WINTER 2024

In the new structure, these individuals are now officially under the umbrella of the department as it relates to quality and clinical care operations.  April Shera, MD and Melissa Schmidt, PA-C are primarily based in the West Bend area, and Katie Hoppe, MD ’14 and Jessica Alles FNP-C practice in Kenosha.  We also are excited to have Dan Hambrook, MD who is a medical allergist practicing in Menomonee Falls and West Bend join our community division as well! 

We are fortunate to have such a collegial and top-notch team of physicians and APPs serving our communities and joining together with the faculty who are largely based in the greater Milwaukee area.

I hope you enjoy this newest edition of the newsletter.  We would love to hear from you and please let us know if you are planning on visiting the Milwaukee area.

Best Evidence ENT 2024: Integrative Wellness for Patients and Clinicians

The Department is excited to return to the American Club Resort Hotel in Kohler, Wisconsin on July 28-30 for Best Evidence ENT 2024: Integrative Health and Wellness for Patients and Clinicians. Promoting health and wellness is crucial for fostering individual well-being, preventing diseases, reducing healthcare costs, and contributing to the overall development and prosperity of society. Best Evidence ENT 2024 will address key strategies for integrative health and wellness for patients and clinicians in defined sessions highlighted below and will offer up to 13.25 AMA PRA Category 1 Credits™.

Recognizing the interconnectedness of nutrition, microbiome, and lifestyle empowers individuals to make informed choices that positively impact their health. This session will cover topics integrating this understanding into otolaryngology practice to promote a comprehensive approach to well-being and disease prevention.

Taking care of yourself is not selfish; it is a fundamental aspect of being able to provide effective care to others. By prioritizing caregiver wellness, you can sustain your health and resilience and avoid burnout. This session includes a guest speaker who specializes in the practice and facilitation of mindfulness. The conference keynote address will be given by Jesse M. Ehrenfeld, MD, MPH, President of the American Medical Association, and a Senior Associate Dean and Director of the “Advancing a Healthier Wisconsin Endowment” at the Medical College of Wisconsin. Rounding out the session, a lunch-and-learn offers added information related to breathing, sleep, and longevity.

Physical wellness refers to the overall health and well-being of the body. This session starts with a stretching specialist who will provide a safe and appropriate approach to stretching and ends with a presentation on ergonomics and how changes in the operating room can benefit the surgeon. Adopting a balanced and healthy lifestyle leads to improved physical wellness, increased energy levels, and a higher quality of life.

Maintaining auditory health in the modern age requires personal responsibility, environmental considerations, and access to healthcare resources. Adopting preventive measures and making informed choices about technology use can contribute to the preservation of hearing and overall auditory well-being.

A second lunch and learn before the conference wraps up will cover various alternative therapeutics for recurrent otitis media, laryngeal issues, and nasal complaints.

The entire schedule and registration information for Best Evidence ENT 2024 can be found at www.BestEvidenceENT.com, or contact dfiscus@mcw.edu.

New Faculty

Ryan Puccia, MD GME ’22 joined the faculty of the Division of Facial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery in 2023. Dr. Puccia is originally from Indiana. He earned his bachelor’s degree in biochemistry from Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, and then returned to Indiana University for medical school where he earned his MD. Dr. Puccia completed his residency in otolaryngology at the Medical College of Wisconsin (MCW) before completing a fellowship in Facial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery at the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston.

Dr. Puccia’s clinical focus spans the breadth of comprehensive otolaryngology and facial plastic and reconstructive surgery. He specializes in nasal airway surgery (cosmetic and functional), facial paralysis surgery, eyelid surgery, ear reshaping, scar revision, surgical and non-surgical treatment for facial rejuvenation, and management of facial trauma.

Dr. Puccia treats both adult and pediatric patients at the Froedtert & MCW FORME Aesthetic and Vein Center. He can be reached at 414-955-0851.

Lauren North, MD ’17, GME ’22 returned to the Medical College of Wisconsin (MCW) in 2023 as an assistant professor in the Division of Rhinology and Skull Base Surgery. Dr. North is a native of Wisconsin who earned her BS in genetics at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. After a short stint as a research technologist at the Medical College, she continued there for both medical school and otolaryngology residency. She then completed a fellowship in rhinology and skull base surgery at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center.

