Douglas Hetzler, M.D. FACS

"Extremely satisfied with my experience at Dr. Hetzler’s and Santa Cruz surgery center for his well known surfer’s ear surgery. Not only does Dr. Hetzler have thousands of hours of this particular procedure under his belt, you can tell he’s passionate about what he does. Today marks three weeks removed from the surgery and I got cleared to go back in the water. Thanks Dr. Hetzler!"

"what an amazing Dr. and person Dr. Hetzler is! There are no words to express how much I appreciate his wisdom and his caring heart! One could not ask for a better Dr. or Soul to have as a Dr. Thank you Dr. Hetzler for Everything"

"I hope that you read my review before you decide to have surgery with Dr. Hetzler. Please also read some of the reviews at the bottom of Yelp that Yelp deems 'not currently recommended'. Dr. Hetzler may be a pioneer in the surgery of surfers ear. He may be the best to do this surgery. But he is also completely dishonest and not the most knowledgeable Dr. overall. In my opinion he is a 'one trick pony' I will explain why. In my informed consent Dr. Hetzler noted the risks involved with the surgery. But, he claimed, in thousands of surgeries he's never had an issue. This is not true. Read the other reviews and my testimony. I had surgery in both ears for surfers ear. I was on the fence about getting the surgery, was my condition really that bad to take the risk? But based on Hetzlers supposed 100% track record I felt the benefit outweighed the risk. The surgery went fine, but after the surgery I lost about 50% of the hearing in one ear. Now note I had a hearing test right before the surgery and in the weeks after. Significant and measurable hearing loss. In several subsequent visits with Hetzler he put forward the theory that I had 'sudden onset hearing loss' which would have nothing to do with the surgery. But the hearing loss started immediately from the moment I woke from the surgery. We talked about all the other things it could be. No, it must be sudden onset hearing loss. I followed up with Dr. Jennifer Maw (she is excellent), an ear specialist in Santa Clara. She immediately diagnosed and confirmed with CT and MRI that I had Superior canal dehiscence syndrome (SCD). This is when the skull bone separating the ear chambers from the brain cracks open. Symptoms can be quite severe, so in this case I feel lucky, but there is nothing to be done for it. She asked me several times if I had a 'blow to the head' as this is what generally triggers it. The only blow to the head I had was from Hetzlers chisel. I read that about 3% of the population is at risk for this condition, that is, the bone is thinner for them. How come Dr. Hetzler doesn't know about this? How come he doesn't mention this risk to his patients? How come he doesn't screen for this susceptibility before doing the surgery? Sure, if he had never had any issues in any surgeries that would make sense. But I know there are other people out there who have had the same thing happen to them. Just read his reviews on Yelp. Dr. Hetzler has never followed up with me since then and I am sure he won't mention my case to you when he claims 100% success rate. I thought to sue Dr. Hetzler. Not because I lost hearing, but because he lied to me and that made me so angry. But there is not much of a case. I had signed informed consent and most lawyers didn't see it as a big money maker for them. If surfers ear is keeping you out of the water, the surgery is definitely worth the risk. But please know what you are getting into with Dr. Hetzler. He lies, he doesn't follow up, and he is not the most knowledgeable about ear issues."

"Dr. Hetzler is an amazing subspecialist, no better external auditory canal chisler in the world. There's a reason all the professional surfers flock to his office. He fixed my right here, including a large perforated Tympanic membrane, with ease, skill and compassion. Very accessible through email, quick turnaround time with communications. His outpatient surgery center was efficient and fair with their pricing."

"Dr. Hetzler's surgical method for treating surfers ear should be the new standard. I've had the "incision behind the ear + power drill" method on my left ear (1990's), and Dr. Hetzler's technique on my right ear (2015). The healing and recovery time was only three weeks and nearly pain free. Thank you Dr. Hetzler!"