Naveen Bhandarkar, MD

I have suffered from chronic sinus infections for many years. I used to go to my PCP or urgent care to get handed a Zpack and pushed out of the office. This past May (2015) I began having major issues with breathing, choking, feeling dizzy all the time, headaches… leading to anxiety and several panic attacks. After a terrible misdiagnosis from Head and Neck Associates in Mission Viejo, I was given a referral to Dr. Bhandarkar from a friend of a friend for a second opinion.
Dr. Bhandarkar’s office was able to help me get an appointment timely (within a week). I presented the countless visits and imaging charts I had with various physicians across Orange County, the X-​rays, CT scans, etc… where no physician could diagnose what was was wrong and within minutes of my first visit with Dr. Bhandarkar, he found the problem. I had several large sinus polyps, cysts, and mucosal thickening essentially blocking all of my sinus drainage and nasal passage. He immediately did a scope and determined I was a prime candidate for functional endoscopic sinus surgery. The UCI team was able to get me scheduled for outpatient surgery rather quickly and within a couple of weeks I had the sinus surgery (October 2015). The team at UCI Medical Center was so professional and caring. Dr. Bhandarkar was thorough in explaining the surgery and what to expect as well as the pre and post operation care I would need to take. I recovered very quickly within about 2 weeks and feel better than ever!!! I have never breathed so well. If it wasn’t for Dr. Bhandarkar, I would still be suffering and looking for a physician that could find what was causing me 6 months of serious health problems. This doctor is a GENIOUS. He knew exactly what was going on and how he could fix it and get me back to good health. I can’t say enough nice things about he and his entire staff at UCI ENT. Just amazing, professional, knowledgable, caring, and getting right to the issue and resolving it timely. Dr. Bhandarkar also spends adequate time with his patients and does not rush you in and out. He listens to your situation and asks the right questions to make a diagnosis unlike most of the other physicians I spent time with over 6 months trying to get back to good health. If you want to find a physician that is the best in the ENT business in Southern California, go NOWHERE else. Also, his office in Irvine is immaculate (extremely clean and modern). They have all of the state of the art technology and his staff is superb.
Bottom line, if you want the best ENT and getting your health problem handled right and right the first time, go see Dr. Bhandarkar. He is the best in the business!

I dealt with sinus issues several years back and can’t say I had many wonderful experiences. I was finally referred to «the best» ENT in the Bay Area, but she ended up being terrific at misdiagnosis, callousness, brevity and ensuring she had more patients than she had time. (I would have died shortly after her diagnosis had I followed her advice.)
Fast forward a few years and some pesky organisms in my head became increasingly adept at outsmarting doctors of all types. I reached the point where waking up in the morning to find myself still alive started to get a little tiresome.
And then I met Dr. Bhandarkar: Intelligent, caring, vigilant, alert, considerate, competent, genius. There are very few perfect doctors in the world. Dr. Bhandarkar is one of them.