Choosing your Surgeon for Parotid Surgery

Parotid Surgery requires the skills of someone who has been trained in, and performs, many surgical procedures on the face and neck. At times the surgery may involve contiguous structures, the facial nerve, malignant lymph glands, etc. which the surgeon should have training in removing. Parotid surgeons can be Otolaryngologist-Head and Neck Surgeons, Gene

ral Surgeons or Plastic Surgeons. They should have performed many parotid surgeries during their training. Parotid gland surgery may be performed by other surgeons, but they may have limited training in the management of the neck, facial nerve and its contiguous structures. Furthermore, they may not limit their practice to head and  neck surgery.

  A good rule of thumb is check if these surgeons are members of the American Head and Neck Society,  (a national society of surgeons who operate on the neck) or a similar society.

Arnold Komisar, MD, DDS, FACS

Dr. Komisar has been in practice in New York City since 1979, He has performed hundreds of parotid procedures. Dr. Komisar was one of the first to introduce Extracapsular Dissection for removal of Parotid tumors to the United States and has performed the largest number of such operations in North America. Dr. Komisar is the former Chairman and Vice-Chairman of the Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery at Lenox Hill Hospital. He is currently the Director of Head and Neck Endocrine Surgery and a Senior Attending Surgeon at the Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City. Dr. Komisar is also a Clinical Professor of Otolaryngology at the NYU School of Medicine. He is actively involved in the teaching program of the NYU Department of Otolaryngology.

Dr. Komisar attended the Hahnemann Medical College of Philadelphia (now Drexel University School of Medicine) from which he received the degree Doctor of Medicine. He is also a graduate of theNew York University College of Dentistry. Doctor Komisar was a resident in General Surgery at the Beth Israel Medical Center in New York. He was a resident and chief resident in Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery at the Mount Sinai Medical Center in New York City. Dr. Komisar is certified by the American Board of Otolaryngology

Dr. Komisar is a Fellow of the American College of Surgeons, the American Head and Neck Society and the American Academy of Otolaryngology- Head and Neck Surgery. He is a member and former President of  the New York Head and Neck Society.

Dr. Komisar has published extensively in the medical literature. He has presented on many topics related to Head and Neck Surgery at both national and international forums.

Honors & Awards

The Mosher Award from the Triological Society

The Honor Award from the American Academy of      

Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery

Who’s Who in America

Best Doctors in America (Castle and Conelly)

Best Doctors in NY Metro Area

Best Doctors New York Magazine

Past President NY Head and Neck Society

Past President NY Laryngological Society