Mark I Zeme, MD

Unfortunately his office staff was not accommodating at all in scheduling an emergency appointment for my son. They showed no compassion and were extremely uncooperative. I’ve never been treated so unprofessionally by a doctor’s support staff. I called another ENT specialist and was greeted with utmost respect and scheduled for a same day appointment for my child.

Worse doctor ever. He discriminates you if you have Medical inaurance. He treats you like a dumb person. He is arrogant and smart-​ass.

Worst bedside manner possible. Dismissive, arrogant, and obnoxious. Avoid this doctor at all costs. He may be good if you’re passed out on an operating table but forget about it face-​to-​face.
–Mike Mitchell

Our appointment for my 12 year old son couldn’t have gone better. I really liked Dr Zeme and his staff. He was very friendly and professional, didnt mind explaining pros and cons of treatments. My son doesnt normally respond to doctors and can be very shy with them. He answered all questions Dr Zeme asked him. This will be our ENT from now on.

I went to Dr. Zeme because I had a deviated septum. I wanted to get this fixed asap. We tried an alternative method to surgery first, and also to prove to the insurance company that surgery was my best route, but, of course the first method didn’t work. I set up a surgery date for eight days ago. Between the staff at Sutter East Bay and Dr. Zeme, I couldn’t have asked for a better team to take care of me. Dr. Zeme listened to me, made excellent suggestions and recommendations, and was very thorough in all of his explanations to me about my deviated septum, the septoplasty and what it entailed. I am very grateful for the professionalism Dr. Zeme possessed during the time he treated me. In addition, his staff was attentive and friendly. I highly recommend Dr. Zeme and his staff! Thank you!

Looks like Dr. Zeme needs a recent review. I went to Dr. Zeme for a sinus surgery. He is a true professional who is extremely knowledgeable, takes time with his patients, and is up to date with the latest techniques for sinus surgery. I was well informed as to what my surgery and recovery would entail… and everything went just as I had been informed. My sinuses are much improved since the surgery!
I highly recommend Dr. Zeme if you are looking for a doc who truly cares about his patients and is up tp snuff on the latest treatments/​techniques. Excellent doc!!!

HE fixed the issue of me owing the hospital money all in all I appreciate what he did. he went beyond the call.

I saw Dr. Zeme for a new patient exam today because I have been bothered with ringing in my ear. I found his exam to be very thorough. He took his time talking to me about my health history and offered several reasons for my symptoms. I felt like he looked at me as a whole person, not just an ear. He was comprehensive in his exam and offered suggestions to improve my ear and my overall health as well.
I really appreciate his knowledge and expertise. He was very personable and spoke to me as an equal. He obviously knows his stuff. I was very pleased with the care I got there and would recommend him wholeheartedly.
I also liked Scott (the Audiologist) who did my hearing exam. Professional.
The office was in a portable, but who cares! The office was clean and the Dr. was wonderful. It was a good experience and I would see him again. I have already recommended Dr. Zeme to my family.

Good technician, but uncompassionate, arrogant, and won’t listen to the patient. Has a similar rep in the OR. Discharged me from hospital without seeing me that day. Told me seeing me the day before was sufficient. I find him unacceptable in tone and behavior. Find someone else.

First off, let me start by saying Dr. Zeme performed my first surgery and cleared up my sinuses for about 1 year. Even though the surgery was a success, there was very little follow up and suggestions on how to maintain my sinuses for the long term. I know this because my current Dr. has performed 1 surgery and I have not had to go back for 4 years.
So why a 2 star rating? After not seeing Dr. Zeme for about a year, I decided to get a check up. First thing he asks when I go into his office is «Hello, I see you still owe us an outstanding invoice». «Well, great to see you too Dr Zeme, Im great!, thanks for asking» I understand collections is something that doctors have to deal with, but isn’t this what your staff is supposed to be doing? Aren’t you just supposed to diagnose?
Anyway, before I leave I pay my invoice and assume that I’m paying for my old visit as well as my current visit. Next thing I know, I get a collections call 2 months later saying I owe Dr. Zeme $ 120 dollars. I would gladly pay, but I dont even get a call? This was in 2007 and has negatively affected my credit report until this day…
2 stars for performing a successful surgery
–1 for bad bedside manner and cocky attitude
–1 for not having a follow up plan for patients on our to control sinus issues.
–1 for bad collection policy.

THIS MAN IS AMAZING!!! I have spent the last 1.5yrs+ miserable — being misdiagnosed with allergies, being on 6 – 8 different medication PER DAY that did nothing, being referred to allergy specialists when I tested NOT allergic to ANYTHING! I saw Dr. Zeme and he immediately diagnosed me chronic sinusitus. He immediately had a plan and assured me he would get me relief! He sent for an in depth CT scan which showed multiple, severe sinus infections, polyps and a deviated septum. He scheduled me for surger on 6÷15÷11 — each time I saw him leading up to the surgery, he cautioned me this would not be an immediate fix… the surgery was going to get me there, but it would take time to heal and recover. I have had MANY surgeries in the past and ALWAYS get sick from the anethsia, and he prescribed me a miracle pill to prevent the sickness… IT WORKED! I had my surgery on the 15^th, with no sickness or nausea. I’ve seen him 3 times since the surgery, including today, and he agreed that I’m already at 70%. I have followed his instructions to the T and I am getting better and progressing a little more EVERY day! THIS MAN IS A GOD SEND!
Yes his office is in portables right now, but Eden is doing construction everywhere, and I was never uncomfortable while in there… they had the AC running on the hot days, and heater when it was cooler. Dr. Zeme set not only mine but my fiancé’s mind at ease through this entire process… I had no concerns what so ever, and my recovery is going GREAT! Dr. Zeme knows his field of expertise and knows it well and overall isa personable guy… as my fiancé said, «I would hang out with this guy… he’s that cool!»
I would and have recommended several people to see Dr. Zeme… especially if they have been getting the run around from other doctors, saying it’s allergies like I did… I’m already so much happier and feel SO much better! THANKS DR. ZEME!!!

