About

Jeffrey D. Suh, MD, is a Professor of Clinical Head and Neck Surgery at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA and an Attending Surgeon in the Division of Head and Neck Surgery at UCLA. He specializes in rhinology, sinus, and skull base surgery, with a focus on revision and complex sinus procedures, as well as state-of-the-art endoscopic management of sinus and cranial base lesions including tumors, cerebrospinal fluid leaks, and encephaloceles. Dr. Suh received his medical degree from UCLA School of Medicine in 2003, completed his residency in Otolaryngology at UCLA, and further specialized through a fellowship in rhinology and skull base surgery at the University of Pennsylvania. He is fellowship trained in complex sinus and endoscopic cranial base surgery and has authored over 140 peer-reviewed articles and book chapters in the fields of sinus disease and head and neck surgery. Dr. Suh is also the co-editor of the textbook Sinonasal Tumors and lectures nationally and internationally on endoscopic management of sinus and skull base tumors and novel treatments for recalcitrant sinusitis. His professional memberships include the American Rhinologic Society, the American Academy of Otolaryngology-Head & Neck Surgery, the North American Skull Base Society, and the Pacific Coast Oto-Ophthalmological Society. His research interests encompass minimally invasive approaches to sinus and skull base tumors, targeted therapy for sinonasal inverted papilloma, functional outcomes in endoscopic skull base surgery, etiology and management of CSF rhinorrhea, topical medications for sinusitis, and novel therapeutics for chronic rhinosinusitis. Dr. Suh is committed to providing high-quality patient care and is actively involved in academic and clinical research.

Research topics

• Medicine
• Internal medicine
• Surgery
• Oncology
• Pathology
• Anesthesia
• Biotechnology
• Family medicine
• Biology
• Genetics
• Gynecology

Selected publications

• Minimal Clinically Important Difference of the Sinonasal Outcome Test in Sinonasal Malignancy

  Annals of Otology Rhinology & Laryngology · 2026-03-25

  article

  Background: Sinonasal malignancies (SNM) are rare cancers associated with poor prognosis and impaired quality of life (QOL). The 22-question Sino-Nasal Outcome Test (SNOT-22) has been used to assess QOL in patients with SNM. Objective: To determine the minimal clinically important difference (MCID) for the SNOT-22 in patients with SNM. Methods: About 264 patients with SNM were drawn from a prospective, longitudinal, multi-institutional study. SNOT-22 scores were collected at pre-treatment baseline and follow-up through 5 years post-treatment. Cronbach’s alpha was used to assess the internal consistency of the SNOT-22. Distribution-based approaches were used to estimate the MCID. Multivariable regression identified factors associated with SNOT-22 improvement exceeding the determined MCID. Results: Cronbach’s alpha was >.85. The estimated MCIDs were: 1.44 (Cohen’s effect size), 1.32 (standard error of the mean), 10.45 (1/2 of baseline standard deviation), and 3.67 (minimum detectable change). The mean MCID across methods was 4.22. Multivariable regression demonstrated higher odds of clinically meaningful improvement from baseline in patients with early-stage disease (odds ratio (OR) 3.510, P = .035), no neck irradiation (OR 11.050, P = .014), and neoadjuvant therapy (OR 16.667, P = .047). Conclusions: The SNOT-22 MCID was estimated as 4.22 in a large multi-center cohort of patients with SNM, suggesting that relatively small QOL changes are clinically relevant. When applying the MCID to the current cohort, advanced stage, treatment of neck disease, and not requiring neoadjuvant therapy were predictive of worse QOL.

