WashU Medicine surgeons give patient back his smile

photo of Eric Barbarite

Larry Sims was known for his big smile. But a diagnosis of squamous cell carcinoma in his parotid gland – the largest of three salivary glands – would change that forever. Or, would it? A team of surgeons in the Department of Otolaryngology, led by facial plastic surgeon Eric Barbarite, MD, thought otherwise. The multidisciplinary […]

Annual Conference Supports Women in Otolaryngology

photo of planning committee and faculty

The Midwestern Women in Otolaryngology Symposium, hosted by WashU Medicine on March 10, addressed some of the unique challenges faced by women in medicine. The second annual meeting was held at the Eric P. Newman Education Center. Co-organizers Jennifer Brinkmeier, MD, and Nyssa Farrell, MD, were assisted by a planning committee of fellow WashU Med […]

Treatment de-escalation reduces toxicity while maintaining cancer control

It has long been said that when it comes to cancer, “the treatment is worse than the disease.” At WashU Medicine, a multidisciplinary team of head and neck surgeons, radiation oncologists and medical oncologists is trying to change that. Treatment of head and neck cancers like squamous cell carcinomas, typically utilizes a multidisciplinary approach that […]

Voice and Airway group gets robotic assistance for laryngeal surgery

photo of surgeon at robotics consol

WashU Medicine laryngologist Bharat Panuganti, MD, is expanding the surgical options available to his specialty. The adaption – transoral robotic surgery or TORS – is not new but is rarely used for laryngeal procedures due to the lack of instruments suitable for the size of the larynx. Panuganti recently used the technique on a patient […]

Sharing expertise abroad: WashU surgeon helps implement advances in robotic surgery in Germany, Sweden

photo of Ryan Jackson with surgical team in Germany

Washington University head and neck surgeon Ryan Jackson, MD, recently spent time in Germany and Sweden, promoting the implementation of recent advances in transoral robotic surgery. Transoral robotic surgery or TORS is a minimally invasive procedure that uses a robot to provide greater precision in the surgical treatment of tumors in the mouth and throat. […]

H&N Surgery offers safe, effective alternative to surgical removal of thyroid nodules

A thyroid nodule is a small firm lump or growth of abnormal tissue in the thyroid gland. The condition likely affects between 50 and 65% of the population, but most are benign and go undetected because they don’t cause symptoms. For those that do, a new nonsurgical procedure – called radiofrequency ablation or RFA – […]

Rubinstein offers stimulating 44th annual Senturia lectureship

Photo of WashU neurotologists with Jay Rubinstein, MD

Jay T. Rubinstein, MD, PhD, professor and Virginia Merrill Bloedel chair of the department of Otolaryngology—Head and Neck Surgery at University of Washington Medical Center delivered the  44th annual  Senturia Lecture to the Department of Otolaryngology at Washington University School of Medicine on Nov. 13. Rubinstein received undergraduate and master’s degrees in engineering at Brown […]

Head and neck surgery moves to new Siteman Cancer Center

photo of waiting area at Siteman Cancer Center

The Division of Head and Neck Surgery in the Department of Otolaryngology at Washington University has moved their clinic into the new Siteman Cancer Center at 4500 Forest Park Ave. Formerly housed on the 11th floor of the Center for Advanced Medicine, the division now occupies one full hallway on the 5th floor of Siteman’s new […]

Durakovic continues WashU representation in Barany Society

photo of Nedim Durakovic, MD

Washington University neurotologist Nedim Durakovic, MD, and Professor Emeritus Joel Goebel, MD, attended the biannual meeting of the Barany Society – an international assembly of scientists and clinicians involved in vestibular research. The WashU contingent offered a pair of presentations at this year’s meeting: Founded in 1960, the Society is named after Robert Barany, otolaryngologist […]

Harbison performs first scarless thyroidectomy

Washington University head and neck surgeon Alex Harbison, MD, has performed the institution’s first transoral thyroidectomy to remove the thyroid gland from a patient suffering from hyperthyroidism. The procedure was developed ten years ago in Thailand but is still relatively new in the United States. Harbison learned the technique during his head and neck surgical […]