Leaderhip

Dr. Judson is a head and neck surgeon, investigator, and educator, who is passionate about the mission of academic medicine. He previously served as Chief Ambulatory Officer of Smilow Cancer Hospital and Program Director of the Yale Otolaryngology Residency. His surgical practice focuses on the treatment of benign and malignant tumors and other surgical disorders of the head and neck. He was an early adopter of trans oral robotic surgery and specializes in minimally invasive surgical approaches including endoscopic laser and tailored open surgeries. He routinely operates on complex and difficult cases and works with a multidisciplinary team of other surgeons, medical oncologists, radiation doctors, and other specialist providers. As an investigator, Dr. Judson started a tumor biorepository that supports multiple laboratory investigations of head and neck cancer at Yale and other institutions. His recent investigation has been on the role of bile acid reflux in hypopharyngeal carcinogenesis and identifying saliva biomarkers of oral potentially malignant disorders and cancers. He was an early adaptor of using large national databases to study uncommon head and neck tumors. He is Associate Editor of the journal Head & Neck. Dr. Judson attended Middlebury College, obtained a master’s degree at the University of Pennsylvania, and graduated from Jefferson Medical College. He completed a residency at Georgetown University Hospital in Otolaryngology – Head and Neck Surgery, and a fellowship at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in Head and Neck Surgical Oncology. Before working in medicine, he was a Peace Corp Volunteer in Sri Lanka and worked as Assistant Deputy Mayor of the City of Philadelphia. He completed a Master of Business Administration degree at the Yale School of Management in 2022.

John F. Kveton M.D. is an internationally recognized neurotologist who has practiced in Connecticut since 1989 when he joined the Section of Otolaryngology at Yale University School of Medicine.  Dr. Kveton received his M.D. degree from St. Louis University School of Medicine in 1978.  He completed his surgical internship and otolaryngology residency at Yale New Haven Medical Center before working as a neurotology fellow at the EAR Foundation with Michael Glasscock, M.D. in 1982-1983.  As a faculty member at St. Louis University School of Medicine, Dr. Kveton performed the first cochlear implant in St. Louis in 1984.   He founded the cochlear implant program at the Lahey Clinic in Burlington, Massachusetts and developed the first skull base surgical team there.  Dr. Kveton returned to Yale in 1989 and remained on as a full-time faculty member under the title of Professor of Surgery/Otolaryngology and Professor of Neurosurgery until 2002.   During that time he pioneered the use of hydroxyapatite cement in skull base surgery.   Dr. Kveton has remained active on the clinical faculty of the Division of Otolaryngology at Yale as a partner in Ear Nose & Throat Medical and Surgical Group in the New Haven. He has since returned as the Director of Otology and Neurotology in the Division of Otolaryngology.Dr. Kveton has published over 100 original articles, reviews book chapters and serves as an editorial reviewer for several medical journals, including the New England Journal of Medicine, Laryngoscope and Otology & Neurotology.  Dr. Kveton is a frequent national lecturer.  He has served as a Senior Examiner for the American Board of Otolaryngology and was a founding examiner for the Neurotology Sub-Certification Board.  Dr. Kveton has served as President of the CT ENT Society and New England Otolaryngological Society as well as numerous professional committees.  Dr. Kveton has been recognized in the Best Doctors in the U.S. and Best Doctors in the New York Metro Region since 1997.

Dr. Saral Mehra serves as Chief of the Section of Head and Neck Surgery, Director of the Head and Neck Tumor Board, and the Fellowship Director for our Internationally renowned Advanced Training Program in Head and Neck Oncologic and Reconstructive Surgery. He has received teaching and clinical accolades from within the Institution and beyond, including the 2023 Yale Cancer Center Award for Excellence in Clinical Care (awarded to only one-two physicians a year). He is proud to be part of an incredible Head and Neck Tumor Center of Excellence at Yale delivering cutting edge multi-disciplinary care to patients throughout Connecticut and beyond. Learn more about Dr. Mehra>> Dr. Mehra’s clinical practice focuses on treating patients with Head and Neck, Salivary, and Thyroid diseases, particularly tumor and cancer. His expertise also includes advanced reconstruction and rehabilitation. He sees patients with all stages of cancer, from early stage to far advanced and recurrent cancers of the head and neck. He makes use of the latest in minimally invasive techniques such as transoral laser and robotic surgery. He also has special interest in minimally invasive diagnosis and treatment of salivary disease with use of salivary endoscopy. His primary research interests are in measuring and improving the quality of life in patients being treated for head and neck cancers, as well as leveraging his Business education to perform Health Services research with the goal of measuring and thus improving the quality of care delivered to such patients. Dr. Mehra has over 100 peer-reviewed publications, a number of book chapters, and regularly presents original research at National and International meetings. He is an active Member of the American Head and Neck Society. Dr. Mehra earned his Medical Degree from Columbia University’s College of Physicians and Surgeons in New York City, and a Masters in Business Administration from Columbia Business School. He then went on to a residency in Otolaryngology/Head and Neck Surgery at New York Presbyterian Hospital / Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. He completed his training at Mt Sinai Beth Israel Medical Center with a highly coveted Fellowship in Head and Neck and Thyroid Cancer surgery, with further sub-specialization in complex reconstructive surgery including the use of free tissue transfer through state-of the art microvascular surgical techniques. During training, Dr. Mehra was awarded the Department’s research award twice, the Department’s teaching award at his graduation, and the Distinguished House Staff award from New York Hospital.

Nwanmegha Young, MD, has clinical expertise in the medical and surgical treatment of voice disorders, including care of the performing voice. Dr. Young is an expert in the diagnosis of neurologic disorders of the larynx and treatment with botulinum. He serves as the Program Site Director at the West Haven VA.Learn more about one of Yale Otolaryngology's surgeons.

Dr. Waldman attended UCLA for medical school and then completed his residency in Otolaryngology at Johns Hopkins Hospital. He took a gap year as a medical volunteer and performed surgeries on patients with very limited access to health care in Nepal, Vietnam and Cambodia. He then completed a fellowship in Pediatric Otolaryngology at Children’s Hospital Boston. For 8 years he was the Clinical Director of Cochlear Implants as well as the student clerkship director for the Department of Otolaryngology at Columbia University Medical Center / Morgan Stanley Children’s Hospital. He is now the Chief of Pediatric Otolaryngology at Yale New Haven Children’s Hospital. He is a diplomat of the American Board of Otolaryngology and a Fellow of the American College of Surgeons. He is a member of the American Society of Pediatric Otolaryngology (ASPO) as well as the American Academy of Otolaryngology / Head and Neck Surgery. His clinical interests involve all of Pediatric Otolaryngology including hearing loss, snoring, ear infections, and aerodigestive problems in children. He is married with two children.