  PublisherDOI

• Reassessing Routine Postoperative Imaging in Acromegaly: Insights from a Cohort with Biochemical Remission

  Surgeries · 2026-03-26

  articleOpen access

  Background: Postoperative evaluation for growth hormone-producing pituitary tumors entails assessing remission via biochemical markers alongside MRI to detect residual tumors. While postoperative imaging provides important anatomical information regarding potential residual tumor, it is reasonable to ask if imaging offers largely redundant data when biochemical remission is already established. This study aimed to determine the clinical utility of post-surgical surveillance imaging in patients who achieved biochemical remission with normal age- and sex-matched IGF-1 at ~3 months postoperatively. Furthermore, we sought to evaluate the long-term durability of biochemical control in this patient subset. Methods: We conducted a retrospective analysis on patients who underwent endoscopic endonasal approach surgery for acromegaly and had a minimum of 3 years of follow-up clinical, biochemical and imaging data. Results: In total, 15 of 28 patients (54%) achieved initial biochemical remission and had a 100% sustained remission rate during the follow-up period of 3–14 years, underscoring the importance of surgical radicality for achieving durable remission. Conclusions: Our findings suggest that for patients who achieved biochemical remission following transsphenoidal surgery for acromegaly, routine postoperative imaging provides negligible additional diagnostic information from an endocrinological perspective. As such, we propose that no further postoperative imaging is needed for patients in clinical and biochemical remission. This approach offers a significant reduction in the clinical burden and healthcare costs for patients associated with long-term management of their disease.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Determining the Minimal Clinically Important Difference of the 40‐Item Smell Identification Test in People With Cystic Fibrosis

  International Forum of Allergy & Rhinology · 2026-03-13

  articleOpen access

  BACKGROUND: Chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS) and olfactory dysfunction (OD) are highly prevalent among people with cystic fibrosis (PwCF) and negatively impact quality of life. The 40-item Smell Identification Test (SIT) is widely used to assess psychophysical olfaction, but a CF-specific minimal clinically important difference (MCID) has not been established. This study aimed to determine the SIT MCID in PwCF treated with elexacaftor/tezacaftor/ivacaftor (ETI) and/or endoscopic sinus surgery (ESS). METHODS: Data from three prospective, multi-institutional observational studies were pooled. Participants were ≥12 years old with confirmed CF and CRS who completed SIT at baseline and ≥1 follow-up (3, 6, 9, 12, or 24 months). Distribution-based MCIDs were calculated using four methods: standard error of measurement (SEM), minimal detectable change (MDC = 1.96 × SEM), 0.5 × baseline standard deviation (SD), and 0.5 × SD of change scores (ΔSD). RESULTS: A total of 122 participants were enrolled (mean age 32.9 years, 54% female). Of these, 99 contributed follow-up SIT scores (79 ETI, 20 ESS). SIT scores remained stable with ETI, with a small but statistically significant decline at 6 months (-1.4, p = 0.02). ESS was associated with mean gains of 3.1-4.5 points at early follow-up, though these did not reach significance. Pooled distribution-based MCID estimates ranged from 2 to 4 points, with an overall threshold of 3.1 (95% CI: 2.1-4.1). CONCLUSIONS: This CF-specific SIT threshold provides a clinically interpretable cut-off for assessing olfaction. These findings establish a foundation for future work and highlight the importance of developing disease-specific MCIDs to guide clinical care and research.

  PublisherDOI

• Outcomes of Immunotherapy Treatment in Sinonasal Mucosal Melanoma

  American Journal of Rhinology and Allergy · 2025-01-09 · 5 citations

  article

  Background Sinonasal mucosal melanoma has poor survival despite multimodality treatment. While the impact of immunotherapy (IT) on metastatic cutaneous melanoma is well-defined, there are relatively little data on sinonasal mucosal melanoma. Objective We sought to define immunotherapy outcomes in patients with sinonasal mucosal melanoma. Methods A retrospective cohort study evaluated patients treated with IT during their overall treatment strategy for SNMM. Patient demographics, treatment, and survival outcomes were recorded. Results 52 patients had IT treatment for SNMM from 2000 to 2022, with an average age of 69.1 ± 11.9 years. The most common treatment was surgery with radiation and IT ( n = 26, 50%). Most regimens consisted of a combination of Nivolumab and Ipilimumab ( n = 17, 32.7%) or pembrolizumab ( n = 14, 26.9%). 44.2% of patients experienced reported complications. Overall survival at 1-, 2-, and 5 years was 86.9%, 74.1%, and 39.1%, respectively. Conclusion Approximately half of patients will have a local response following immunotherapy, but it is rare to have improvement at metastatic locations. Further research within our group will assess optimal timing and markers that are predictive of response.

