Department of Otolaryngology

The Department of Otolaryngology–Head & Neck Surgery at Washington University in St. Louis has a rich, 130-year history of leadership in our field that is built on the foundations of academic medicine: patient care, research, training and service. Our past leaders include luminaries in the field of otolaryngology, such as John Blasdel Shapleigh, MD; Greenfield Sluder, MD; Lee Wallace Dean, MD; Theodore Walsh, MD; Joseph Ogura, MD; John Fredrickson, MD; Richard A. Chole, MD, PhD; and, presently, Craig A. Buchman, MD, FACS. Even from our earliest days — prior to the inception of the McMillan Eye, Ear, Nose and Throat Hospital (circa 1943) — excellence has been an integral part of the department's fabric. A look at former faculty and program graduates reveals many of the true innovators in our field. While we remain humbled by our beginnings and past achievements, we choose not to rest on our laurels. Rather, we aspire to further our commitment to improving patients' lives by leading our field and its clinical application.

Today, more than ever, we are driven to provide highest-quality, cutting-edge patient care that is both safe and effective. Our Washington University physicians and team, together with our Honor Roll Award–winning hospital, Barnes-Jewish Hospital (U.S. News, 2023-24), are second to none when it comes to tackling the full spectrum of conditions involving the ear, nose, throat, head and neck. Our basic, translational and clinical research programs are remarkable, providing answers to a variety of relevant questions that build on our foundations of knowledge, lay the groundwork for future clinical trials, and provide state-of-the-art patient solutions. Our educational programs for medical and graduate students, physicians in training, and established practitioners are committed to creating a culture of lifelong learning that firmly establishes our next generation of leaders in the field. Our residency program is highly rated by all metrics, providing balanced training across the clinical subspecialties and unique opportunities for growth and development as clinician-scientists (R25 training grant) and educators. We are most proud that these activities are ongoing in a work culture that values collegiality, inclusiveness, diversity and mutual respect. The Department of Otolaryngology–Head & Neck Surgery at Washington University in St. Louis is a truly outstanding place!

CID at Washington University School of Medicine (Department of Otolaryngology–Head & Neck Surgery) is a consortium of graduate education, research, and clinical programs born out of the pioneering efforts of St. Louis physician Max Goldstein, MD. In 1914, he founded the Central Institute for the Deaf (CID), where doctors and teachers worked together to help deaf people. When CID's school building opened two years later, its auditory/oral methods for instructing deaf children were groundbreaking.

Washington University and CID first joined forces in 1931, when CID's established teacher training program became the first deaf education undergraduate program to affiliate with a university. Graduate programs in deaf education, audiology, and speech and hearing sciences soon followed.

Beginning in the 1930s, CID's research efforts involved the study of the anatomy and science of hearing. During World War II, CID's research on hearing loss in military personnel laid the foundation for the field of audiology. CID also pioneered hearing testing and hearing aids, and it opened the country's first hearing aid clinic in 1941. In September 2003, a new affiliation transferred CID's graduate degree programs, research programs and adult audiology clinic — along with its building — to Washington University School of Medicine. The CID school continues to operate on the School of Medicine campus as CID — Central Institute for the Deaf.

Today, these programs continue to work together to fulfill a shared mission to serve people with hearing loss.

Contact Info

Website:http://oto.wustl.edu