Bruce M. Wenig, MD
  • Chief, Division of Head and Neck Surgical Oncology, Department of Otolaryngology
  • Director, Head and Neck Surgical Oncology, Mount Sinai Beth Israel
  • Co-Director, Institute for Head and Neck and Thyroid Cancer, Mount Sinai Beth Israel

Mark L. Urken, MD

Dr. Urken is the former chairman of the department of otolaryngology, Mt Sinai Medical Center, 1995 to 2004, and has served as the director of the head and neck surgery fellowship program from 1993 to the present. The head and neck surgery fellowship program is one of the most coveted advanced training programs in the world. Numerous graduates of this fellowship have assumed leadership positions in head and neck surgery in major medical centers in this country and around the world. He is also the medical director of the newly created functional outcomes research center at Mount Sinai Beth Israel, which is the only United States medical center to be selected as a core member of the international Head and Neck Research Network.

Dr. Urken has authored two books: Atlas of Regional and Free Flaps for Head and Neck Reconstruction, Raven Press, 1995 and Multidisciplinary Head and Neck Reconstruction: A Defect-Oriented Approach, Lippincott, 2009. He has also authored more than 170 articles in peer-reviewed journals and over 20 chapters.

Considered one of the pioneers in head and neck microvascular surgery, Dr. Urken has also been responsible for numerous innovations in head and neck and thyroid surgery. His groundbreaking work in head and neck microsurgery has resulted in numerous improvements in the function and quality of life of patients treated for head and neck cancer. He has lectured in more than 20 different countries on topics related to head and neck cancer, head and neck reconstruction, and thyroid and parathyroid diseases. Dr. Urken is the program director of an annual course on head and neck surgery and thyroid and parathyroid surgery – a program that is now in its 18th year. He also serves as president and medical director of the THANC Foundation (Thyroid, Head and Neck Cancer) and is consistently listed among New York Magazine’s “Best Doctors.” The New York Magazine list is excerpted from Castle Connolly’s annual guidebook, “Top Doctors: New York Metro Area.” He is listed in the national registry of “Top Cancer Doctors.”