Embedded Files
PAGE 2
Dr. Stilianos E. Kountakis received his undergraduate degree in Chemical Engineering from the University of Houston and his medical degree from the University of Texas-Houston. He completed his training in Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery at the University of Texas-Houston affiliated hospitals in 1993. After his training Dr. Kountakis stayed on as a faculty at the University of Texas-Houston Medical School until 1999, when he was appointed the Director of Rhinology-Sinus Surgery at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville, Virginia. Dr. Kountakis joined the faculty at Georgia Health Sciences University (Medical College of Georgia), effective July 1, 2003 as Professor of the Department of Otolaryngology and as the Chief of the Division of Rhinology - Sinus Surgery. He is also the Director of the Otolaryngology Residency Program and the Director of the Rhinology Fellowship at the institution. Dr. Kountakis’ research interests include clinical, physiological, genetic and immune-basic science parameters of chronic sinusitis and medical-surgical outcomes. His research interests also include development of a staging and classification system of chronic sinusitis. He has received multiple honors and awards including the Certificate of Honor by the American Academy of Otolaryngology-Head & Neck Surgery and the Golden Mirror Teaching Award by the American Rhinologic Society. He has served as an oral examiner of the American Board of Otolaryngology and has been recognized by the Best Doctors in America for several years. Dr. Kountakis is also recognized in the Top Doctors category of the US News and World Report. Dr. Kountakis has published extensively, has edited multiple books, is on the editorial and review boards of multiple journals and serves as an associate editor of the International Forum of Allergy & Rhinology. Among his many other professional activities, Dr. Kountakis is a Fellow of the American Academy of Otolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery, the American College of Surgeons, and the American Rhinologic Society. Dr. Kountakis has served as President of the American Rhinologic Society and the Georgia Society of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery and has held senior leadership positions within the Georgia Health Sciences University, the Physicians Practice Group (Chair of the Foundation) and the Medical Center. The Aerodigestive Program at Texas Children’s Hospital is one of the few of its kind in the Southern United States. Our team is dedicated to the comprehensive and multidisciplinary management of children with complex airway and digestive tract disorders. Coordination of care between several different specialists can be challenging and time consuming, and unfortunately this burden too often falls on the patient and family. The Aerodigestive Program is designed so that our complex patients can be seen by multiple specialists in a single visit which facilitates better communication, early diagnosis and faster, more comprehensive care. This collaborative approach provides several potential advantages for the patient and family: - Patients are seen by all the necessary physicians and care providers at one appointment and one location. - If an endoscopic evaluation is deemed necessary, the patient undergoes a coordinated exam which requires anesthesia only once, rather than multiple times for each specialty. - After each evaluation, all physicians meet together to discuss and develop a collaborative treatment plan. - The patient is treated as a whole, rather than individual symptoms, with a focus on continuity of care and communication with the family. During their initial appointments, patients will see specialists from pediatric otolaryngology, pulmonary medicine and gastroenterology, and may see other specialists such as feeding specialists and nutritionists based on each individual patient’s need. Additional testing (swallow function study, pulmonary function test, etc.) may also be coordinated on the same day. A joint diagnostic evaluation with all three specialists in the operating room may be recommended. This is typically coordinated to take place the day after the clinic appointments. After the evaluation, the physicians will meet together to discuss the clinical concerns of each patient and the initial findings. A unique treatment plan is developed for each patient, which is then communicated to the family by a clinical coordinator. Detailed letters for the patient’s primary care physician will also sent in a timely manner shortly after the appointments and evaluation.
Report abuse