Thyroid Research and Education
Research
Mass. Eye and Ear is an important center of nationally-funded research and one of only a few institutions focused on thyroid-specific scientific projects, including:
- Recurrent laryngeal nerve electrophysiologic monitoring during thyroid surgery
- Intraoperative parathyroid hormone analysis during parathyroid surgery
- Evidence-based otolaryngology literature analysis project
- Confocal microscopy probe intraoperative tissue analysis
- Immunohistochemical and gene chip DNA microarray analysis of papillary carcinoma and dysplasia of the thyroid
- Oncogene analysis of double parathyroid adenomas
- Minimally invasive endocrine surgery
- Fine needle assessment of thyroid nodularity
Education
In addition to medical student and resident training, Mass. Eye and Ear created the first otolaryngology thyroid surgical fellowship in the United States, through which young surgeons receive intensive post-graduate training in thyroid and parathyroid disease. The fellowship is the model for others being developed at other leading medical centers, including Johns Hopkins in Baltimore.
Dr. Randolph is collaborating with the American College of Surgeons to develop endocrine surgery outcome measures to be implemented nationally, with the goal of creating more consistent and measurable standards of care related to thyroid surgery.
Every fall, in conjunction with Massachusetts General Hospital, Mass. Eye and Ear and Harvard Medical School host one of the country’s best known and most well-regarded Continuing Medical Education programs related to thyroid and parathyroid disease.
Dr. Randolph also lectures and organizes international surgical conferences educational missions worldwide, in Russia, China, Ukraine and Italy. An even larger audience is being reached through his definitive textbook on the subject, Surgery of the Thyroid and Parathyroid Glands, which is being translated into other languages.
Learn more about thyroid disease – links of interest
Ear, Nose and Throat - Frequently Asked Questions
Frequently Asked Questions from The American Thyroid Association
How Your Thyroid Works, from Endocrine Web
Thyroid Disorders Overview, from The Hormone Foundation
Thyroid Diseases, from MedlinePlus
Lorna Brunelle’s Story – how nerve monitoring helped save the singer’s voice