Dr. North has a special interest in endoscopic and minimally invasive skull base surgery to treat sinonasal and skull base tumors. She also specializes in endoscopic surgery to treat various stages of rhinosinusitis. Her research interests include understanding and improving peri-operative outcomes for patients undergoing skull base surgery.

Dr. North sees patients of all ages at the Center for Advanced Care at Froedtert Hospital in Milwaukee and the Town Hall Clinic at Froedtert Menomonee Falls. Her practice is a mix of comprehensive otolaryngology, facial trauma, advanced sinus surgery, sinonasal tumors, and skull base surgery. She can be reached at 414-805-5754.

Michael Gorelik, MD joined the Division of Pediatric Otolaryngology in 2023 as an assistant professor. Dr. Gorelik received his MD from Tufts University School of Medicine in Boston. He completed his residency in otolaryngology at the University of Illinois-Chicago, and his pediatric fellowship at the Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago.

Dr. Gorelik’s practice encompasses both complex and general pediatric otolaryngology, and he has a particular interest in pediatric airway and aerodigestive problems, refractory sleep surgery, management of congenital and malignant head and neck lesions, sinus surgery, and endoscopic ear surgery.

Dr. Gorelik sees patients at the Children’s Wisconsin clinics in Milwaukee, Mequon, and Kenosha. He can be reached at 414-266-647.

Valerie Flanary, MD GME ’92
Recipient of the 2023 Dr. and Mrs. Thomas M. Kidder Faculty Mentor Award.
Elected Chair-elect of the Women in Otolaryngology Section of the American Academy of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery (AA0-HNS).
Elected Vice President-elect of the Middle Section of The Triological Society and was awarded a 2023 Vice Presidential Citation.

David Friedland, MD, PhD
Serving an 8-year term on the Council of the American Otological Society, and Secretary/Treasurer-elect.
Received the 2023 Saul Horowitz, Jr. Alumni Award from the Mount Sinai Icahn School of Medicine in New York.

Michael Harris, MD ’08
Appointed to the Hearing & Speech Examining Board for the State of Wisconsin.
Appointed to the Acoustic Neuroma Association Medical Advisory Board.

John Rhee, MD, MPH ’04, MBA
Elected by the AAO-HNS to serve in the leadership role of At-Large Director (Academic).
Selected as an Active Diplomate of the American Board of Medical Specialties (ABMS) Stakeholder Council. 

Cecille Sulman, MD
Elected President-elect of the Society of Ear, Nose, and Throat Advancement in Children (SENTAC).

Joseph Zenga, MD
Awarded the 2023 Froedtert Hospital President’s Clinical Improvement Research Award. 
Awarded R21 funding from the National Institutes of Health for his grant, ‘Determining the role of the SDF-1/CXCR4 pathway and its intersection with chronic stress to establish novel precision approaches to head and neck cancer management.

Pediatric Obstructive Sleep Apnea Options for Down Syndrome

Children with a history of Down syndrome are at greater risk for sleep apnea even if the tonsils and adenoids are removed.  For those patients, a sleep endoscopy under anesthesia helps determine if they are a candidate for treatment with the Inspire Medical system.

Inspire Medical Systems Inc.’s minimally invasive hypoglossal nerve stimulation device was initially FDA-approved to treat severe obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) in adult patients in 2014 and is now available to appropriately selected patients with Down syndrome as young as 13.

Although continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) remains the gold standard for treating severe OSA many children and adolescents with Down syndrome struggle with wearing the CPAP mask at night. With the Inspire Medical system, which is an implantable device to help trigger breathing when obstruction happens, there is a 53% reduction in sleep apnea events in children with Down syndrome.

Children with sleep apnea after tonsil and adenoid removal are evaluated in the Alternatives to CPAP Clinic at Children’s Wisconsin. We will be able to offer this procedure very soon to those who meet these criteria. If you would like information regarding the Inspire Medical system, contact Deb Anderson, BSN, RN, CCM, Sleep Center Program Coordinator, Children’s Wisconsin at 414-266-6738.

--Cecille Sulman, MD

The Campbell Family Narrative Medicine Fund

MCW Otolaryngology alum and long-term faculty member Bruce Campbell, MD, FACS GME ’85 was always a bit of a storyteller and, even in retirement, he hopes the stories will continue. That explains why Bruce and his wife, Kathi, created the Campbell Family Narrative Medicine Fund to build a critical mass of narratively-trained experts at MCW.

