four that I purchased from Dr. Pettis's office and I must say I am impressed with my results so far. I met with the doctor for a consultation and he was very honest with me about what to expect from the procedure, gave me an awesome deal on the price, and he made me feel safe with my decision. Now for the treatments, I bought four treatments and am currently through two of them. The results have been incredible! I know that is has a good part to do with the fact that is the newer laser which works better than the Q-switched lasers people have been experiencing. After the first session I noticed an immediate difference (within 12 hours) and by the time I was ready to go in for my second one it was about 65% removed. I had the second session 6 weeks after and I am about 4 weeks from that now. The tattoo is around 75% The laser uses ultra-short pulses to break up the ink into dust like particles thatare more readily absorbed and flushed out by the body. The process is numbed and then intense cold air is blown onto the skin while they use the laser to reduce the feeling. I honestly didn't feel much and it was over so quickly, I have read that people think it hurts as much as getting a tattoo and I can say NOT AT ALL. I barely felt it It will be white and crusty looking but they put a bandage on it that you wear till you get home. About an hour after the treatment the white crusty coloring has gone down or disappeared and the treated area is red and stays red for about three days, then that slowly fades away along with the tattoo itself. I have two other treatments and am excited to see the ending result. I would recommend this to anyone who is trying to modify or remove a tattoo. read more

Nice doctor but not efficient. He lacks the effective communication with his patients on issues that are plaguing them. Very overpriced as well. read more

Not enough words to describe how great this doctor is, not only in his practice but as a caring human being. It's been two months since I've had a balloon sinuplasty operation and I can happily say that it has improved my life greatly. Before this I constantly had congestion to the point where there were days I felt dizzy and unbalanced from sinus blockage. Now I can breathe easier, sleep better and feel good getting up each day. I felt really comfortable in each visit as the doctor took the time to explain and answer all of my questions. As others have stated the doctor is very down to earth and compassionate. I don't think the doctor tries to stick to a time schedule as he sincerely wants to help and takes the time with each person. I can't thank the doctor enough for improving my quality of life and I write this with hope the same can happen for others. read more

Throughout the years I have broken my nose several times. My septum was a mess and my sinuses were clogged, swollen and painful. Always had sinus headaches. Pettis performed an in-office proceedure to re-align the septum and clear my sinuses. Pettis was extremely knowledgeable, professional and thorough. He is also friendly and a straight shooter. Tells it like it is and doesn't BS, or beat around the bush. I'm usually super critical of Doctors and trust none of them as a personal general rule. This is not the case with Pettis. He did a fine job before, during and after the proceedure. Pettis might not always tell you what you want to hear, but he always tells you what you need to hear. His staff is also top notch. I highly recommend Pettis! read more

They gave me a call to confirm the appointment but no location at all, when I check the location for the office only Irvine's office is there. Finally I Went to the wrong location and the front desk is not helpful, very disappointed read more

Wow am I impressed!! From front office staff to dr pettis himself I felt so taken care of!! Dr pettis is truly one of the best doctors I've ever been to. He went above and beyond to address all my health issues. Thank you Dr Pettis read more

Dr. Pettis is hands down the best ENT I'd seen. I've been suffering from an annoying ENT-related issue for over 5 years now, and had seen countless ENTs before him, with no luck. Everyone put me on antibiotics, different meds, which never helped. Dr. Pettis is the only one who took the time to run all the necessary tests and figure out exactly what the problem was, with a very simple treatment. I highly recommend him. read more

I am sure the doctors are qualified and can do good things. Unfortunately, the informal approach to their business makes it really hard for me to build a relationship because of the lack of respect they have for my time. In fact, my impression is that everything they do is for their own convenience not the convenience of the patient. Normal businesses would be out of customers with such attitude. Examples: Getting a report for my allergy test was frustrating. It was refused to me arguing that the doctor was going to call me. One missed call meant I had to follow up multiple times, again just to get a report. Finally I was able to talk to the doctor. Again it took weeks and active follow ups to get scheduled for allergy shots. I had an appointment for allergy shots two weeks ago. An hour before the appointment I get a phone call letting me know it was cancelled. Doctor decided to take a day off? I would be curious if a same day cancellation for a patient results in fees. It is 9:23am for my 9am appointment. The doctor finally walks into the office. Who knows when my actual appointment will start. But who cares, it is only the patients' schedules that get messed up. 10am...after all this wait inside the office I had to leave (have to work to get benefits so that i can come to the doctor). Very frustrating, I fell extremely disrespected by the doctor's office as I took time from my schedule and got no service or treatment. Remember, I was asked to come at 9am for an allergy shot. Does it need to be this hard? It may be my bad luck that i got all the different ways to fall in the cracks of a good system. But it could also be that the doctors here need to pay attention to how they are running their practice. read more