  PublisherDOI

• Reassessment of Age‐Group Subanalyses in Sinus Surgery Complications in a TriNetX Database

  International Forum of Allergy & Rhinology · 2025-10-21

  letterSenior author

  To the Editor, We would like to sincerely thank Dr. Lan and Dr. Wang for their thoughtful comments on our recent study “Complications in Endoscopic Sinus Surgery: A TriNetX Network analysis [1].” We are grateful to be provided the opportunity to re-examine our age-group subanalysis of the complications associated with endoscopic sinus surgery (ESS) and will present the results of that analysis below. The authors of the letter specifically examined the data regarding the age-group subanalysis regarding complications in ESS and noted that our patient population had been filtered based on current age rather than age at the time of their surgical intervention. This had the potential to inadvertently alter the result such that a portion of the pediatric population would have been included in an age group that was not representative of their age at the time of surgery. They also posed a method with which to filter patients specifically by their age at the time of surgery. Given this feedback, we took the opportunity to re-examine our data and performed additional analysis to compare the results of the two modalities. First, we examined the overall complication rates and found that they were largely consistent to the initial study across all age groups. The largest difference between analysis methods was noted when examining the complication rates among patients < 12 years of age and those 12–18 years of age, which would coincide with this group being the most likely to be impacted by the difference in analytical methods. We noted a decrease in orbital injury rates and 30-day hospital admissions in both patients < 12 years of age and patients 12–18 years of age while the other metrics were largely consistent with the initial analysis (Table 1). We then re-examined the relative incidence of the complications of ESS based on age after propensity score matching (PSM). When directly comparing the initial analysis to the current reanalysis (Table 2) we found that the relative risk (RR) of complications was overall relatively consistent with the initial study cohort, which we would expect in a propensity score-matched analysis. We found the reanalysis beneficial in terms of increasing the patient population for each propensity score-matched group, particularly in the comparison of children less than 12 years of age to children 12–18, and in comparing children less than 12 to adult patients as the compared populations quadrupled in size. As a result, there were largely minor differences on reanalysis that primarily centered on those differences that were borderline statistically significant on initial analysis. Examples of this would include hemorrhage requiring intervention when comparing younger children (aged < 12 years) to adult patients, and meningitis rates in younger adults (aged 18–59 years) and older adults (aged > 60 years). Perhaps the most noticeable changes in this reanalysis were among orbital injury rates and readmission rates when comparing patients younger and older children (aged 12–18 years). Orbital injury rates, had a notable decrease in younger and older children, decreasing from 4.58% and 3.56% to 2.91% and 2.16%, with younger children having an increased RR of orbital complications (RR: 1.35; 95% confidence interval (CI), 1.00–1.81, p = 0.047). These results are now more in line with previous publications examining orbital complication rates which have previously noted increased orbital complications in younger children [2]. The reanalysis also revealed that 30-day readmission rates decreased when compared to the initial analysis in younger and older children, decreasing from 7.77% and 4.10% to 4.02% and 3.15% with no significant difference in 30-day readmissions between groups (RR: 1.27; 95% CI, 0.99–1.65, p = 0.056). This is a change from the previous reported RR of 1.89% (95% CI, 1.21%–2.95%, p = −0.004) and may indicate a type 1 error in the initial data set, although the reanalysis value is borderline significant and serves to highlight the difficulties in determining risk factors for rare outcomes, even with larger patient databases. In conclusion, we greatly appreciate the insights provided by Dr. Lan and Dr. Wang, which highlight an alternative technique for obtaining data using the TriNetX database. Reanalyzing our data allowed us to increase our pediatric patient population, specifically, fourfold for analysis and minimized the likelihood of patients being miscategorized in terms of age by accounting for age at time of surgery. Daniel M. Beswick: In the last 36 months, Daniel M. Beswick has received grant support from NIH/NHLBI, CF Foundation, International Society of Inflammation and Allergy of the Nose and the American Rhinologic Society CORE/Sue Ann and John L. Weinberg Foundation; honoraria from sources including from National Jewish Health; consulting fees from Amgen, on medicolegal cases and from Garner Health (equity). The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

