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The specialized practice concept had started to surface in Europe by the year 1788, when the settlement of Losantiville (the original Cincinnati) was founded. Otology and laryngology developed as distinct practices at this time. Rhinology emerged as an important discipline soon after.
At the beginning of the 19th century, Losantiville, by then renamed Cincinnati, was coming of age medically. Daniel Drake, MD, the father of Cincinnati medicine, arrived in town at age 15 to study medicine and became a one-man chamber of commerce, attracting people and industry to the area.
In December 1818, Drake appealed to the Ohio legislature to pass a law authorizing the Medical College of Ohio. The bill, passed in January of 1819, established the College, the Commercial Hospital and the Lunatic Asylum.
The following year, Drake, a distinguished oculist and skilled ophthalmic surgeon, established the Cincinnati Eye Infirmary. The institution, intended for ophthalmic patients rich or poor, also incorporated teaching of the diseases of the ear, nose and throat. The infirmary firmly established the eye, ear, nose and throat treatment as a permanent part of the curriculum at both the Medical College of Ohio and its rival institution, the Miami Medical College.
By 1850, local specialists, no doubt compelled by their comparative isolation from Europe’s scientific dominance, had traveled to clinics in Vienna, Berlin, Paris and London to continue their postgraduate education. Upon return, they further expanded the ear, nose and throat field.
By the end of the Civil War in 1865, both the Miami Medical College and the Medical College of Ohio had established professorships in otology. In 1875, the first professorship of laryngology was established at the Medical College of Ohio.
Ophthalmology and otolaryngology became separate units at the Miami Medical College in 1894. The college appointed a dynamic young surgeon, Christian R. Holmes, MD, as clinical professor of otology. Holmes was instrumental in separating the study and treatment of the eye from the ear, nose and throat. He also played a significant role in establishing the modern otolaryngology department at the University of Cincinnati Medical Center.
In 1908, after the Flexner Report (a nationwide medical education study) condemned the large number of medical schools in Cincinnati, University of Cincinnati President Edward Dabney began to negotiate a merger between the Medical College of Ohio and the Miami Medical College. After much compromise, the two merged to become the Ohio-Miami Medical College of the University of Cincinnati. The college was quartered in the McMicken College Building on Clifton Avenue.
Following the merger of Ohio-Miami Medical College and the University of Cincinnati, Holmes continued as professor of otology (1909-1919) and served as dean from 1914 to 1919. John Thompson, MD, was named professor of laryngology (1909-1918).
It was largely through Holmes' efforts that a great municipal hospital was established, the staff of which would become the faculty of a modern medical school.
Unfortunately, Holmes, who died in January 1920, did not live long enough to fully enjoy his achievement. Upon his death, his wife's family, the Fleischmanns, honored Holmes' memory by donating money to the University of Cincinnati to build Holmes Hospital. The hospital served as the operating unit for medical school faculty for many years.
By the end of the 1919s, the university had dropped the Ohio-Miami designation, and the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine assumed its current name.
In 1919, Samuel Iglauer, MD, became professor of laryngology. Under his direction, the otolaryngology department reached new prominence. His enthusiasm for learning and teaching was a constant source of stimulation for medical students, residents and specialists in the field.
In these early years of the 20th century, before antibiotics, the contagious wards at area hospitals were filled with cases of diphtheria, scarlet fever and measles. Otolaryngologists mostly treated ear and sinus infections. Mastoidectomies, radical maxillary sinus surgery, ethmoidectomies and sphenoidectomies were the most frequently performed procedures. Tonsillectomies and adenoidectomies were mainly performed by general practitioners, often on kitchen tables.
As the 1930s approached, the specialty was gaining recognition. In 1939, Kurt Tschiassny, MD, became the first full-time faculty member of the University of Cincinnati Department of Otolaryngology. Tschiassny, originally from Vienna, was a well-known otolaryngologist and physician to the Hapsburgs, rulers of the Austria-Hungarian empire. Among his most notable patients were the actress Hedy Lamarr and Sigmund Freud.
With war looming in Europe, Tschiassny immigrated to Cincinnati under the sponsorship of Iglauer. During his tenure with the department, he became a noted authority on problems of the middle and inner ear.
Entering the 1940s, with the world on the verge of war, Cincinnati’s economy was thriving. Major government contracts brought Cincinnati's industry to life. War also led to immense advancements in technology and greater opportunities to explore operative procedures. Antibiotics brought an end to acute mastoiditis and the major complications of otitis media, as well as a decline in the number of tonsillectomies and adenoidectomies.
Following Iglauer's death in 1944, Henry Goodyear, MD, a skilled otolaryngologist and associate of the late Holmes, was appointed as director of the otolaryngology department. One of the founding members (with Iglauer) of the Ear, Nose and Throat Society, Goodyear led the department during a period of exciting medical advances and discoveries.