First, I would say that his treatment did improve things for my sinuses. I’ll get that out of the way. It was not a unique approach in any way. Rather standard. But it got the job done. Now on to what makes me want to avoid going back to see this guy.
20 – 40 minute delays in getting seen. And that’s with an appointment. People have lives. Other appointments. Planes to catch. This is extremely unprofessional. The excuses given by staff added insult to injury. On a Saturday morning, first appointment of the day, a patient should not be kept waiting 30 minutes while the good doctor finishes a staff meeting.
Pushing procedures you might not need, like balloon sinuplasty, advertised prominently in the waiting area and pushed upon me at every appointment so far. Just because my insurance covers it, does not mean I want it or that it is necessary. A lot of salesman in this doctor. Those BMWs don’t buy themselves, I guess.
A bad personality. Unctious, smug, insincerely earnest. He will speak to you like you are a very young child or a very, very old person. I appreciate that he has a medical degree but that does not automatically make him cleverer than I am. Especially given how he runs his office. Speak to me like another adult, Dr Zeme. Explain things clearly without the bizarre chumminess. I don’t want a friend. I want my sinuses seen to. My children thought he was awful and they are generally well-​disposed towards doctors.
My GP reluctantly recommended Dr Zeme because the ‘good ENT’ is not covered on my insurance. What a world we live in.
I don’t think I will go back.

I was referred to Dr. Zeme by my daughter’s orthodontist. She was diagnosed with a large adnoid. He took a great deal of time with her (a good 30 minutes) and was amazingly gentle. While he was checking her adnoid, he allowed me to look through the scope to see what he was talking about. If you have kids, send them to Dr. Zeme. My 8 year old absolutely loves him.
I read the other reviews regarding his office. They are totally correct. While his staff is very polite, they are not really all that ‘friendly’. Almost distant. The office is in a portable, but it is clean and the examination rooms are spacious enough. The glass window is shut and I didn’t see a bell outside. With that being said… I am not paying the big bucks for Dr. Zeme’s office staff. I am paying him for HIS services. I definitely got what I paid for and more.
P. S. If your tonsils are inflamed for 6 months, duh… you need to get them out!

I have had inflamed tonsils for over six months. I had a bad bout with mono and had strep in December but had since had many strep tests that were negative. I saw Dr. Zeme in May 2010 via referral of my doctor since I didn’t want to go to Dr. Kahn.
First of all, his office is currently in a portable, so it’s cramped and hot. The people at the front desk were nice enough but didn’t really seem to know what they were doing. I asked them to make sure they had gotten my refferal so I wouldn’t have problems with my insurance and they didn’t know what I was talking about. They claimed they did not get my referral, so I had to give them a filled out copy I had, which they did not give back.
Anyway, they called me in after maybe 15 minutes and in comes the doctor. I tell him my story, give him all the dates of my previous mono, strep tests and doctors exams since I got sick. He didn’t write any of it down. Then he takes maybe a one second look at my tonsils, exclaims they are huge and says I have strep and my tonsils need to come out.
Then I ask him what he’s talking about since I have had MANY negative strep tests. He says the strep could be so deep in my tonsils it cannot be detected and that they definity need to come out. I ask him about the surgery and he answers my questions but really seems rushed and like he doesn’t want to be bothered with all my concerns. He starts explaining that my tonsils have become «double agents» and are working against me rather than for me. I ask him if it could be some other bacteria or virus besides strep, like MRSA. he says it could but that since te infection is in the tonsils everything will be cleared up after he does the surgery.
I’m no doctor but shouldn’t you KNOW for sure what you have before you get surgery? The Dr. offered to have me go in for surgery in a week, explained that his assistant would come in and answer the rest of my questions an tell me more about the surgery, and left.
I don’t think he is a «bad» doctor, but he skips necessary steps that should be happening.
About a month later I went back to see my regular doctor because my tonsils were hurting again (they has been swollen but not painful for awhile) she did a strep test on me and it came back positive. So yes, maybe Dr. Zeme was right about that.
When my doctor was leaving, she asked me which ENT I went to and I told her Mark Zeme and he took one look at me and said he needs to do surgery. She sort of made this weird sly smile like that happens alot, and told me Dr. Zeme is extremely surgery happy, and she doesn’t know many people he has NOT said he needed to do surgery on.
I urge you to go somewhere else rather than Kahn or Zeme. Or at least get a second opinion before letting this guy cut you open.

first the office was horrible… you walk in and you don’t see any staff. That’s because they’re hiding behind a frosted glass window that says «do not knock on glass!» so you sit down wondering if anyone even knows you’re there. He seems like a competent doctor, but the overall experience doesn’t project much warmth. I chose another doctor for my surgery.