George Wanna, MD, FACS, Appointed Site Chair of the Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery at New York Eye and Ear Infirmary of Mount Sinai and Mount Sinai Beth Israel
George Wanna, MD, an internationally renowned hearing and balance surgeon and researcher, has been named the Site Chair of the Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery at the New York Eye and Ear Infirmary of Mount Sinai (NYEE) and Mount Sinai Beth Israel. He will also serve as Chief of the Division of Otology-Neurotology and Director of the Center for Hearing and Balance and Ear Institute for the Mount Sinai Health System.
He brings an extensive research background that focuses on less invasive, safer, and more accurate access to surgical sites within the skull through image-guided surgical techniques. Dr. Wanna also has vast expertise in skull base surgery, cochlear implants with hearing preservation, and endoscopic ear surgery.
“NYEE is delighted to have a physician with the expertise of Dr. Wanna to lead Mount Sinai’s otolaryngology program in downtown Manhattan, and expand our clinical services, research, and education,” said James C. Tsai, MD, MBA, Delafield-Rodgers Professor and System Chair, Department of Ophthalmology, Mount Sinai Health System, and President, NYEE. “We are excited about his vision for growing our ENT program, which is a critical part of NYEE’s success, and are confident he is the ideal person to do so.”
“Dr. Wanna brings decades worth of experience in innovative technology for hearing and balance patients, and his work in endoscopic ear surgery has eliminated the need for open surgeries, which improves patient outcomes and decreases the recovery time,” said Eric M. Genden, MD, FACS, Dr. Isidore Friesner Professor and Chair, Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery at the Mount Sinai Health System. “The recruitment of Dr. Wanna demonstrates that Mount Sinai will continue to play a dominant role in hearing and balance in both clinical programs and research.”
“I am excited to have this opportunity to be part of the Mount Sinai Health System, where I will create the first endoscopic ear surgery program in New York City that will provide patients with minimally invasive surgery and enhance resident education,” Dr. Wanna said. “I look forward to working alongside the talented faculty at NYEE and collaborating closely with Mount Sinai’s Skull Base Surgery Center, where I will bring my expertise in neurotology and lateral skull base surgery to bolster its already existing comprehensive care.”
Dr. Wanna serves as Director at Large for the North American Skull Base Society and was recently inducted into the Collegium Oto-Rhino-Laryngologicum Amicitiae Sacrum. He is a recipient of the Harris P. Mosher Award for excellence in the study, teaching, and practice of otolaryngology from the Triological Society for his work on cochlear implants. Dr. Wanna has published more than 100 manuscripts in peer-reviewed journals and is the editor of four books on tumors of the ears, glomus jugulare paraganglioma, and cochlear implants.
Prior to this appointment, Dr. Wanna was an Associate Professor in the Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery at Vanderbilt Medical Center and Program Co-Director of the Otology-Neurotology Fellowship at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee.
Dr. Wanna received his medical degree from Lebanese University. He completed his residency training in otolaryngology-head and neck surgery at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, and a two-year fellowship in neurotology at Vanderbilt University Hospital.
About the Mount Sinai Health System
Mount Sinai Health System is one of the largest academic medical systems in the New York metro area, with more than 43,000 employees working across eight hospitals, over 400 outpatient practices, nearly 300 labs, a school of nursing, and a leading school of medicine and graduate education. Mount Sinai advances health for all people, everywhere, by taking on the most complex health care challenges of our time — discovering and applying new scientific learning and knowledge; developing safer, more effective treatments; educating the next generation of medical leaders and innovators; and supporting local communities by delivering high-quality care to all who need it.
Through the integration of its hospitals, labs, and schools, Mount Sinai offers comprehensive health care solutions from birth through geriatrics, leveraging innovative approaches such as artificial intelligence and informatics while keeping patients’ medical and emotional needs at the center of all treatment. The Health System includes approximately 7,300 primary and specialty care physicians; 13 joint-venture outpatient surgery centers throughout the five boroughs of New York City, Westchester, Long Island, and Florida; and more than 30 affiliated community health centers. We are consistently ranked by U.S. News & World Report's Best Hospitals, receiving high "Honor Roll" status, and are highly ranked: No. 1 in Geriatrics and top 20 in Cardiology/Heart Surgery, Diabetes/Endocrinology, Gastroenterology/GI Surgery, Neurology/Neurosurgery, Orthopedics, Pulmonology/Lung Surgery, Rehabilitation, and Urology. New York Eye and Ear Infirmary of Mount Sinai is ranked No. 12 in Ophthalmology. U.S. News & World Report’s “Best Children’s Hospitals” ranks Mount Sinai Kravis Children's Hospital among the country’s best in several pediatric specialties.
For more information, visit https://www.mountsinai.org or find Mount Sinai on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.