  PublisherDOI

• Transcaruncular Approach With Orbital Protection for Resection of Sinonasal Lesions: How I do it

  American Journal of Rhinology and Allergy · 2025-08-01 · 1 citations

  articleOpen access

  BackgroundMinimally invasive techniques for the resection of sinonasal masses have become increasingly important over the past few decades. Sinonasal disease involving the lamina papyracea remains difficult to manage given the risk of injury to critical orbital structures and hemorrhage from nearby vessels.ObjectiveDetail the transcaruncular approach with orbital protection for the resection of benign and malignant sinonasal pathologies.MethodsDescription of surgical technique and presentation of 2 representative cases that were successfully managed with this surgical technique.ResultsThe transcaruncular approach involves incising the lateral 1/3 of the caruncle in a vertical plane between the upper and lower puncta. Dissection is then carried through the retrocaruncular fascia posterior to Horner's muscle to the posterior lacrimal crest along the medial orbital wall. Dissection can then be performed in a subperiosteal or supraperiosteal plane with subsequent ligation of the anterior ethmoidal artery. Once dissected, a nylon sheet used for orbital reconstruction and colored orbital shield can then be placed to aid in protection and visualization or orbital contents during endonasal tumor resection.ConclusionThe transcaruncular approach with orbital protection provides intraoperative protection of the orbital contents, allowing for safer removal of the mass irrespective of integrity of the lamina papyracea.

  PublisherDOI

• Complications in Endoscopic Sinus Surgery: A TriNetX Network Analysis

  International Forum of Allergy & Rhinology · 2025-08-09 · 3 citations

  articleSenior author

  BACKGROUND: The potential complications of endoscopic sinus surgery (ESS) remain a critical surgical consideration. This study aims to examine complication rates and identify trends in ESS-related complications. METHODS: The TriNetX network was queried for patients undergoing ESS between 2005 and 2024. Diagnosis and procedural codes identified patients with a new post-operative diagnosis relating to epistaxis, cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) leak, meningitis, and/or orbital injury. Complication rates were calculated. The relative risk for demographic differences in complication rates was assessed. Joinpoint regression analysis determined trends in complication rates. RESULTS: A total of 127,333 patients undergoing ESS were included. There was a 0.28% CSF leak rate, 0.24% meningitis rate, 2.09% rate of orbital complications, and 2.27% rate of hemorrhage requiring intervention. Among orbital complications, 0.10% of patients experienced retrobulbar hematoma, 0.40% experienced an extraocular muscle injury, and 0.30% experienced post-operative blindness or low vision. The 30-day readmission rates were 1.47% and 1.62% of patients sought emergency department (ED) care within 30 days of surgery. There were small but significant changes in rates of meningitis (annual percent change [APC] = ‒3.42; 95% confidence interval [CI] ‒5.65, 1.13), hemorrhage requiring intervention (APC = 3.0; 95% CI 1.92-4.10), and 30-day ED visits (APC = 5.43; 95% CI 2.52, 8.43) over time. There were multiple differences in complication rates based on patient sex, age, and race/ethnicity (p < 0.05) CONCLUSIONS: There are age-related and demographic differences in complication rates related to ESS. The majority of complication rates have remained stable over 20 years, with only meningitis rates decreasing while rates of hemorrhage requiring intervention and emergency room visits have increased.

