F. Monte Purcelli, MD

Dr. Purcelli misdiagnosed me, gave me the wrong medication, and refused to consult with another doctor about my condition for a 5 min phone call because it was a Friday afternoon and he was out of the office and on a long drive (he said it would have to wait til Monday). Also, he was kind of jerk during the examination and brushed off my complaints, made me feel like i was an idiot for talking about my concerns with him. It also felt like he was trying to rush me out of his office as quickly as possible. This doc does not have sympathy for his patients, if he did, maybe he would have taken the time to listen to me and give a correct diagnosis. Because he didn’t I have had to suffer for much longer than necessary. I should have known there was a reason I was able to get a last minute appointment with him.

Do not go to this «Dr.»!!! I wasted money and time on this guy after he mistreated a tonsil issue. Fortunately I got a second opinion before he unnecessarily removed my tonsils.

Do not go to this doctor. I went to him about 5 times within 6 months for two separate ear infections. With both ear infections, he refused to take my concerns seriously and put me on medication until I was in extreme pain and came in for another appointment. I am currently in pain after going to him yesterday and forced to schedule another appointment with an ENT to receive proper care and antibiotics. I will never go back to him.

Dr Purcelli is the best! I appreciate his professionalism and knowledge. He is a very kind man and really cares! His office staff is also so professional and efficient.

Dr. F. Purcelli is very professional, knowledgeable and attentive person! My husband recommended Dr. Purcelli a few years ago and I’ve always got excellent recommendations and treatments with my ear, nose issues. I always highly recommend Dr. Purcelli to my friends and family.

Do not go to him. I was coughing & wheezing before I was scheduled to have my tonsils removed from him. He told me to just use cough drops. Seriously that was his advice. I saw another doctor who found out I was hypoxic (not getting enough oxygen to my lungs). I cancelled my tonsil surgery immediately, as it turns out I would have DIED if I had gone through with it. That’s right DIED. He was going to perform surgery on someone with hypoxia. Never ever see him ever.

I like him and will continue to go to him.

I think a lot of doctors in L. A behave like sales people, try to push more visits and treatments you don’t really need. This doctor is old school, he is very dry and does not do small talk. He helped me and I felt he is a real professional that knows what he is doing. I will defiantly come again if I need to.

I ran out crying, wanted to scrape my ear. Read other reviews about that and asked for what else we could do.
Long story short I ran out crying.

For the longest time I wasn’t sure if it was my misunderstanding of medicine or if Dr. Purcelli was the absolute worst doctor I’ve ever seen. I went to see him almost 2 years ago with some hearing loss and tinnitus. They used their 60’s tech to measure my hearing levels and do a rudimentary check of my ear canal. After he looked at my results for less than 30 seconds, he came back into the room where I waited and told me «You probably have a brain tumor». I asked him why he thought so and what could I do, thinking my life was pretty much over and he said «that’s not for me to say, do some research and get an MRI».
I left the office shaken and afraid for what would come next. I didn’t have much money or real health insurance (was recently laid off and was using a discount health service program) but I found a (relatively) inexpensive place to get a MRI of my skull as soon as I could. It broke the bank for me and the results took far too long to come back. The good news is that I did not have one, I went to see him soon afterwards to have him try to give me a real reason for the tinnitus which drove me crazy and kept me up at night, he told me «hmm maybe it’s an infection? You’ll probably have the tinnitus for the rest of your life». That was the last time I saw him.
Fast forward to 3 weeks ago, I went to see a doc in culver city who immediately determined I had adult glue ear and after a week of taking this prescription I can barely perceive the tinnitus. I needlessly suffered for almost 2 years because of Dr. Purcelli, he treated me like garbage and did the opposite of what a doctor should do. He should be ashamed of his quality of work and should leave the profession altogether.
His attitude towards me was very negative the entire time, I had questions about my ears and he didn’t want to have anything to do with answering them or even wanting to be in my presence. A very mean-​spirited man who lost the concept of do no harm.

I had been sick (coughing, sneezing, runny nose, scratchy throat) for a week and it was getting worse instead of better. Made an appointment via Zoc Doc and got in same day.
The staff was friendly, they saw from my paperwork that I was engaged and congratulated me. Dr. Purcelli saw me right away. He had a no nonsense, «Just the facts, ma’am» style. I can see how that might be off-​putting to some people, but I don’t need a doctor to coddle me — I need him to diagnose & fix me! I was in & out of there in 15 minutes — hearing test included.
Dr. Purcelli’s recommendations were exactly what my last physician told me TO DO. My last doctor told me to plug my nose and blow to «pop» my ears regularly. Dr. Purcelli told me, «No wonder you’re here. That actually made you worse.» That’s the good thing about going an older more experienced Doctor, who has been practicing medicine longer. I was better in about 4 days.

When you can get an appointment on the same day that should give you pause. My husband went to see him for an ear infection. He came home with a bunch of junk no one should be told to buy without some serious questions being asked of the patient. This nit asked none of them. When Monte told him to use Pseudoesphedrine and Monte was told, «my wife won’t like this», instead of asking questions, like, I don’t know, are you an addict he instead gave him a scrip for anti-​b, and here is the list of stuff he told my husband to buy, 1. Allegra 180 mg. (why bother starting slow) 2. Pseudoephedrine (2 a day!!! and highly addictive.) and 3. Nasacort 2 times all at once at night. (the dose is no more than once a day). My husband has had addiction issues with these types of drugs. This doctor asked no questions that were relevant and had I not wondered why my husband was not sleeping I would not have known he was given these drugs. Obviously, next time I will be going to the doctor with him, but this behavior by a doctor is beyond the pale in my opinion. I would run away if I were you.