Dr Pettis removed my thyroid 12 years ago - I had papillary thyroid cancer. He did an amazing job with my surgery since my thyroid was embedded to my vocal cords. His surgical knowledge and extreme proficiency was evident in the amount of time he took to remove my cancerous thyroid. The procedure took over 5 hours - he is my hero. I'm writing this review because I just referred him to a friend and I was shocked to see the critical reviews on this website because that's nothing like the experience I had with him. It seems the majority of the negative reviews are older and directed towards the administrative office functions. Additionally when I had my surgery I don't think Yelp was around to leave a review. Anyway it's never too late to offer an opinion so I just wanted to provide a positive comment about Dr. Pettis. He is one of the kindest and most compassionate doctors I have ever encountered and I would highly recommend getting a consultation with him before you get discouraged from some of the previous reviews. read more

I was surprised when my bill came and it reflected that I had undergone a $700 procedure when I spent around 5 minutes with Dr Pettis. I called to talk to the billing person and was told that she would look into it and I would get a call back. She did not call back so i called back and was this time told that I would have to talk directly to the Dr. but that he would have to call me back. The next correspondence I received was a notice from a collections agency. Good Riddance Dr. Pettis. read more

I give 5 STARS to Dr. Pettis, M.D. He is an excellent surgeon. He did remove a big cyst behind my ears and he did a wonderful job. I can't express enough how grateful I am. I will definitely recommend my family members and friends to Dr. Pettis, M.D. Dr. Pettis, if you care about your office, would you please getting better staffs. I give ONE STAR to your staffs. They are un-organized, un-professional. They don't know anything about insurance and how to read patients' benefits at all. I do know my benefits when I come to your office but your staffs who had no ideas about it. When I got different quote from your staffs then I called my insurance right there at your office and then your staffs became un-organized and gave me confused-answers. They did not want to spend time to verify it. I was surprised how compassion and excellent surgeon like Dr. Pettis who has terrible staffs. They don't work together like a professional team at all. Definitely, Dr. Pettis needs better staffs who support and understand their team leader, Dr. Pettis, who is an excellent surgeon. read more

I would give 0 stars for the overall experience. Be ready to be charged for procedures that were not performed. Front office does not talk about billing and back office does not come on the phone. Not recommended. 30 minute consultation without any procedure is $500 plus. Good luck fighting with the insurance. With high deductible plans this will mostly come out of your pockets. read more

I am alive today because of Dr Pettis. I went to Dr Pettis for a bloody nose and during the examination he found a lump in a lymph node at the base of my neck. Dr Pettis performed a biopsy and found I had stage 4 cancer. Dr Pettis sent me to the best oncologist. That was in 2015. I am here and healthy today 2020. read more

The front desk girls were not helpful or competent with scheduling or insurance. Dr Pettis should know this since he seems to be a wise and experienced doctor (I've seen him twice now) but I will not be seeing him again because of his front desk staff who can't seem to figure out how to deal with health insurance properly. My insurance is in network and they continue to tell me it's not in network; yet every time my insurance covers it. It just takes 30-45 minutes of waiting while they call and check on it, every time. They even call me and send me incorrect bills, which takes me even longer to sort out. It's just frustrating and not worth the effort when there are other good ENT doctors in the area. I will be seeing someone else now due to the front desk's inability to manage patients insurance and handle customer service properly. read more

Worst Dr I've ever been to. Extremely rude and overpriced. His staff is incompetent, constantly overcharging and double charging you. You can see from the reviews how shady his staff is, everyone has billing problems with these people. This so called Dr drove into oncoming traffic and KILLED TWO PEOPLE! Here is a quote from the local paper: "Pettis, 48, a surgeon and specialist in hearing and balance disorders, last November was charged by a prosecutor with vehicular manslaughter stemming from a speed race seven months earlier when his Tesla crossed into the path of an inbound car on Laguna Canyon Road at 6:40 a.m., killing its occupants." The judge had to order this horrible person to pay for the funerals and then he threatened to file bankruptcy. read more

Dr. Pettis and his staff in his Irvine location were the most kind and easy going folks I have ever experienced. I came in as a first time patient and was greeted by friendly staff to help sign up with the usual onboarding. When I met Dr. Pettis, he was so thoughtful, caring, and compassionate in his approach. He addressed my 3 primary issues and spent the necessary time with me to explain every part of the process thoroughly. I have seen my share of physicians and he was truly one of if not the best I have experienced. I write reviews as I see things, both good and not so good as the situation merits and Dr. Pettis and his staff were outstanding. read more