Philip T Ho, MD FACS

First and foremost, for those that are reviewing a physician based on the receptionist… shame on you. Unilocal is designed to provide a review for the PHYSICIAN’s care and patient’s interaction, not a forum for those who did not come prepared with their registration/​patient information. Yes, Agnes runs a tight ship, with expectations that each patient print out the forms she sends DAYS ahead of time in order to ensure that both patient and doctors’ time is not wasted. I personally found it refreshing that coming prepared meant I had no wait time and my limited time was respected.
Pre-​Surgery:
Now, onto the important portion of the review… the physicians care. Dr. Ho is a knowledgable, compassionate and personable physician… relatively rare in this day. I had transferred from another ENT as I was not satisfied with their care and was greeted with understanding from Dr. Ho. I shared my extensive history with him and we agreed on an at-​home treatment plan followed by surgery for my deviated septum which was badly in need of repair. Similar to Agnes, the expectation from Dr. Ho is that you fulfill your duties as a patient and perform the at-​home treatment regiment. I’m happy to say that with steroids and multiple rinses a day the sinus infection subsided, sinuses began draining and hence my sinuses were much more readied for the surgery and impending recovery.
From here I wanted to take an opportunity to outline what my surgery process looked like so you know what to expect. Keep in mind that in addition to the deviated septum repair I also had an osteotomy performed so my recovery time was longer.
Surgery Day:
Showed up to El Camino Hospital for our surgery day, wonderful staff got us prepared for the procedures. Everyone was prompt, respectful of our time again, and Dr. Ho was right on time as well. Naturally this about all I remember due to the anesthesia, but I recall coming out of surgery comfortable (albeit pretty thirsty). :) Being that this is outpatient, we waited for my nausea to subside and headed home. Again, staff was incredible.
Post-​Surgery:
Ok, not going to lie, this part sucks. Don’t expect to breathe out of your nose for a week, mouth-​breathing and sleeping upright is not great… BUT STICK WITH IT. If you’re reading this and this part scares you, trust me that it’s absolutely 1 million percent worth this one crappiest of weeks. I was scared of this part too, but the most beautiful thing about this surgery is EVERY day is better than the day before.
One week after surgery you will revisit Dr. Ho, there will be some discomfort as he removes the packing from your nose. Trust me this part is not as bad as the horror stories you’ve probably heard, they no longer use 6 feet of fabric to stuff your nasal passages it’s now a gel type material that dissolves. Yes this part is still somewhat uncomfortable, but at the end of the post-op…YOU CAN BREATHE. I marked this as one of the greatest breathing days of my life, had absolutely no idea what I had been missing… and this was just the beginning.
Now, if you’re like me then you are planning on having or had osteotomies performed (fancy word for rhinoplasty) which means that there was blunt force trauma to the bridge of my nose performed by Dr. Ho to re-​form and re-​shape it to open up my nasal passages even further. If you do not have this procedure your recovery will be significantly reduced. Because I had the osteotomy my soreness continued for another week or so.
Do yourself a favor during this time and listen to Dr. Ho, continue your nasal rinses as the majority of the recovery is dependent upon your own due diligence at home. You will visit him in weekly increments to assist with clearing the nasal passages, these visits are relatively painless and again leave you breathing better than ever through your nose.
Summation
I cannot emphasize how happy I am with Dr. Ho, his compassion and care for my individual health. He did an outstanding job on my nose both inside and out and I am breathing better than I ever have in my life. You’ll also notice after the surgery that your sleep improves… for me it has improved massively. This was unexpected but definitely welcomed.
I know this is a lengthy review, but after working with Dr. Ho the negative reviews absolutely piss me off and I thought a first hand recount of my experience may help you decide to enlist him as your ENT.

The Doctor gets 4 star. (not perfect 5 star though).
He is brainy, sharp, gives right medication in right dose. I was not able taste things much for 3 years. He fixed that by giving omeprazole for 1 month. Full recovery to 90% in just one month.
But the receptionist and some referral practices (sending to bad MRI place) leave 1 star. Totally this facility is worth 3 star only, but such a good doctor deserves more.

The front desk Lady name Agnes is so rude and really bad attitude. His team is terrible!!! I tried to make an appt over the phone from work and they made it so painful, Dr Ho is good doctor but the front desk horrible customer service… Don’t waste your time going here… you will be disappointed!

