Welcome to the Pittsburgh Ear Associates comprehensive otology fellowship! We thank you for your interest in our program and are excited to share our training experience with you. Our 1-year comprehensive otology fellowship has been training fellows every year since 2003. Fellows from our program have gone on to practice in a variety of healthcare settings ranging from large academic medical centers to single specialty private practices.
Our practice is privately owned but affiliated with Allegheny General Hospital. Fellows will work with two fellowship trained Neurotologists in the clinic and operating room. Fellows will typically operate 3-4 days a week with the remaining time spent in clinic. We are the primary otology training site for residents at Allegheny General Hospital and several external otolaryngology residency programs. There will be one otology resident present on service year-round. The fellow will act in a supervisory role for the residents both in the operating room and on the inpatient units. The fellow and resident will serve as the primary contact for otology consults in the hospital. The fellow is not required to take any “general” ENT call. Weekend consult responsibilities will be split between the fellow and resident. The attending physician will be available for all complex and operative consults.
We have a busy clinical practice that encompasses the full breadth of otology including stapes surgery, middle ear/mastoid surgery, and chronic ear disease. We also have a robust cochlear implant practice and perform ~50 implants per year. The fellow will also have extensive exposure to complex neurotology including the surgical management of acoustic neuromas, encephaloceles, and superior canal dehiscence in conjunction with our neurosurgery colleagues at Allegheny General Hospital. We are closely involved in the surgical and clinical management of acoustic neuroma patients with approximately 80-90% of tumors being managed with the translabyrinthine approach. We do have a full balance center including rotary chair, VNG, and VEMP testing. Fellows can spend time with the audiologists in the balance center to expand their knowledge on vestibular testing and the nuances of establishing a comprehensive balance center.
The practice does have a large clinical database which lends itself to chart reviews and surgical outcomes research. We do expect the fellow to be involved in research projects and be able to complete a project that can be presented at a national meeting by the end of their training period.
Applications are accepted throughout the year. Please note that we typically interview residents early in their PGY4 year if they hope to start their fellowship upon graduation. Please email your CV and three letters of recommendation to [email protected]. Fellows must be eligible to obtain a full unrestricted Pennsylvania medical licenseas they will be independently billing on inpatient consults.
Expected fellowship experience (1 year case log)
Tympanoplasty/ossicular chain reconstruction: 150
Stapedectomy: 40
Tympanomastoidectomy: 60
Cochlear implant: 50
Acoustic neuroma/skull base tumors: 25
Vestibular surgery (endolymphatic sac, labyrinthectomy, and vestibular nerve section): 20
Encephaloceles: 20