Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery

March 8, 2022

VUMC mourns loss of Otolaryngology’s Huang

Vanderbilt’s Shan Huang, MD, PhD, research assistant professor of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery (HNS) and an expert in device implant technology died on Feb. 10. He was 78.

By Emily Stembridge
During the pandemic, Michael Topf, MD, and Amy Whigham, MD, created virtual four-week rotations to help recruit students interested in matching into the Department of Otolaryngology’s residency program.
February 17, 2022

Virtual tours boost Otolaryngology resident recruiting

When the pandemic began, Vanderbilt’s Amy Whigham, MD, MS-HPEd, developed a plan to turn the Department of Otolaryngology’s medical student education and residency recruitment efforts into a virtual experience.

By Emily Stembridge
Thanks to the treatment she received at VUMC, Meredith Watson is able to pursue a career as a ‘professional nose.’
January 13, 2022

Treatment sharpens sense of smell for ‘professional nose’

Surgery at Vanderbilt helped 25-year-old Meredith Watson pursue her dream of becoming a professional nose — someone specially trained in combining ingredients to create fragrances.

By Jill Clendening
October 26, 2021

Lydia Gross is 100. She just piloted a plane for the first time — and she heard every sound because of her cochlear implants.

Performing an elective procedure on an older patient initially raised concerns for her doctor, David Haynes — but the results have been a resounding success

By Emily Stembridge
A new robot with a flexible camera and three different surgical instruments will allow more targeted surgeries for patients with head and neck cancers.
October 21, 2021

New robot enhances accuracy of head, neck cancer surgeries

By Emily Stembridge
The team studying smell and taste loss associated with COVID-19 includes, from left, Rakesh Chandra, MD, Justin Turner, MD, Timothy Trone, MD, and Nikita Chapurin, MD, MHS.
September 23, 2021

Study tracks smell, taste loss associated with COVID

Vanderbilt researchers are studying ways to better evaluate and predict who is at risk of persistent smell and taste loss after COVID-19 infection.

By Emily Stembridge
September 6, 2021

Medical diagnoses in musicians

Vanderbilt researchers mined electronic health records to find medical diagnoses that are more or less prevalent among musicians, who are present in large numbers in “Music City.”
By Leigh MacMillan
August 26, 2021

Obese children, young adults at higher risk for thyroid cancer

Children and young adults who are obese are at greater risk for malignant thyroid nodules, according to new study from Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt.
By Christina Echegaray
August 18, 2021

Haynes named interim chair of Otolaryngology

David Haynes, MD, has been named interim chair of the Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery (OHNS) effective July 1. He will serve in this role until Eben Rosenthal, MD, the John and Ann Doerr Medical Director and associate director of Clinical Care with Stanford Cancer Center, joins Vanderbilt University Medical Center as the department’s next chair on Oct. 11.
By Jill Clendening
August 5, 2021

O’Malley named to key Outpatient Referral Assistance role

Mathew O’Malley, MD, assistant professor of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, has been named associate medical director for Vanderbilt University Medical Center’s Office of Outpatient Referral Assistance (OORA).
By Jill Clendening
June 11, 2021

Stanford’s Eben Rosenthal named to lead VUMC’s Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery

Following a national search, Eben Rosenthal, MD, the John and Ann Doerr Medical Director and Associate Director of Clinical Care with Stanford Cancer Center, will join Vanderbilt University Medical Center Oct. 11 as chair of the Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery (OHNS).
By John Howser
April 22, 2021

A young doctor wrote of a life-or-death moment caring for a patient. The New England Journal of Medicine published it as a graphic novel.

A terrifying tale from her first weekend on call.
By Emily Stembridge
April 22, 2021

New platform helps aspiring residents showcase skills

Brandon Esianor, MD, and Madelyn Stevens, MD, both residents in the Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery (O-HNS), have developed a virtual platform for O-HNS residency applicants across the country to connect with prospective residency programs.
By Emily Stembridge