Throughout his training, Bruce was passionate about medical writing. As a student and resident, he was inspired by physician-writers like Richard Selzer, Lewis Thomas, William Osler, Anton Chekov, William Carlos Williams, Loyal Davis, Dr. X, and Stephen Bergman.

In 2007, he started his long-running blog, Reflections in a Head Mirror, on the Froedtert Hospital website. He published in journals and literary magazines, including four “Piece of My Mind” essays in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) and humor and fiction in The Examined Life Journal. He collected many of his favorite essays into a book, A Fullness of Uncertain Significance: Stories of Surgery, Clarity, and Grace which was published in 2021 by Ten16 Press.

As an educator, Bruce sought additional training in narrative medicine at Columbia University and put his new skills to work. He is a faculty advisor for MCW’s MedMoth storytelling event and for Auscult, MCW's literary journal. He is a nonfiction editor for Intima: A Journal of Narrative Medicine. He created student and resident narrative sessions and taught an elective medical humanities course. He co-facilitates MCW’s writing group, The Moving Pens. He was founding editor of the weekly Transformational Times newsletter and edited two volumes of Transformational Times essays.

Each opportunity strengthened his belief that narrative skills are critical, not only for communication, but for the wellbeing of both patients and physicians because narrative medicine, as a discipline, improves the caregiver’s ability to appreciate the larger context of illness. The learner focuses intently on the patient’s story, shares it effectively with others and, by instinctively affiliating with others, becomes the patient’s advocate.

When he retired from clinical practice in 2023, Bruce sought ways to build on the work he had started. “Sustained funding for the medical humanities is hard to come by,” Bruce says. “The Campbell Family Fund will provide unique opportunities for motivated young MCW faculty committed to bringing narrative perspectives into medical education. The Fund will impact students, patients, and providers.” 

The Campbells hope that the Fund will inspire donors who see the value of creating a healthcare workforce that responds to the stories of those who suffer.

If you would like to honor Dr. Campbell’s legacy, visit MCW’s donation website (https://mcwsupport.mcw.edu/makeagift), select "Gift Designation," choose "Other," and add "Campbell Family Narrative Fund" in the box. Donors can also contact Hailey Hennessy, Director of Development, at hhennessy@mcw.edu.

To learn more about Dr. Campbell’s career and to read some of his recent essays, visit his website at www.BruceCampbellMD.com. You can contact him at brucecampbell310@gmail.com.

--Bruce Campbell, MD

Dr. Bruce Campbell and his wife, Kathi in Nairobi.

AAO-HNS Annual Meeting - Nashville, TN

MCW Otolaryngology had a substantial presence at the October 2023 Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery in Nashville! In addition to numerous oral and poster presentations, Valerie Flanary, MD GME ’94 and Joseph Zenga, MD were featured in the Academy’s daily digital news for their respective roles in advancing health equity and infection control. Department Chair, John Rhee, MD, MPH ’04, MBA, was selected as an Active Diplomate of the American Board of Medical Specialties (ABMS) Stakeholder Council.

In addition, the MCW Otolaryngology Alumni Reception returned in 2023! The Department hopes that this alumni reception will continue to be an annual occurrence. Feedback regarding the reception can be directed to dfiscus@mcw.edu.

From left: Sammy Laprade, MD (PGY3), Sophie Shay, MD with MS4 student Tina Lam and Valerie Flanary, MD. 

Education Updates

MCW Otolaryngology Residency Update from the Program Director

It has been another amazing year for our residency program.  The program is buzzing with excitement as five of our female residents are pregnant and expecting the birth of their first child in March and April.  It has been so rewarding to see our department and residency program come together to celebrate and support each of these amazing residents.  Our MCW family is expanding!!

December saw the return of in-person residency applicant interviews at MCW.  It was an energizing weekend for our whole department.  We had the privilege of interviewing 45 exceptional candidates over two days.  Tours of our facilities and hospitals, a real estate tour of Milwaukee, and a great dinner overlooking the Fiserv Forum with our current residents were some of the highlights of the weekend.  It was wonderful to see the future of otolaryngology and have them see and learn about our fantastic department in Milwaukee.  The interview cycle continues to change each year.  This year, applicants were able to “signal” 25 programs that they were most interested in.  The goals of reducing the application load on applicants as well as making it easier for residency programs to only interview candidates who are seriously interested in their program were highly successful.  We are so excited to hear who we will match in March! 

