Herbert Silverstein, MD, FACS president and founder of Silverstein Institute and the Ear Research Foundation, has been consistently recognized since 1979 as one the "Best Physicians in the USA." He has been a leader in otology (science of the ear) for more than 25 years, developing surgical and diagnostic procedures; inventing instruments (such as the facial nerve monitor/stimulator); teaching medical students, residents and fellows; and helping people from all walks of life.
Born in Philadelphia, he received his BS degree from Dickinson College (cum laude), and both MS (in physiology) and MD degrees from Temple University Medical School. Before coming to Sarasota in 1973, he served on the teaching staff of Harvard University Medical School, Massachusetts Eye & Ear Infirmary, as director of the Walker Biochemistry Research Laboratory, and as associate professor and director of the Otological Research Laboratory at University of Pennsylvania Medical School.
He is internationally regarded as a leading authority on Meniere's disease, having received the Prosper Meniere's Society's prestigious Gold Medal Honor Award in 1996 for his contributions to understanding the biochemistry of Meniere's disease and his surgical developments to treat the disease. Dr. Silverstein was one of the first physicians in the U.S. to use a laser in ear surgery to restore hearing in patients with otosclerosis. He was a co-investigator of the cochlear implant to bring sound to profoundly deaf persons. He has developed a new procedure for otosclerosis the Laser STAMP (Laser Stapedotomy Minus Prosthesis), that does not require a prosthesis to restore the patients' hearing, and many minimally invasive surgical techniques including the Silverstein MicroWick for treating Meniere's disease through the ear canal.
Dr. Silverstein serves as a Clinical Professor of Surgery on the teaching faculty of the University of Pennsylvania Medical School and at the University of South Florida. He is Board Certified in Otolaryngology and is a Fellow of the American College of Surgeons. He is an active member of many medical societies, including the prestigious American Otological Society, American Neurotology Society and the Triologic Society. He is on the active staff at Sarasota Memorial Hospital and Doctors Hospital of Sarasota, Cape Surgery Center, The Surgery Center of Sarasota and Bon Secours Hospital in Venice, FL.
In 1979, Dr. Silverstein founded the Ear Research Foundation. Today, he serves as its president, as well as its Medical Director and Director of Research. An active researcher, Dr. Silverstein speaks at many annual international medical meetings and is the author of over 200 scientific papers, several textbooks, and videos. Among his many honors and accolades are the 2nd Howard P. House Award for Excellence in Ear Surgery, and the 10th Prosper Meniere Society Gold Medal Honor Award. He is one of 25 Otologists in America to be elected to the Best Doctors in the U.S.A. repeatedly since 1979.
Dr. Silverstein is also a celebrated jazz musician. Click here to learn more!
Click here to view Dr. Silverstein's Curriculum Vitae
Click here to view a list of Dr Silverstein's published articles
Seth I. Rosenberg, MD, FACS- A specialist in ear disease and sinus disorders, Dr. Rosenberg adds a valuable complement to services at Florida Ear & Sinus Center. His special interests include surgical hearing restoration, balance disorders and sinus surgery.
A native of Poughkeepsie, New York, he completed a BS in chemistry, cum laude, at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute prior to obtaining his MD at State University of New York Upstate Medical Center in Syracuse. His surgical and otolaryngology residencies were also served at SUNY.
Following the completion of his internship and residency, Dr. Rosenberg spent one year of specialized study in otology and neurotology at the Ear Research Foundation. Upon graduating the Fellowship, Dr. Rosenberg was asked to join the staff of the University of Pennsylvania, Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, as an Assistant Professor. During this time, he quickly developed new surgical techniques and a national level practice in ear and skull base surgery. At the same time the University of Pennsylvania was an original center for endoscopic sinus surgery in the United States, so Dr. Rosenberg also cultivated a special interest in the treatment of paranasal sinus disease. He brought this technique to Sarasota in 1991. He then went on to develop ways to use the same endoscopes for minimally invasive ear surgery. In 1994, while seeing a need in this community, Dr. Rosenberg introduced various techniques for the treatment of snoring and sleep apnea. One method, the CO2 LASER, is also used for in-office minimally invasive ear surgery.
Since 1991, Dr. Rosenberg has collaborated with Dr. Silverstein in many productive research endeavors. He serves as Vice President and Education Director for the Ear Research Foundation, and has co-authored over 70 scientific publications. He is still a clinical assistant professor at University of Pennsylvania Medical School, Department of Otolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery. He is also a clinical assistant professor at USF Medical School, Division of Otolaryngology.
Dr. Rosenberg is Board Certified in Otolaryngology (Ear, Nose, and Throat) and a Fellow of the American College of Surgeons. He holds membership in many medical organizations, including the American Academy of Otolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery. In 2000, he became a member of the prestigious Triological Society, receiving the Mosher Award for his thesis "The Natural History of Acoustic Neuromas". The following year, he became one of the youngest members of the exclusive American Otological Society. Dr Rosenberg is on the staff of Sarasota Memorial Hospital, Venice Regional Medical Center, Doctors Same Day Surgery Center, as well as The Cape Surgery Center.
Click here to view Dr. Rosenberg's Curriculum Vitae
Click here to view a list of Dr Rosenberg's published articles
Sumeet Bhanot, MD, FACS - Dr. Bhanot is the Director of the Premier Facial Plastic Surgery Center, a division of the Silverstein Institute. Dr Bhanot is a graduate of Yale University School of Medicine, and has completed a residency in Otolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery at Yale University School of Medicine. Dr. Bhanot completed his plastic surgery fellowship at Beeson Aesthetic Surgery institute located in Carmel, IN.
