The University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) celebrated its centennial in 1978, and it is the only accredited institution for medical education in Arkansas. In 1969, Dr. Robert McGrew became Chief of the Division of Otolaryngology and was responsible for initiating the otolaryngology residency program, which was accredited in 1970.
Dr. James Y. Suen was one of the first two residents accepted into the new program. Dr. Suen, an Arkansas native, graduated from UAMS and completed an internship in San Francisco. After finishing the otolaryngology residency, Dr. Suen was the first otolaryngologist accepted into the head and neck fellowship at M.D. Anderson Hospital and Tumor Institute in Houston. When he returned to Little Rock in 1974, he took over as head of the Division of Otolaryngology at age 33. Dr. Suen’s innovative work in the field of head and neck cancer quickly brought him to national prominence. Cancer of the Head and Neck, edited by Dr. Suen and Dr. Eugene Myers of Pittsburgh, is now in its fourth edition and has become an internationally-recognized reference source.
In May of 2017, Dr. John L. Dornhoffer became the new chairman of the department. Dr. Dornhoffer has served on the UAMS faculty since 1994 and as vice-chair of the department since 2009. He is also a professor and director of the Division of Otology/Neurotology. Dr. Dornhoffer received his medical degree from the University of Kansas Medical School in 1988. He completed his residency in otolaryngology — head and neck surgery at UAMS and continued his training with a fellowship in otology and neurotology at the University of Würzburg in Germany and a fellowship in skull base surgery at the University of Zurich in Switzerland.
We are proud of our staff, our residents, our team, and their accomplishments. Our goal is to continue to seek excellence, and to preserve those qualities that have brought us this far.
Professorships & Chairs
- Gerald F. Hamra, Professorship in Otolaryngology – Head and Neck Surgery
- James Y. Suen, M.D., Endowed Chair in Otolaryngology – Head and Neck Surgery
- Benjamin and Milton Waner, M.D., Endowed Chair in Pediatric Facial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery
- J. Floyd Kyser, M.D., Endowed Lectureship in Otolaryngology
- Samuel D. McGill, Jr., Endowed Chair in Otolaryngology Research
- James H. Hamlen, II / Robert Seibert, M.D. Endowed Chair in Pediatric Otolaryngology
- Josephine T. McGill Chair in Head and Neck Cancer Research
- Patricia and J. Floyd Kyser, M.D., Chair in Otolaryngology – Head and Neck Surgery