It has also been stimulating to see all the interest in otolaryngology within our medical school.  This year we had nine MCW M4 students who are applying for otolaryngology spots.  This interest can be attributed to the hard work of Jonathan Bock, MD ’01 and Sophie Shay, MD our medical student otolaryngology clerkship directors.  Each year we have more and more students excited about making otolaryngology their future career.  The outlook is bright for our specialty!

--Thomas Robey, MD

Where are the 2023 Graduates?

Kenneth Akakpo, MD – Head & Neck Surgical Oncology & Reconstructive Surgery Fellowship, Johns Hopkins Medicine, Baltimore, MD

Kayleigh Stabenau, MD – Arizona Program for Exploration (APEX) Aerospace Medicine and Surgery, Banner University Medical Center/University of Arizona College of Medicine, Phoenix, AZ

Adam Thompson-Harvey, MD – Neurotology fellowship, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA

Where will the 2024 Graduates go?

Erin Harvey, MD – Neurotology Fellowship, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, SC

Rebecca Rohde, MD – Academic Comprehensive Otolaryngology Practice, Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, WI

Abigail Thomas, MD – Facial Plastic & Reconstructive Surgery Fellowship, Dr. Dean Toriumi and Rush University, Chicago, IL

 2022-2023 Resident Highlights

At Otolaryngology Research Day in June 2023, the Lee G. Ebey Award for best resident manuscript was awarded to Erin Harvey, MD for her paper, Chronic tympanic membrane perforation repair with a collagen-based scaffold: an in vivo model. Marc Drake, MD also received recognition for his oral presentation, Cost of pediatric laryngotracheal reconstruction:  differences between single- versus double-stage procedure.

Kenneth Akakpo, MD was awarded the 2023 Dr. and Mrs. Thomas M. Kidder Resident Mentor Award.

Ken Akakpo MD received a grant from The Panacea Financial Foundation to help offset burdens during postgraduate training. Dr. Akakpo was also chosen by the AAO‐HNSF Humanitarian Efforts Committee to receive a humanitarian travel grant. This grant supported Dr. Akakpo’s outreach from January 25 to February 9, 2023, when he traveled with MCW faculty, Chris Long, MD ’96, GME ’01 to in Ibajay, Aklan in the Philippines.

Kaleigh Stabenau, MD matched into the Arizona Program for Exploration (APEX) Aerospace Medicine and Surgery fellowship as their inaugural fellow starting July 2023. This is a unique opportunity and represents the first fellowship training program in the United States that goes beyond primary care medical oversight of astronauts, teaching aerospace surgery and procedural skills for aerospace missions. Fellowship graduates will be eligible for board certification in Aerospace Medicine and designation as Flight Surgeon.

Anna Berezovsky, MD was awarded an American Society of Pediatric Otolaryngology (ASPO) mini mentorship at Children’s Minnesota.

Pictured left is Erin Harvey, MD (PGY5) presenting at ASPO and pictured right is Kaleigh Stabenau, MD (2023 Resident Graduate).

Pediatric Otolaryngology Fellowship

2022-2023 Pediatric Otolaryngology Fellow, Axel Shum, MD GME ’22 is pursuing a second fellowship in sleep medicine at MCW for the 2023-2024 year.

Henya Sandhous, DO, a graduate of the Touro College of Osteopathic Medicine in New York, completed her otolaryngology residency at Southern Illinois University and is currently enrolled as the 2023-2024 Pediatric Otolaryngology Fellow at Children’s Wisconsin and MCW.

Facial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery Fellowship

2022-2023 Facial Plastic Fellow, Dominic Catalano, MD joined a private practice in Greenville, North Carolina.

Tate Naylor, MD, who received an MD from the University of Tennessee followed by completion of an otolaryngology residency at the same is the current Facial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery Fellow.

The fellowship matched with Alexander Michael, MD for 2024-2025. Dr. Michael received his MD from Temple University and is currently completing his otolaryngology residency at the University of Iowa.

The Department would like to thank otolaryngology alumni and community otolaryngologists who have answered our call to teach M1 or M2 medical students in early clinical courses. Thanks go out to the following who have joined us in teaching physical exam skills, communication skills, clinical reasoning, and more!

View the faculty listing of the Department of Otolaryngology & Communication Sciences.
If you have questions concerning this publication, please contact alschwab@mcw.edu.

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