Director of Washington University’s Cochlear Implant Program Jill Firszt, PhD, is no stranger to studying single-sided deafness and asymmetric hearing loss in adults. Her previous work demonstrated the benefits of cochlear implants in these patients and helped provide critical data needed to promote the adoption of expanded implant criteria by the FDA. Firszt has now […]
For decades, Melissa James woke each morning wondering which of her symptoms would show up that day, a sort of disease roulette as she calls it. A headache was most consistent, but aural fullness or pressure and tinnitus (ringing in the ear) were also very common. A visit to the Washington University Dizziness and Balance […]
One of the newest elements to arise from the Washington University medical school curriculum renewal – known as the Gateway Curriculum – is the Advanced Clinical Rotation or ACR. Pediatric otolaryngologist Kate Dunsky, MD, and neurotologist Cameron Wick, MD, recently worked alongside ACR Director Stephen Lawrence, MD, to discuss rotation goals, student evaluations, and the […]
Office Manager Laura King is a key player in making the department of Otolaryngology run smoothly. Here she talks about her love for traveling with family and why she’s learning a new language. How long have you been with the Department of Otolaryngology? I started in Otolaryngology in April, 2022 as office manager and head […]
The Department of Otolaryngology–Head & Neck Surgery at Washington University in St. Louis is rapidly approaching its sesquicentennial as it continues its mission in academic medicine: patient care, research, training and service. The department is no stranger to excellence in each of these mission areas. The department has flourished behind true innovators in the field […]
Sid Puram, MD, PhD, thinks that optimizing personalized cancer treatment requires better knowledge about tumor heterogeneity. Understanding individual tumor cells will promote better and discrete treatment options for head and neck cancer patients. Head and neck tumors are composed of a variety of cells that have different functions, much like bees in a hive. Some […]
Matthew Rohlfing, MD, is the newest member of the Division of Laryngology in the Department of Otolaryngology at Washington University. Here he shares his excitement to return and practice in his home community and his love of gardening. Where are you from originally? I grew up in Kirkwood, MO. And, since everyone will ask, I […]
Washington University Clinical Audiologist Steve Smith and two audiology students, Brynn Gentile and Sarah Goltsman, contributed their skills to a humanitarian effort in Catacamas, Honduras this past October. They provided 126 hearing evaluations and 138 hearing aid fittings as part of a larger ENT effort that saw almost 400 patients and conducted 50 surgeries during […]
A new collaboration between Washington University hearing scientists and colleagues at Northwestern University hopes to shed new light on both the mechanisms of hearing loss and the optimization of cochlear implant outcomes. The collaboration is an integral part of an NIH grant awarded to WashU Associate Professor of Otolaryngology Mark Rutherford, PhD, and Jeffrey Savas, […]
A pair of surgical simulation courses on Dec. 3 offered ENT residents valuable opportunities to train with experts in lateral skull base approaches and endoscopic sinus surgery. Each full-day course allowed residents exposure to a variety of techniques used by surgeons throughout the Midwest. Lateral skull base surgery The annual lateral skull base course at […]