First Chair of New Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery Named

LEXINGTON, Ky. (Aug. 5, 2011) — Dr. Raleigh O. Jones Jr., was recently appointed the first chair of the new Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery in the University of Kentucky College of Medicine. This department was recently created by the UK Board of Trustees.
 

Jones has been on faculty at UK since 1988, serving as a founding member and chief of the Division of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery.
 

“Dr. Raleigh Jones is a consummate ENT physician who has led the former Division of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery in a superb manner,” said Dr. Frederick C. de Beer, dean of the College of Medicine and vice president for clinical academic affairs. “Otolaryngology has assumed clear leadership in management of head and neck oncology in this region. It is central to the training of ENT physicians for our Commonwealth.”

The UK Board of Trustees approved the creation of the Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, effective July 1, 2011, after a committee studying the strengths and weaknesses of the program unanimously recommended that the division become a department.

The Board of Trustees indicates that when the Division of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery was founded at UK in 1988, most otolaryngology programs in the United States were divisions of a large, unified Department of Surgery. However, as medicine has changed so that surgeons of different specialties have much less in common with one another than they did in the past, and due to the increase in subspecialization, there has been less overlap with other surgical services. As the practice of the various specialties has diversified, the areas of commonality have lessened. Additionally, otolaryngology-head and neck surgery, has proven to be a regional leader in the management of head and neck oncology, in addition to its more traditional areas of nasal, sinus, ear and throat disorders, making it a prime choice for the creation of a department.

“The creation of the Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery should allow UK HealthCare to continue to grow in its missions of excellence in clinical care, education and research,” said Jones. “The Department has 13 faculty members with clinical programs headed by fellowship trained specialists in head and neck oncology, neurotology, facial plastic surgery, pediatric otolaryngology, voice and advanced sinus surgery. Our goal is to provide the finest care to all Kentuckians so that there will never be a need to seek care outside Kentucky.”

Jones attended medical school and completed his internship and residency in general surgery at UK, and completed his residency in otolaryngology at University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He also completed a fellowship in otology and neurotology with the Ear Research Foundation in Sarasota, Fla.