Head and Neck Center
Our Lady of the Lake Regional Medical Center

4950 Essen Lane

Suite 400

Baton Rouge, LA 70809

For Appointments

Fax (225) 765 - 1768

The LSU Head and Neck Surgery service provides comprehensive treatment options and cutting-edge technological innovations for patients with benign and malignant tumors. New cancer patient referrals are evaluated by our team of physicians in state-of-the-art clinics. Our head and neck program is a tri-city program with four major locations: Our Lady of the Lake Regional Medical Center in Baton Rouge; University Hospital and Clinics in Lafayette; New Orleans Head and Neck Center; and University Medical Center in New Orleans. Our departmental approach to the treatment of patients with cancer of the head and neck is multidisciplinary, patient-centric and evidence-based. Each patient with a newly diagnosed or recurrent cancer is presented at our multidisciplinary Head and Neck Tumor Board (with teleconferenced input from physicians in all locations) where multiple disciplines contribute to treatment planning and decision making. Among these disciplines are head and neck surgery, medical oncology, radiation oncology, pathology, radiology, speech and swallowing therapy, social services, nutrition, dental oncology, physical and occupational therapy, and palliative care. Together, input from all of the involved experts is gathered in order to form a comprehensive and personalized cancer treatment plan for each patient.

Our head and neck surgery team has grown substantially in the past decade. Our surgeons who treat head and neck cancer patients are all fellowship-trained: Drs. Michael DiLeo, Andrew Fuson, and Vilija Vaitaitis are trained in head and neck oncologic surgery and microvascular reconstruction; Drs. Daniel Nuss and Rohan Walvekar in head and neck oncologic surgery; Drs. Kevin McLaughlin and Stephen Hernandez in endoscopic anterior skull base surgery; Drs. Moises Arriaga and Rahul Mehta in neurotology and lateral skull base surgery; and Drs. Laura Hetzler and Justin Sowder in facial reconstruction and reanimation.

Robotic surgery, minimally invasive surgeries, and sialendoscopy are all available to our patients. Trans-oral laser microsurgery for laryngeal cancers is performed by our 2 fellowship-trained laryngologists, Drs. Andrew McWhorter and Lacey Adkins. This broad expertise has helped us evolve into a truly comprehensive tertiary care center of excellence for the management of head and neck tumors.

Part of the inpatient experience involves formal bedside teaching rounds and post-operative planning conferences that ensure the highest levels of patient safety, quality of care, and instruction, and gives patients and families confidence regarding post-surgery home care. As a result of this collaboration with nursing and ancillary staff, we have designed, implemented, and published multiple quality improvement projects, including several award-winning innovations that have led to better outcomes for our cancer patients.

Head and neck cancer research, innovation, and outreach cancer screening programs are an important part of our mission. Clinical research evaluating quality of life outcomes, oncologic outcomes, functional outcomes, safety, innovations in technology, and efficacy of minimally invasive techniques in head and neck surgery is a special focus. As a part of our community service mission, we participate in oral cancer screenings in our surrounding communities in conjunction with Mary Bird Perkins Cancer Center, local businesses, and churches.