Otology/Neurotology Fellowship Program

The Mount Sinai Neurotology Fellowship Program is a comprehensive, 2-year, ACGME-accredited training program that matches 1 fellow every 2 years. Composed of key faculty from the departments of Otolaryngology and Neurosurgery, this program is committed to training skilled, ambitious, well-rounded physicians who deliver the highest quality patient care to the diverse communities we serve. Through exposure to the most advanced technology and surgical techniques available, ground-breaking research, and innovative approaches to education, this program fosters a culture of collaboration and growth, aimed at producing leaders in the field of Neurotology.

The Surgical Experience

The primary focus of the neurotology fellow is to perform key indicator neurotologic cases across the Mount Sinai Health System, with priority given to skull base surgical approaches and tumor resection cases. The fellow will interact closely with all members of the lateral skull base team, including neurosurgical and neurotology faculty, advanced practice providers (such as nurse practitioners), other subspecialty fellows during multidisciplinary cases, pre- and post-operative patient care and decision-making, and conferences/didactics. Specific surgical scope includes:

• Translabyrinthine, retrosigmoid and middle fossa approaches to the skull base, internal auditory canal and cerebellopontine angle
• Resection of skull base tumors, including vestibular schwannoma, meningioma, paraganglioma, facial schwannoma, squamous cell carcinoma, cholesteatoma
• Temporal bone resection
• Repair of cerebral spinal fluid leak
• Rehabilitative surgery, including cochlear implantation, bone anchored implantation, atresia surgery, ossicular reconstruction, stapedectomy
• Facial nerve decompression
• Middle ear and mastoid surgery

The Educational Program

The significant resources and expertise available within the Mount Sinai Health System creates a robust, interdisciplinary educational conference opportunity, each of which emphasize cooperative diagnostic and management across the breadth of neurotologic disease. Fellows participate in and present at a variety of conferences including, neurotology fellow conference, interdisciplinary clinical skull base conference, vestibular case conference, cochlear implant conference and others. The fellow will also participate in resident didactic education, including the temporal bone dissection course and the international, annual endoscopic middle ear dissection course.

The Service Contribution

There are no official on-call responsibilities for the neurotology fellow. Fellows may choose to round on neurotology inpatients with the on-call otolaryngology team on one weekend day and may choose to participate in urgent on-call neurotology procedures with the responsible neurotology attending.

The Weekly Schedule

Clinical sites:

Mount Sinai Hospital, New York Eye and Ear of Mount Sinai, Mount Sinai West, Elmhurst Hospital

The bulk of the inpatient neurotology cases occur at Mount Sinai Hospital, in combination with the neurosurgical team. The majority of outpatient otology/neurotology occurs at the New York Eye and Ear of Mount Sinai. Faculty office hours occur at both Mount Sinai Hospital and the Ear Institute of NYEE of Mount Sinai. Additionally, the fellow may participate in surgical cases at Mount Sinai West and Elmhurst hospital, on a case-by-case basis.

Elective rotations:

1. Adult and pediatric audiology
2. Hearing rehabilitation, including amplification, bone anchored and cochlear implantation
3. Vestibular testing
4. Neuroradiology
5. Neurology, including oto-neurologist (focused on diagnosis and management of central vestibular disorders) and headache team
6. Stereotactic radiosurgery
7. Neuropathology
8. Neuro-ophthalmology
9. Vestibular rehabilitation