May 29, 2008
Neal Futran named chair of Otolaryngology
Dr. Neal Futran has been named the new chair of the Department of Otolaryngology/Head and Neck Surgery. Futran, professor of otolaryngology/head and neck surgery, has been serving as director of head and neck surgery at UW Medical Center. His appointment as chair is effective June 1.
Futran earned a degree in dentistry from the University of Pennsylvania, and completed training in oral surgery and earned his medical degree from the Health Science Center at Brooklyn, Downstate Medical School (State University of New York). He completed his surgical training in otolaryngology and head and neck surgery at the University of Rochester, followed by a fellowship in head and neck oncology and microvascular surgery at Mount Sinai Hospital, New York.
Futran joined the UW faculty in 1995. He is board certified in both otolaryngology and oral and maxillofacial surgery, and has extensive expertise and an active practice in microvascular reconstruction and rehabilitation of complex oncology and trauma cases. He also specializes in skull-base surgery, using both endoscopic and open approaches. Futran’s main research activities center on microvascular reconstruction of the head and neck. He is also a co-investigator on a project studying molecular profiles and gene analysis in oral carcinogenesis.
Futran has received much recognition for his work, including a UWMC Service Excellence Award, a Distinguished Service Award from the American Academy of Otolarynogolgy-Head and Neck Surgery, the Driftwood Teaching Award, and a listing in the Best Doctors in America. He is a fellow of the American Board of Otolaryngology-HNS, the American College of Surgeons, and the American Board of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery.
Futran’s predecessor, Ernest Weymuller, Jr., began his tenure as chair in 1991. Under his leadership, the department has doubled its number of faculty numbers, seen its revenue and research funding increase many times over, and expanded its national prominence in many areas. Weymuller will be devoting more time to resident education and clinical work in special sinus surgery and head and neck cancer.
