Clinicn Investigator, Full Prf Surgery, Mass General Research Institute

Eugene B. Casey Professor of Laryngeal Surgery Harvard Medical School

Visiting Surgeon Otolaryngology, Massachusetts General Hospital

Eugene B. Casey Professor of Laryngeal Surgery - Harvard Medical School & Director MGH Voice Center Massachusetts General Hospital

MD Boston University 1982

endoscopic laser surgery; glottc cancer; laryngeal diseases; laryngeal stenosis & breathing problems; laryngeal tumors and neoplasms; treatment of singers and vocalists; vocal cord cancer; vocal cord dysplasia; vocal cord paralysis & paresis; vocal cord problems; vocal cords; voice disorders; voice loss

Dr. Steven Marc Zeitels is the Eugene B. Casey Professor of Laryngeal Surgery at Harvard Medical School and the Director of the Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) Voice Center. In 2004, the first endowed professorship in Laryngeal Surgery at Harvard Medical School was created for him while he re-established a Harvard Laryngeal Surgery service at the MGH, which had not been present since the 1920s. Zeitels’ contributions to voice and laryngeal surgery are highly recognized in the USA and throughout the world. He has received more than 80 awards and honored lectureships for his achievements including the Casselberry Award, DeRoaldes Medal, and the Newcomb Award from the American Laryngological Association (founded 1878). Zeitels was the 4th surgeon in the organization’s history to win all three awards and it has been over 40 years since this was last achieved. He has also received the Chevalier Jackson Award and the Broyles Maloney Award (3 times) from the American Broncho-Esophagological Association (founded 1917), as well as the Distinguished Alumnus Award from the Boston University (BU) School of Medicine.

Zeitels has authored more than 200 scientific articles, book chapters, and videos on larynx and pharynx surgery as well as presenting over 300 papers and lectures. His Atlas of Phonomicrosurgery is one of the leading textbooks in microsurgery of the larynx. He serves or has served on the editorial board of 5 national and international journals. Zeitels has trained more than 40 specialized laryngeal surgeons who direct Voice Centers throughout the US and abroad. Additionally, he has been a visiting professor at more than 40 departments, universities, & hospitals. He was a member of the 1st class of Boston University (BU) Trustee Scholars, attended the BU accelerated medical program, and graduated from the School of Medicine in 1982. He completed the BU - Tufts combined Otolaryngology–Head and Neck Surgery (OHNS) Program in 1987 as well as a Head & Neck Surgical Oncology Fellowship at Boston University and the Boston Veterans Affairs Medical Center in 1988.

Zeitels is widely regarded as a prolific surgical innovator having designed over 30 new airway and voice restoration procedures (phonosurgery) and instruments and holds 6 patents for these innovations. He is acknowledged for pioneering novel laser applications to treat vocal cord precancerous dysplasia and cancer as well as laryngeal papillomatosis, polyps, and nodules. Zeitels is also well known for creating office-based laryngeal laser surgery.

Most notable was his introduction of angiolytic laser treatment of vocal cord cancer, which was a substantial achievement. This groundbreaking treatment evolved from Judah Folkman’s concepts of tumor angiogenesis and Rox Anderson’s theory of selective photothermolysis. Zeitels has also designed unique procedures to restore the voice of those who have had vocal paresis and paralysis.

His techniques were featured in a National Geographic Channel documentary, “The Incredible Human Machine”, which highlighted Zeitels’ microsurgery on Steven Tyler of Aerosmith. In addition, his novel surgical treatment of Roger Daltrey (The Who) just prior to his halftime performance in the 2010 Super Bowl was discussed extensively on CBS news. In 2012, there was broad international coverage of Dr. Zeitels’ unique microsurgery that restored Adele’s voice who thanked him in the acceptance of the first of her 6 Grammy Awards.

In 2013, Zeitels’ career and a number of his innovations were highlighted in a long-form biographical profile in the New Yorker Magazine: ‘A Surgeon Pioneers Methods to Help Singers Sing’. In 2012, Zeitels was listed 13 in Rolling Stone’s ‘25 Best Things in Rock Right Now’ and 14 in Fast Company’s ‘100 most Creative People’.

Zeitels’ work has been discussed extensively in print media, radio, and television both nationally and internationally [i.e. Good Morning America, Today Show, Wall Street Journal, NY and LA Times, London Sunday Times, Rolling Stone, USA Today, Vogue, Boston Globe & Herald, Bloomberg News, NPR, BBC, The Guardian, National Geographic, Nightline, Boston – New York – LA television news (CBS. NBC, ABC, FOX)].

Zeitels has also been the honored guest of many international organizations including the American Society of Pharmaceutical Scientists, British Voice Assn., Japan Laryngological Assn., European Medical Laser Assn., Pan-European Voice Conference, Collegium Medicorum Theatri, European Assn. of Phoniatricians, Australian Voice Assn., Spanish Head and Neck Society, Brazilian Society of Laryngology and Voice, New Zealand Society of Otolaryngology, Denmark Society of Laryngology, Chilean Head & Neck Society, Mexican Society of Otolaryngology, and the British Academic Conference in Otolaryngology. He has also been a visiting professor at many departments, universities, and hospitals including, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, Columbia University, University of Pennsylvania, University of Chicago, University of California (San Diego & Irvine), University of Pittsburgh, University of Texas (Dallas and Houston), University of Oregon, University of Cincinnati, University of Utah, Vanderbilt University, Pennsylvania State University, University of Alabama, University of Connecticut, University of West Virginia, University of Minnesota, University College London Hospitals, University of Navarra - Pamplona, Spain, Tel Aviv University, Israel, Auckland University, New Zealand, Kumamoto University, Japan, McGill & Dalhousie Universities, Canada, and The Juilliard School.