N Scott Howard, MD, MBA

About

N. Scott Howard, MD is a board-certified head and neck surgeon specializing in airway, voice and swallowing problems – offering complex surgical and minimally invasive office procedures. He and his family were excited to move to Cleveland to become a member of the University Hospitals team and part of the Cleveland community.

Dr. Howard graduated from the United States Military Academy at West Point and initially served in the United States Army as an armor officer in the 1st Cavalry Division. Although he loved working directly with troops, he had a calling to serve the military as a physician. Following medical school at the University of Florida, he went to Washington, DC, to begin his residency in otolaryngology at the famed Walter Reed Army Medical Center during the time period of the greatest casualties of Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom (OIF/OEF). While caring for soldiers returning from war with massive head and neck trauma, Dr. Howard realized that the Army did not have a specialist trained in voice and airway reconstruction. At the conclusion of his residency he moved to Los Angeles, California, to begin a two-year fellowship in reconstructive airway surgery with Dr. Gerald S. Berke at UCLA. During this two year fellowship in laryngology/head & neck surgery at UCLA, he honed his diagnostic and surgical skills within the subspecialty of laryngology, voice disorders, and broncho-esophagology. He rounded out his clinical and leadership capabilities with an Executive MBA at the UCLA Anderson School of Management.

Following his fellowship, Dr. Howard led the Eyes-Ears-Nose & Throat Division at the Dwight D. Eisenhower Army Medical Center in Augusta, Georgia. Although he was already a regional referral point for several colleagues in the local area, the Army quickly moved him to the San Antonio Military Medical Center (SAMMC). SAMMC is the Department of Defense’s largest medical treatment facility and has the highest acuity and volume of any hospital in our military health system. There he focused his practice on diseases of the larynx and aero-digestive tract with treatment of military members, their families, retirees, and veterans. He cared for patients with airway stenosis, head & neck cancer, spasmodic dysphonia (a neurologic disorder of the larynx) referred from around the world. He also treated patients with swallowing disorders and other tumors of the larynx or neck. He later moved to Tacoma, Washington, to initiate a similar laryngology practice at Madigan Army Medical Center and also cared for patients with complex obstructive sleep apnea (OSA).

Dr. Howard enjoys his role as an academic otolaryngologist, teaching residents and medical students both the art and the science of medical practice. His research interests focus on the treatment of trauma to the larynx, tumors of the larynx, laryngeal biomechanics, laryngeal imaging, neurolaryngology and spasmodic dysphonia.

Dr. Howard is passionate about minimally invasive surgical options for laryngeal cancer in order to return patients to health quickly. He has a simple philosophy of patient care that was passed to him from his medical school mentors – treat every patient as if they were your close relative or friend. He’ll carefully explain your diagnosis and treatment options in terms you, so your family can understand and discuss quality of life and the medical/surgical options available.

Watch Dr. Howard’s Health Talks