  PublisherDOI

• Abridging the 22‐Item Sino‐Nasal Outcome Test (SNOT‐22) in People With Cystic Fibrosis: Limiting Survey Burden

  International Forum of Allergy & Rhinology · 2025-05-15

  articleOpen access

  Chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS) affects quality-of-life (QoL) in people with cystic fibrosis (PwCF), despite the reduction in symptoms and symptom severity associated with cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR) modulators [1]. To precisely assess sinus symptoms and treatment needs in the post-modulator period, patient-related QOL instruments should be revisited. The 22-item SinoNasal Outcome Test (SNOT-22) measures CRS burden and QoL. Abbreviated surveys can lessen respondent fatigue. Item response theory (IRT) can help refine surveys by identifying the most informative survey items while maintaining reliability [2-4]. IRT assesses item discrimination (ɑ), the ability to differentiate trait levels, and difficulty (β), which defines thresholds for response categories [2-4]. Liu et al. refined the SNOT-22 using IRT with strong reliability and validity [5]. Given PwCF's unique CRS burden, this study used IRT to create abbreviated SNOT-22 versions by selecting the most informative items. A secondary aim explored SNOT-22 differences by modulator therapy history. This cross-sectional study, approved by local Institutional Review Boards, analyzed 185 adults (age 18 and over) with cystic fibrosis (CF) and CRS from 12 academic centers between 2018 and 2023, primarily from an ongoing trial (NCT04469439). Baseline SNOT-22 scores were analyzed, with full information maximum likelihood used to handle missingness in the graded response IRT models assessing item discrimination and difficulty. Demographic and clinical data were collected. Shortened surveys were developed by first retaining items contributing above-average information within subdomains (nasal, otologic/facial pain, sleep, emotional), whereupon we applied a stricter rule ensuring at least 30% of the test information was retained from each subdomain to produce a further shortened survey, as implemented by Feng et al. [6]. Internal consistency (Cronbach's α > 0.7) and convergent validity (Pearson's r >0.8) confirmed reliability and efficacy of shortened surveys. Statistical analyses were conducted using R with the “mirt” and “psych” packages [7, 8]. The study included 185 PwCF with CRS, predominantly male (60%), with history of modulator therapy use (77%), and with F508del variants (59%) (Table 1). The mean total SNOT-22 score was 39.3 [±19.8]. Subdomain mean scores were 13.0 [±8.3] for nasal, 4.8 [±3.8] for otologic/facial pain, 13.0 [±9.7] for sleep, and 1.5 [±2.0] for emotional. Responses ranged from 0 (“No problem”) to 5 (“Severe problem”) across most subdomains, except for the emotional subdomain, which lacked the most extreme responses. Initial IRT analysis for all PwCF retained above-average information items across subdomains, preserving 55%–63% of subdomain information and yielding an 11-item survey. A stricter 30% threshold retained six items, covering 34%–54% of information in each subdomain (Figure 1). Despite shortening, difficulty thresholds remained consistent, capturing the full range of symptom severity. Of 142 PwCF with history of modulator therapy, IRT analysis produced nine-item and seven-item surveys. Compared to the total PwCF cohort, the nine-item survey excluded “reduced concentration” and “reduced productivity,” while the seven-item survey retained “dizziness.” All other items were consistent between groups (Figure 1). Notably, PwCF with history of modulator therapy had lower average scores for “thick nasal discharge” (2.0) and “post nasal discharge” (1.7) than those not on therapy (2.4 and 2.2, respectively). Item contributions are detailed in Table S1. Correlation analysis showed strong agreement between shortened and original SNOT-22 scales, with Pearson's coefficients of r = 0.97 (11-item) and r = 0.94 (6-item) for the total PwCF cohort, and r = 0.96 (9-item) and r = 0.95 (7-item) for the modulator therapy subgroup. The original SNOT-22 had a Cronbach's α of 0.93, while shortened versions maintained strong internal consistency (0.90–0.84), ensuring reliable CRS-specific QoL assessment in PwCF. The SNOT-22 is a validated CRS assessment tool for PwCF [5]. Using IRT in a multi-institutional cohort, we retained high-information items and created reliable abbreviated versions of the questionnaire specifically relevant for PwCF. PwCF retained different SNOT-22 items using IRT than other populations [5], indicating distinct symptom distributions and QoL impacts. The 11-item version kept “dizziness,” “facial pain/pressure,” and “embarrassed,” while omitting “ear pain/pressure,” “nasal blockage,” and “sad.” The six-item version