One Otolaryngology–Head and Neck Surgery

Gene G. Brown, MD, RPh
AAO-HNS/F PresidentAs an elected representative of the Academy's membership, my responsibility extends beyond any single practice, region, or subspecialty. I start most of the Executive Committee and Boards of Directors meetings with a reminder that we are all, “Representatives for, not representatives of.” This means, first and foremost, we are a representative for the specialty of otolaryngology–head and neck surgery, not a representative of, in my case, private practice from Charleston, South Carolina. 

This is important because every president walks into this role focusing on something that will have long-term impact and outlast a singular year of service. When I took office in October 2025, I already knew what mine would be, and I wrote about it in my first Bulletin column, United We Must Stand. The concept of specialty unity is not new to us. Its roots stretch back to 2007, built through the hard work and dedication of many leaders across the specialty.

The opportunity to build on those decades of work has been living in the back of my mind, growing louder with time in anticipation of serving as your President. I wanted to hit the ground running so that over the course of the year, we could collectively lay the foundation and put some tangible actions into motion. I am pleased to report that with One Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery we have done just that.

Specialty Unity: From Concept to Commitment

For the past few years, something has weighed heavily on me, and I know I wasn’t alone in feeling it. Our history had proven the need and desire to come together across the specialty, but what has been missing most recently was a renewed strategic infrastructure to carry progress forward and nurture the relationships that make our collective work more consequential.

Without a sustained mechanism over the past few years to align priorities, coordinate advocacy, or share resources, the natural tendency toward fragmentation quietly filled the void. The specialty, which was drifting by default and not steering by design, had the will for unity and a proven history of it; what it needed now was the infrastructure to carry that legacy forward to sustain it.

As I note above, this concept of specialty unity is not new. Taking a stroll down our specialty’s memory lane,¹ the idea was first introduced in 2007 when a specialty society summit meeting was called during the term of Past President James C. Denneny III, MD. This led to the formalization of the Specialty Society Advisory Council (SSAC) in 2009 after a work group led by Paul T. Fass, MD, and supported by Past President Ronald B. Kuppersmith, MD, MBA, defined the founding governance structure and mission. In 2017 under the leadership of Past President Gavin Setzen, MD, and Past President Albert L. Merati, MD, who also previously served as SSAC Chair, the SSAC officially transitioned to the Specialty Unity Summit (SUS), a biannual gathering that brought subspecialty leaders together to share challenges and successes. SUS proved essential for the collaboration needed among subspeciality organizations in an ever-growing era of healthcare disruptions and changing business models, and especially during the COVD-19 pandemic.

The return of specialty unity once again came to the forefront during conversations held at the January 2025 Strategic Planning meeting, which resulted in “Increase unity among subspecialty societies and organizations” as a key objective for the Academy and “Decrease fragmentation and commit to enduring long-term success of the specialty…” for the specialty. You can see how specialty unity has been woven into the framework of our AAO-HNS/F Strategic Plan.

As we moved forward, we knew we were building on a positive framework and that:

• We had proof of principle from the successes of both SSAC and SUS.
• We had overwhelming support for unity from the otolaryngology community.
• We knew we needed a louder voice for greater impact on all fronts from advocacy and health policy to research and education.

Informed by the successes and foundation of SSAC and SUS, we were committed to building One Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery to be durable enough to withstand the natural transitions in leadership and priorities that every organization faces over time. We studied what other specialties had done, and One Neurosurgery stood out immediately. They had already brought diverse stakeholders together, built a platform for candid dialogue, and shaped their specialty's future with real intention.

Seeing it work was invigorating. Their road map showed us what was possible, and we were determined to pick up where SSAC and SUS had left off and go further. 

A Specialty Siloed by Design

Our specialty is not fragmented for lack of talent or ambition; it is fragmented by design with the natural branching of subspecialization. Head and neck oncology, rhinology, allergy, otology, neurotology, laryngology, sleep, pediatric otolaryngology, geriatric otolaryngology, facial plastic and reconstructive surgery, and more—each has its own distinct identity and culture. That evolution has made us remarkably capable. It has also made us siloed, often obscuring the common home in otolaryngology-head and neck surgery that we share. While we are known to be small and mighty as a specialty, our small numbers can make our voice hard to hear.

In those silos, critical questions about our specialty’s future go unanswered—or worse, are answered in isolation with incomplete visibility and awareness of what the entire otolaryngology community is doing and needs. The question should not be who leads but how we lead together.

A Fragmented Specialty Whispers. A Unified One Commands the Room.

One Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery does something that matters enormously; it creates a unified voice that speaks for the entire specialty with far greater volume than any single organization can produce alone. When we are aligned, we are louder. When we are louder, we are heard in Washington, DC, in state legislatures, at payer negotiations, and in every arena where the future of otolaryngology and patient care is being decided.

One Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery Defined

One Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery is a convening framework—a structured, recurring forum where leaders from across otolaryngology-head and neck surgery come to the same table to wrestle with questions no single organization can answer alone. Its legitimacy flows from authentic representation including every subspecialty society, the private practice community, academic medicine, education, our certifying board, and residency programs. If the right voices are not in the room, the right decisions will not come out of it. 

We are in the process of formalizing the governing and organization structure of One Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery. The founding organizations are:

• American Academy of Facial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery
• American Academy of Otolaryngic Allergy
• American Academy of Otolaryngology–Head and Neck Surgery
• American Board of Otolaryngology – Head & Neck Surgery
• American Broncho-Esophagological Association
• American Head and Neck Society
• American Laryngological Association
• American Neurotology Society
• American Otological Society
• American Rhinologic Society
• American Society of Geriatric Otolaryngology
• American Society of Pediatric Otolaryngology
• Association of Academic Departments of Otolaryngology
• Education Council – Otolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery
• International Surgical Sleep Society
• Otolaryngology Program Directors Organization
• Society of University Otolaryngologists
• The Triological Society

Above all, the aim is to be inclusive and effective. If an otolaryngology-head and neck surgery organization is not represented in the list above, please do not hesitate to contact me or any other participating organization. 

The Table We Built

The first One Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery meeting was convened in Indianapolis, Indiana, last October. The room held leaders from very different corners of this specialty, and every one of them immediately recognized the value of being in that conversation together. That is the foundation, and what it becomes depends on the issues and challenges this collective group of stakeholders chooses to focus on.

One Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery is the next chapter of a commitment this specialty made to itself in 2007, carrying forward everything SSAC and SUS built and growing stronger with every organization that chooses to invest in it.

The specialty needs an enduring mechanism for strategic thought leadership; one resilient enough to outlast transitions, consistent enough to build real trust, and durable enough to carry the decisions that matter most. The next generation of otolaryngologist-head and neck surgeons, and the patients who depend on them, need precisely this.

Carry it forward.