I have just come from my six month follow-​up of nasal surgery with Philip Ho and am pleased to say I was very satisfied with Dr. Ho’s roto-​rooter job on my nose! Everyone who breathes through their nose should do it! Now I sleep better, breathe better (can walk around the block with my mouth shut!), and most interestingly have gotten RAVE reviews on dental hygiene from my dentist/​hygienist (most probably because dry mouth has disappeared). Dr. Ho did a wonderful job explaining what he was going to do – very clear with pictures. I love the way his office is into technology – records, appointments, etc. He and Agnes input notes into a laptop. If you do get the surgery, be prepared for a very uncomfortable couple of days – NO PAIN at all but head cold of the century. Plus sleeping sitting up sucks! Be sure to do the nasal rinse as often as possible, like every hour; it really helps.

Dealing with the receptionist is a pain! Regardless how good the doctor is, not worth a try. Terrible attitude.

This is not a review of the doctor because I was not able to see him because his team is terrible!!! I tried to make an appt over the phone from work and they made it so painful, I cancelled before I hung up. Dr Ho talk to your team they are horrible at booking appts for you.

First off… lets talk about Agnis at Dr. Ho’s office. She is on her game! I have yet to wait more than 5 minutes to see Dr. Ho for post surgery treatments. She always notifies me a day before my appointment dates and always cheers me up when I am there. DR. Ho diagnosed what the so called best in the business at Stanford missed. I spent 60 days seeing DR’s at Stanford and all they wanted to do is give me more drugs. DR Ho listened to ME and genuinely cared about my well being. He performed surgery on Halloween morning (I didn’t need a costume this year) and by fixing my deviated septum and cleaning out my nasal glands CURED my chronic migraines. I no longer have to live a life on pain meds. If you are reading this and in the need of the best ENT on mother earth, look no further! I wish there was a 10 star rating. DR. Phillip T Ho is a 10 star Doctor. Thank You DR. Ho! Thank you Agnis!

Unfortunately I cannot give a better review of Dr Ho as his front desk person is a complete incompetent. The lady talks over you and interrupts you to the point of complete communication breakdown. If that is how his staff is, I have little confidence in going forward with surgery.

My insurance company referred me to Dr. Ho when I couldn’t get in anywhere else to see someone right away. I appreciate that he was able to squeeze me in last minute.
Dr. Ho was a good listener, very candid, gave a high level view of his observations, a prescription to resolve what he could directly diagnose, gave me a referral to someone qualified to rule out what else *might* be going on and has me following up with him in a few weeks.
I really appreciated his honesty, ability to admit not only what he does know but what he doesn’t, direct me where I need to go next and treat me with respect. I’m happy to have Dr. Ho working with my team of doctors to get me to a better place.

Dr. Ho is an amazingly compassionate and knowledgable practitioner. It took a little while after my septum repair for everything to settle down, a very little while in retrospect. But what I have now is a new quality of life. I can breathe like a wind through a tunnel, even if I have a cold that would have shut me down completely before. I don’t know why I waited so many years to seek relief now that I have this gift. Dr. Ho is also just a really knowledgable person on many topics so he is a lot of fun to talk to and put behind schedule. :)
Your mileage may vary, because I was coming from a very bad place of anatomy and long-​seated infections (that are now completely gone), but the doctor will not try to sell you something you don’t need. He helps people who need help. How cool is that?

Doctor Philip Ho is wonderful. I researched several ENT Doctors and once meeting with him he took his time to find the root of my problems. He knows his practice very well and I recommend him to anyone in any discomfort and needing to see a professional.
We ended up agreeing surgery was the best solution and he was great. My family was impressed too. I am current recovering and already feel a huge difference from the operations. I would recommend him to anyone seeking an expert ENT Doctor.

Receptionist is always rude. They cancel your appointments the day of and don’t inform you in adequate time. Looking for a new doctor. Good luck to you Dr Ho.

Dr Ho is a wonderful doctor that has given me the ability to continue being active, as an athlete, since surgery 6 weeks ago. My experience with doctor Ho and his staff was nothing but top notch and very professional.
Dr. Ho straightened my septum and reduced my turbinates. Two weeks after the surgery I was breathing like I did when I was ten years old. Now at six weeks I’m back into my regular workout routine and breathing as if I was 20 again.

Little concern for patient welfare. No follow through. Agnes at the front desk is unhelpful and only makes broken promises. Overall, unprofessional and lack of concern for their patients. Not worth the time.

Dr. Ho is a great, informative, cheery doctor. I started seeing him based on a recommendation from my sleep doctor. Dr. Ho is always sure to fully explain what is going on inside your body & what will need to be done to fix it. He includes personal drawings in the explanations which are then scanned and stored in your file to be used for later comparisons.
After having surgery to have my septum straightened & turbinates reduced I received several follow up phone calls checking on my progress as well as many follow up appointments following the healing closely.
I always appreciate the attention I receive from Dr. Ho. I homeschool my children so they are with me at each appointment. Dr. Ho never minded taking a few minutes to answer the questions my 6 year old would come up with after studying the many charts on the walls of the exam room.