showed greater divergence, retaining “waking up tired” and “fatigue.” These differences underscore the need for further study on CRS symptom distribution across populations. When IRT analysis was applied only to PwCF on modulator therapy, it generated largely similar abbreviated surveys to across the entire sample. PwCF on modulators, however, omitted “reduced concentration” and “reduced productivity” from the 11-item SNOT-22 creating a nine-item version. Using the 30% threshold, they retained the six-item SNOT-22 with the addition of “dizziness.” These variations may reflect differences in symptom perception post-therapy and warrant further study. Respondent fatigue, a decline in data quality due to survey length and complexity, may be mitigated by abbreviated surveys [9]. PwCF experience significant fatigue, with severe cases affecting up to 26% [10]. While respondent fatigue in PwCF remains unstudied, abbreviated surveys could enhance participation and data quality. Our findings support shortening the SNOT-22 to reduce fatigue while retaining key information, emphasizing the need for tailored CRS patient reported outcome measures and validation for PwCF. Limitations of this study include modest sample size, limited sociodemographic data, skewed beta parameters, and SNOT-22 midpoint clustering, which may underrepresent CRS severity. Key symptoms such as nasal blockage and dysosmia were excluded in IRT-based shortening, raising concerns about capturing CRS impact. Additional psychometric validation of the shortened scales is required. Despite this, the study supports IRT-based SNOT-22 shortening for PwCF while preserving key information. This work was supported by the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation (BESWIC20A0 and BESWIC22Y5). This foundation provided support for the planning and execution of this work but did not have specific involvement in the study design, data collection, analysis, or interpretation, or decision to submit the article for publication. Research reported in this publication was supported by the National Center for Advancing Translational Science (NCATS) of the National Institutes of Health under the UCLA Clinical and Translational Science Institute grant number UL1TR001881. This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship Program under Grant No. DGE-2034835. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation. Daniel M. Beswick: In the last 36 months. Daniel M. Beswick has received grant support from NIH/NHLBI, CF Foundation, International Society of Inflammation and Allergy of the Nose and the American Rhinologic Society CORE/Sue Ann and John L. Weinberg Foundation; honoraria from sources including from National Jewish Health; consulting fees from Amgen, on medicolegal cases and from Garner Health (equity). Jeremiah A. Alt: Consultant for OptiNose and Medtronic. Speaker panel GSK. GlycoMira board and equity holder. Kristine A. Smith: In the last 24 months, served as consultant for SanofiGenzyme. Zachary M. Soler: Consultant for OptiNose, Regeneron, and Lyra; Medical Directory for Healthy Humming. Rodney J. Schlosser: Consultant for OptiNose, Medtronic, Stryker, Cyrano; Medical Directory for Healthy Humming. Jennifer L. Taylor-Cousar: In the last 36 months, JLT-C has received grants from the CF Foundation related to this work as well as for work unrelated to the manuscript. Unrelated to this work, she has received grants for her institution from Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated, Eloxx, and 4DMT; received fees from Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated related to consultation on clinical research design, participation on advisory boards, and speaking engagements; and served on advisory boards and/or provided clinical trial design consultation for Insmed, 4DMT, and AbbVie. She serves on a DMC for AbbVie. She serves as the adult patient care representative to the CFF Board of Trustees, and on the CF Foundation's Clinical Research Executive Committee, Clinical Research Advisory Board, Racial Justice Working Group and as immediate past chair of the CF TDN's Sexual Health, Reproduction and Gender Research Working Group, on the scientific advisory board for Emily's Entourage, and on the ATS Respiratory Health Awards, Scientific Grant Review and Clinical Problems Assembly Programming Committees. All other authors declare no conflict of interest. Please note: The publisher is not responsible for the content or functionality of any supporting information supplied by the authors. Any queries (other than missing content) should be directed to the corresponding author for the article.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Nerve-Sparing Approach to the Lateral Sphenoid Sinus Recess in a Patient With Multiple Sphenoid Encephaloceles

