Dear Colleagues,

I'm pleased, once again, to bring you the Penn Otorhinolaryngology – Head and Neck Surgery Newsletter.

The department comprises a unique group of specialists pursuing boundary-breaking goals in virtually every area of otorhinolaryngology. For this edition, we've focused on the advanced medical, surgical, and rehabilitative care Penn ENT is able to provide thyroid cancer patients.

Ara Chalian, MD, Professor of surgery at Penn Otorhinolaryngology – Head and Neck Surgery, confronts thyroid cancer as both a surgeon and clinical investigator. Dr. Chalian outlines the advanced treatment options available at Penn ENT and stresses the program's mission to perform these necessary procedures while preserving function and aesthetics for patients.

For more than a decade, Penn ENT has been home to one of the nation's leading clinical and research programs for advanced or metastatic radioactive iodine refractory differentiated thyroid cancer. Director of the Penn Thyroid Cancer Therapeutics Program, Marcia Brose, MD, is widely regarded as a pioneer in the field of thyroid cancer oncology for her work in the tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs). Dr Brose's contributions to several generations of TKIs for RAI-resistant thyroid cancer are reviewed in this issue.

Not just focused on exceptional medical and surgical management of thyroid cancer, Penn ENT has also developed a robust voice rehabilitation program for thyroid cancer patients. The mission of the Penn Center for Voice, Speech and Swallowing (CVSS), and its director Natasha Mirza, MD, is to restore these patients to levels of vocal function approaching their pre-cancer condition, and enabling their return to the normal interactions of daily life and work.

I trust you will find this issue engaging and look forward to sharing more exciting clinical advances from Penn ENT in the future.

Regards,
Bert W. O'Malley, Jr., MD
Gabriel Tucker Professor and Chair, Dept of Otorhinolaryngology – Head and Neck Surgery
Vice President, Director Physician Network Development
Physician Executive, Penn Specialty Physicians
The University of Pennsylvania Health System

Penn OTO Complex Case Studies

These actual case reports in Penn's complex cases series reveal the intricacy, sophistication, and complexity of the surgeries performed every day at Penn Otorhinolaryngology — Head and Neck Surgery.

  • Grafting surgery

    Thyroid Cancer Surgery

    The surgical treatment of thyroid cancer at Penn Medicine is distinguished by an institutional commitment to all patients with the disease.

  • Thyroid illustration teaser image

    Kinase Inhibitor Therapy for Thyroid Cancer

    Thyroid Cancer Treatment Success Continues at Penn Medicine.

  • Illustration of vocal chord

    Voice Restoration

    Up to a quarter of patients treated for thyroid cancer will experience issues with vocal tone, pitch, endurance and resonance in the months following surgery and radiation therapy.

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