He pioneered a more conservative approach to sinus problems and was particularly interested in allergy and its role in sinus diseases.
By the 1950s, the combinations of antibiotics, asepsis, reliable anesthesia and the operating microscope heralded a new era of treatment for diseases of the ear, nose and throat.
Advances in otology and facial paralysis brought the specialty new prominence. Surgery of the labyrinth, decompression of the facial nerve, treatment of suppuration of the petrous apex of the temporal bone and endoscopic procedures were routinely performed. Audiology became a specialty in its own right.
In 1952, with the founding of the American Academy of Otolaryngology, the separation of otolaryngology from ophthalmology was finalized.
In 1960, Victor William Fischbach, MD, was named professor and director of otolaryngology following the resignation of Goodyear.
Goodyear continued to make major contributions to the department and influenced the local medical community for many years after his retirement.
Fischbach and the department faculty continued the department’s tradition of excellence in teaching and helped develop and refine surgical techniques to reduce complications and increase success.
Otolaryngology’s broadened and in 1963, the program changed its name to the Department of Otolaryngology and Maxillofacial Surgery.
In 1962, Harry Nelson, MD, one of the oldest members of the ENT Society, died, as did Tschiassny, who succumbed after a lengthy illness. Cliff Heisel, MD, one of the last surviving early members of the ENT Society, died in 1967.
Following the untimely death of Fischbach in 1966, Donald Shumrick, MD, became the department’s first full-time chair.
Fresh from training with some of the foremost authorities in head and neck oncologic surgery, he brought great enthusiasm and excitement to the task of developing the department.
Shumrick attracted talented subspecialists to the department, particularly in the fields of otology, pediatric otolaryngology and head and neck oncology. Many of these individuals went on to develop national and international reputations in their respective fields, bringing great repute for the department and the Cincinnati otolaryngology community.
The field of otolaryngology continued to expand dramatically in scope through the 1970s and 1980s, incorporating head and neck oncologic surgery, neurotology and pediatric head and neck disorders, as well as airway problems, upper airway allergy, laser surgery and sinus surgery. The department pioneered many areas.
Shumrick co-edited the first comprehensive textbook on otolaryngology in the United States, and the department’s innovative work produced multiple presentations and publications.
Collaborative efforts with the departments of neurosurgery and radiology led to the Skull Base Team, which rapidly evolved into a major referral program. Combined tumor management and other specialized programs arose from joint efforts with other oncologists.
These new programs resulted in aggressive new faculty recruitment, including Robin Cotton, MD, Charles Myer, MD, Myles Pensak, MD, Allen Seiden, MD, Sally Shott, MD, and Kevin Shumrick, MD.
The Head and Neck Cancer Fellowship (one of only 17 accredited in the U.S.) and the Pediatric Fellowship blossomed in the 1980s. The residency became extremely competitive, and was ranked among the top programs in the country. Residents often chose to stay locally, much to the advantage of the community.
On Dec. 24, 1988, just five months shy of his 100th birthday, Henry Goodyear, MD, died, leaving a legacy of academic excellence. The last of the founding fathers of the ENT community, he had a lasting impact on those who had the pleasure of knowing him.
In 1991, Donald Shumrick, MD, stepped down as chairman of the department of otolaryngology and maxillofacial surgery and was replaced by Jack Gluckman, MD. To better reflect the activities of the department, the name changed from otolaryngology and maxillofacial surgery to otolaryngology-head and neck surgery.
Clinical programs expanded, including development of a voice laboratory, vestibular and central auditory diagnostic center and many other specialized programs. Research at the molecular level became a dominant department focus, and new clinician scientists were recruited to continue developing these programs. Research in molecular oncology, gene therapy, chemosensory dysfunction, central auditory dysfunction and the genetics of hearing loss now comprise a significant aspect of the department.
With the recruitment of Dan Choo, MD, Ravindhra Elluru, MD, John Greinwald, MD, David Steward, MD, Tom Tami, MD, Paul Willging, MD, and Keith Wilson, MD, the department is now considered one of the best programs in the country by the medical community and publications such as U.S.News & World Report, Best Doctors in America, American Health and Good Housekeeping.
Members of the faculty and department alumni have established themselves as active members of the community. Department members have received many prestigious awards and serve in leadership positions in the field’s national societies.
In December 2004, Gluckman resigned and Pensak was appointed as the H.B. Broidy professor and chair of the department of otolaryngology-head and neck surgery.
Almost 180 years after otolaryngology was first introduced in Cincinnati, the specialty continues to expand.
Today it would be almost unrecognizable to the original pioneers. And, there is every reason to believe otolaryngology will continue to flourish and the quality of care offered to the community will remain at the highest level.
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