  Ear Nose & Throat Journal · 2025-07-01

  articleOpen accessSenior author

  We present a case of an encephalocele of the lateral recess of the sphenoid sinus and detail the utilization of a nerve-sparing, windowed, pterygopalatine fossa approach to the lateral sphenoid sinus recess in a 37 year-old patient. The patient presented with 15 years of headaches that worsened with stress and head position and 2 weeks onset of unilateral clear rhinorrhea that was similarly worsened by head position. Collected rhinorrhea was positive for β-2 transferrin, and computed tomography was notable for erosion of the roof of the sphenoid sinus at the lateral recess with soft tissue extending into the sphenoid sinus. Magnetic resonance imaging confirmed the presence of a sphenoid encephalocele. The patient underwent a nerve-sparing windowed transpterygoid approach to the skull-base defect. Intraoperatively, 2 discreet skull-base defects were encountered, each with exposed dural tissue that were then repaired with septal cartilage underlay grafts and overlay mucosal grafts. The patient started acetazolamide in the postoperative period and recovered without the recurrence of cerebrospinal fluid leak.

  PublisherDOI

• Unilateral Versus Bilateral Endoscopic Resection of Olfactory Neuroblastoma: Pooled Analysis From Prospective and Retrospective Multicenter Data

  International Forum of Allergy & Rhinology · 2025-01-15 · 1 citations

  articleOpen access

  BACKGROUND: Olfactory neuroblastoma (ONB) is a rare sinonasal malignancy primarily treated with surgery. For tumors arising from the olfactory area, traditional treatment involves transcribriform resection of the anterior cranial fossa. Surgery can be performed with unilateral or bilateral resection depending on extent of involvement; however, there are currently no studies comparing outcomes between the two. METHODS: Prospective and retrospective data on primary ONB patients were collected from a multicenter registry involving eight academic sites. Propensity score matching (PSM) was used to create patient cohorts with similar baseline characteristics. Cox proportional hazards and Kaplan Meier analyses assessed overall survival (OS). Logistic regression assessed associations between extent of resection (unilateral versus bilateral) and tumor recurrence or postoperative cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) leak. RESULTS: A total of 187 ONB patients (47.6% female) with an average age of 53.6 ± 15.1 years were analyzed. Most tumors were unilateral (81.3%) and predominantly Kadish C (58.3%) or Hyams II (55.8%). Overall, 56.7% of patients underwent bilateral resection. Fifty-four patients experienced tumor recurrence and nine had postoperative CSF leaks. Following PSM (n = 45/group), extent of resection was not associated with mortality (hazard ratio [HR] 1.73; p = 0.407) or OS (p = 0.400). There was no association between extent of resection and recurrence (odds ratio [OR] 0.90; p = 0.814) or postoperative CSF leak (OR 1.54; p = 0.647). CONCLUSIONS: For ONB tumors where unilateral resection may be feasible and oncologically sound, the decision for unilateral versus bilateral resection showed no significant effect on survival, recurrence, or postoperative CSF leak. Oncologic outcomes may be comparable when resection is tailored to individual patient and tumor characteristics.

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Frequent coauthors

• Marilene B. Wang

  67 shared

• Edward C. Kuan

  University of California, Irvine

  50 shared

• Marvin Bergsneider

  University of California, Los Angeles

  50 shared

• Jivianne T. Lee

  University of California, Los Angeles

  36 shared

• Marilene Wang

  University of California, Los Angeles

  32 shared

• Vijay R. Ramakrishnan

  Indiana University – Purdue University Indianapolis

  29 shared

• Jae Hoon Cho

  22 shared

• James N. Palmer

  21 shared

Awards & honors

• Super doctors, Southern California, 2026
• Top doctors, Los Angeles Magazine's Top Doctors 2025
• Super Doctors® Southern California, 2024 - 2026
• Top Doctors, Los Angeles Magazine, 2024
• Top Doctors, Los Angeles Magazine, 2025