IF you care about your ears do not go to this THUG!
I was on vacation and had to go to him because of my insurance coverage, he came up on ZOC doc .com and I was able to get an appointment with him right away! clue #1
His office was stuck in a time warp, dirty and grimy like his staff. The office wasn’t the only clue to his lack of professionalism, When I met him his breath was awful I mean rotten! He asked what the problem was and I told him I had been getting very bad neck pain and vertigo when I lay down. scary indeed!.. so he grabbed my head and rammed an instrument up my nose and I might add not clean in my opinion, just sitting out uncovered. He looked in my ear and I might add for a split second nothing more then made me throw my head forward and back and sideways and said I had an allergy. I told him the list of meds I had been taking for the problem since this was not my first rodeo with allergies and ear problems, he scoffed at the meds then prescribed the same THING! Nut case! I still have the vertigo. nothing is working but I was WORSE when I came out of his office. I am being very honest with you. Worse!
I am going to another doctor today. In San Jose. wish me luck.

I’ve been going to Dr. Purcelli for close to five years now. I’ve never understood why people complain about him on Unilocal.He is nothing but professional, nice, and extremely knowledgeable about his profession. He even saved my girlfriend from a severe ear infection that other doctors couldn’t diagnose correctly.
Don’t listen to the negative reviews. He’s great!

PLEASE STAY AWAY. This man is a true a***hole. He damaged my ear. I’m filing a complaint. I went to get my ear cleaned, he ruined my life. I’m in excruciating pain.
Filing against him to the board.
He should have his licensed revoked immediately. He is abusive. Please do not go to him. I promise you.
I ignored the negative reviews… thought people were being sensitive. They were 100% right.
Please pay attention to these reviews. He is a nightmare.
Doctor from hell. He damaged my inner ear with a pointy utensil and told me I was being sensitive. It was the worst pain I have ever experienced.
I went to him because he took my insurance, now I am going to another doctor today who does not take insurance. Someone well known and highly qualified… And I have to pay 500 just for consult because of what this man did. In a lot of pain from cleaning, which should have been gentle but was not.
I can not stress enough how important it is to not visit this freak.

I came into Dr. Monte’s office with a chronic infection in both ears. Although he successfully treated my condition, I was put off by his brash demeanor and dingy office. Furthermore, the suction unit he used to clean out my ear canals was inadmissibly filthy. On a positive note, the staff is fine and appointments are readily available.

This guy is great, not sure why the other reviews are so negative. I’ve seen him 3 times in the past few weeks, what I love about him is I can make an appointment the same day and there is no waiting, he sees me right on time He was very friendly and efficient, didn’t waste any time and diagnosed me correctly. REALLY REALLY LOVE a doctor that doesn’t make you wait. Dr Purcelli is great! I recommended some coworkers and they had the same positive experience
Also the ladies at the front desk are equally friendly and helpful.

Let’s be realistic here — he’s a doctor, not a therapist.
If you’re willing to learn from a doctor who’s direct and values efficacy over snake oil, Dr. Purcelli’s your guy. However, if you think you know how your body works better than someone with five decades of experience and expertise OR you need lots of hand-​holding, look elsewhere.
I’ve never been a fan of alternative/​faux medicine but even I resorted to a Neti pot for my sinuses. I told him that I wasn’t sure it was working, though, and he told me not to bother. What’s more, he explained why and it all made complete sense.
For my allergies, he handed me a handy-​dandy card with recommended medications, specific dosages and the time of day to take them… and so far it’s working! I also love that I can book online through ZocDoc, and the front desk reception folks were friendly and helpful.

The good? Well, you can probably get an almost immediate appointment and he probably takes any insurance,
The bad? Well. Having a growth in my mouth that my internist thought was benign but wanted a second opinion. Unable to get to the referred doctor, I used Zocdoc to find an ENT who could see me quickly. The growth, there was NO question that it was a growth, was diagnosed as «probably not fungal. Come back in a few weeks.» Irresponsible and wrong. Growths in the mouth need to be diagnosed or biopsied immediately.
Result? The growths were surgically removed by someone who saw me the next day. Benign but atypical.
Not safe to see doctors that have no sense of urgency or diagnosis.

I read all the online reviews about Dr. Purcelli as you are probably doing right now while contemplating making or keeping an appointment with him. I was a bit reluctant as some people seem to have had a less than stellar experience, but I kept my appointment regardless. I’m very happy I did and based on the negative reviews I felt compelled to share my positive experience. Sadly, people post negative experiences much more often than good ones.
I waited approximately 4 minutes to see Dr. Purcelli. He greeted me with a handshake and listened as I explained about my scratchy throat. He did a full ENT checkup, diagnosed the issue easily and competently, gave a thorough explanantion of the treatment, and patiently answered all my questions. He even smiled. I couldn’t imagine this was the same person that I’d read about in the negative reviews. He was kind, happy, sharp & efficient. I’d reccomend him to anybody who asked for a good ENT doctor.