FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Tina Maggio, Sr. Director Communications [email protected]
Indianapolis, Indiana – October 11, 2025 – The American Academy of Otolaryngology–Head and Neck Surgery Foundation (AAO-HNSF) 2025 Annual Meeting & OTO EXPO’s scientific program continues to demonstrate its vital role as the premier forum for advancing otolaryngology research and improving patient outcomes. Saturday’s scientific sessions featured 75+ cutting-edge presentations spanning the full spectrum of ear, nose, and throat and head and neck care, from pioneering surgical innovations to breakthrough findings in disease prevention and treatment optimization.
“Our scientific program represents the collective dedication of researchers and clinicians committed to transforming patient care through rigorous investigation and clinical innovation,” said Cecelia Damask, DO, Annual Meeting Program Coordinator. “The research presented on Saturday exemplifies how evidence-based discoveries directly translate to better outcomes for our patients.”
Revolutionizing Surgical Safety and Recovery
Association Between Closure Technique and Pharyngocutaneous Fistula Formation in 778 Laryngectomy Patients: Multicenter Study: This late-breaking landmark multicenter study revealed that radial forearm free flap inlay closure technique significantly reduces pharyngocutaneous fistula rates compared to traditional closure methods. This finding addresses the most common complication following total laryngectomy and provides surgeons with evidence-based guidance for optimal surgical approach.
Challenging Convention: NSAIDs in TORS Improve Outcomes Without Compromising Safety: In another late-breaking presentation and practice-changing study, researchers demonstrated that NSAID use following transoral robotic surgery (TORS) does not increase postoperative bleeding risk while significantly reducing critical care admissions by 63% and feeding tube requirements by 38%. This supports safer, more effective pain management protocols.
A Novel Technique for Intracapsular Complete Tonsillectomy: Flower Technique: Pediatric surgeons introduced the innovative “Flower Technique” for intracapsular tonsillectomy, achieving complete tissue removal while reducing postoperative pain and accelerating recovery. The 159 children treated with this technique resumed normal activities nearly three days earlier than those receiving conventional surgery, with no recurrence of symptoms at six-month follow-up.
Connecting Hearing Loss to Cognitive Health
The Predictive Role of Hearing Loss in Dementia: A powerful machine learning analysis of over 16,000 participants identified sensorineural hearing loss as one of the strongest predictors of dementia diagnosis. Severe hearing loss emerged as the single most significant predictive factor, with an odds ratio of 3.57. This research underscores the critical importance of early hearing intervention as a potential strategy for dementia prevention and supports expanded access to hearing healthcare.
Artificial Intelligence Transforms Clinical Decision-Making
AI in Clinical Decision-Making: ChatGPT-4 vs. Llama2 for Otolaryngology Cases: In the comprehensive evaluation of 98 real clinical cases, ChatGPT-4 achieved 82% diagnostic accuracy and provided appropriate treatment recommendations in 80% of cases, outperforming other AI systems. Researchers emphasized that while these tools show tremendous promise as clinical decision-support systems, human oversight remains essential for patient safety.
Additional abstracts that showcased AI applications included machine learning models for laryngeal cancer prognosis, and automated pathology classification from laryngeal endoscopy.
Optimizing Sleep Apnea Treatment
A Novel Predictive Scoring System for Hypoglossal Nerve Stimulation Outcomes in Obstructive Sleep Apnea Patients: Researchers developed a novel predictive scoring system for hypoglossal nerve stimulation outcomes that incorporates age, sex, BMI, baseline apnea severity, and anatomical factors. This validated tool enables clinicians to better identify optimal candidates for this treatment and personalize care strategies, with each point increase correlating to approximately 1.3 events/hour reduction in apnea-hypopnea index.
Association of Obstructive Sleep Apnea Diagnosis and Incidence of Subsequent Stroke Diagnosis Among Veterans: A separate large-scale study of over 1.7 million veterans confirmed that obstructive sleep apnea diagnosis independently predicts subsequent stroke risk, even after adjusting for obesity and other cardiovascular risk factors. This finding reinforces the systemic health implications of untreated sleep apnea and the importance of comprehensive OSA management.
Optimizing Pediatric Screening for Severe Sleep Disordered Breathing: Identifying Seven Key Questions: For pediatric patients, investigators identified seven key screening questions that achieve perfect positive predictive value for severe sleep-disordered breathing. This streamlined screening tool will help prioritize children for polysomnography and surgical intervention, addressing the challenge of prolonged wait times.
Advancing Precision Medicine in Head and Neck Cancer
Multiple presentations advanced personalized cancer care, including:
- Genomic profiling revealing distinct mutation patterns in HPV-positive versus HPV-negative oropharyngeal cancer
- Analysis of margin-to-depth ratios in oral tongue cancer providing guidance for surgical planning
- Evaluation of frailty measures and comorbidity indices to optimize patient selection and postoperative planning
- Investigation of novel biomarkers including orphan non-coding RNAs for cancer detection
Nanopore Sequencing Detects Prevalence of HPV DNA in Pediatric and Young Adult Archival Tonsil Specimens: A particularly noteworthy study using nanopore sequencing detected HPV DNA in 27% of pediatric and young adult tonsil specimens, with prevalence reaching 37% in children under age 10. These findings suggest higher HPV exposure rates than previously documented and may have implications for vaccination policies and disease surveillance.
Expanding Treatment Options for Thyroid Cancer
Management of Medullary Thyroid Carcinoma with Thyroid-Preserving Surgery: Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis: A systematic review and meta-analysis demonstrated that thyroid-preserving surgery for select patients with RET-negative, unilateral medullary thyroid carcinoma achieves 73.5% biochemical cure rates with dramatically lower rates of postoperative hypocalcemia compared to total thyroidectomy. This evidence supports more conservative surgical approaches for appropriately selected patients while maintaining oncologic control.
Additional Research Themes
Saturday’s program encompassed numerous other advances, including:
- Comprehensive analysis of cochlear implant outcomes, quality of life, and emerging rehabilitation technologies
- Novel techniques in pediatric airway management and OSA treatment
- Investigations of health equity, telemedicine applications, and healthcare utilization patterns
- Microbiome studies in otitis media and laryngeal cancer
- Outcomes research across all otolaryngology subspecialties
Looking Forward
The breadth and quality of research presented on Saturday reflects the vibrant scientific community advancing otolaryngology care. These discoveries will inform clinical practice guidelines, shape future research directions, and ultimately improve outcomes for patients with ear, nose, and throat and head and neck surgery conditions.
The scientific program continues throughout the 2025 Annual Meeting & OTO EXPO, with additional Scientific Oral and Poster presentations showcasing the latest innovations in otolaryngology research and clinical practice.
>> Access all AAO-HNSF 2025 Annual Meeting & OTO EXPO press releases by scrolling to the bottom of the page at https://www.entnet.org/about-us/newsroom/.
About the AAO-HNS/F
The AAO-HNS/F is one of the world’s largest organizations representing specialists who treat the ears, nose, throat, and related structures of the head and neck. Otolaryngologist-head and neck surgeons diagnose and treat medical disorders that are among the most common affecting patients of all ages in the United States and around the world. Those medical conditions include chronic ear disease, hearing and balance disorders, hearing loss, sinusitis, snoring and sleep apnea, allergies, swallowing disorders, nosebleeds, hoarseness, dizziness, and tumors of the head and neck as well as aesthetic and reconstructive surgery and intricate micro-surgical procedures of the head and neck. The Academy has approximately 13,000 members. The AAO-HNS Foundation works to advance the art, science, and ethical practice of otolaryngology-head and neck surgery through education, research, and quality measurement.