Dr. Bhanot is Board Certified in Facial Plastics and Reconstructive Surgery as well as Otolaryngology and Head and Neck Surgery. He is on the active staff of Sarasota Memorial Hospital, Doctors Hospital, Surgery Center of Sarasota and Cape Surgery Center. He is a member of the American Academy of Otolaryngology and the American Academy of Plastic Surgery.
Dr. Bhanot specializes in cosmetic and reconstructive facial plastic surgery. Although new to the area, Dr. Bhanot is building a reputation as one of the finest plastic surgeons in Sarasota.
Click here to view Dr. Bhanot's Curriculum Vitae
Jack J. Wazen, MD, FACS - The Silverstein Institute proudly welcomes back its first research fellow Jack Wazen, MD, as a partner in our practice. Since leaving Sarasota in 1983, Dr. Wazen built a successful Ear, Nose & Throat specialty practice in New York and spent the past 23 years as a researcher, professor and practitioner with Columbia University and the Columbia-Presbyterian Medical Center.
Recognized repeatedly as one of New York's and America's "Best Doctors," Dr. Wazen is one of the nation¹s leading authorities on hearing and balance disorders, pioneering new research that expanded treatments for people with single-sided deafness and complex cases of hearing loss. He also is author of the seminal book, Dizzy, providing new treatment options and hope for people affected by balance and hearing disorders.
In addition to providing medical care in the office, Dr. Wazen is an experienced otological / neurotological surgeon trained to restore hearing through microsurgical procedures, such as stapedectomy to correct ear bone degeneration (otosclerosis) and other minimally invasive techniques to cure birth defects, infection or disease (such as Meniere's). He also specializes in surgical removal of tumors (acoustic neuromas and skull based lesions), as well as insertion of implantable hearing devices and cochlear implants (electrodes placed in the inner ear to restore severly impaired hearing).
Committed to finding new and better cures for hearing and balance disorders, Dr. Wazen serves as the Director of Research for the Institute's non-profit Ear Research Foundation. Just as past studies uncovered new options to restore hearing, Dr. Wazen believes new and better treatments are imminent for people suffering from debilitating inner ear diseases like tinnitus (ringing in the ears) and dizziness and balance disorders.
Click here to view Dr. Wazen's Curriculum Vitae
Jack H. Thompson, Jr., PhD, PA-C, has been practicing as a Physician Assistant at Florida Ear & Sinus Center since 1998. He works with all of the Physicians in the practice, and Dr. Rosenberg in particular.
Jack is originally from San Antonio, Texas. The son of an Army officer, he lived everywhere from South Carolina to Alaska before returning to San Antonio. He graduated from Trinity University with a BA in biology, then taught High School science before earning a PhD in Oceanography at Texas A&M University. Reef Building Corals were his particular area of interest. He also worked for Motorola as a Service Representative and was the Senior Radio Technician at an ARCO chemical plant before moving to Honduras with his family. During their eight years in Honduras, he taught school, and then started an emergency medical service on the Island of Honduras. As Director of the Cornerstone EMS, he was also the pilot for the mission’s small plane, and installed and operated the first functional hyperbaric chamber in Honduras. He continues to make trips to Honduras to support the clinic that grew out of that effort.
Florida Ear & Sinus Center makes good use of Jack's experience. Besides maintaining a busy clinical schedule (including seeing Spanish speaking patients), and assisting Dr. Rosenberg in surgery, he performs statistical analysis of the research, writes software for the clinic's computerized charting system, oversees the practice's computer system, and"fixes things".
Jack is a member of the American Academy of Physician Assistants, the American Academy of Otolaryngology, and the Society of Physician Assistants in Otolaryngology. He is also active in the Florida Academy of Physician Assistants where he lectures at both local and statewide meetings.
Steve Warta, MPAS, PA-C, has been a Physcian Assistant at the Silverstein Institute since 1999. He works with all the physicians at the Institute, especially with Dr. SIlverstein and Dr. Bhanot, as well as in his own clinic. He has been the Medical Director of the Allergy Department at the Silverstein Institute since 2007.
Steve was born and raised in Omaha, Nebraska. The son of a dentist and the grandson of an Ear, Eye, Nose, and Throat surgeon, he obtained a Master of Physician Assistant Studies degree at the University of Nebraska Medical Center. He was a Board of Regents Scholarship recipient, and graduated with an Award of Academic Excellence. Prior to attending medical school, his academic endeavors were focused on French Literature, Linguistics, Philosophy, and Art History. Steve has studied and traveled extensively throughout Europe, Central America, and Asia, where he eventually taught English in Japan. Upon returning to the United States, he spent several years directing operations for a national restaurant corporation. He left the hectic life of the hospitality industry to pursue an interest in Medicine. An active advocate for the Racing Dog Rescue Project in Sarasota, he enjoys spending his downtime with his own retired racing greyhounds.
Steve is a member of the American Academy of Physician Assistants, the Society of Physician Assistants in Otorhinolaryngology/Head & Neck Surgery, as well as the Florida Academy of Physician Assisants.
Julie Daugherty, NP-C is native of St. Louis, Missouri. She began her nursing career in 1986 as a diploma graduate of Barnes College, located in St. Louis. She spent the first ten years of her nursing career in various areas of critical care including heart transplantation before entering the field of Otolaryngology in 1997. During her years as Dr. Silverstein's assistant and the Clinical Director, her interest in this field flourished.
In 2004, she decided to pursue an advanced degree in nursing. Julie graduated in 2006 from the University of South Florida as an adult nurse practitioner. At graduation, she was the recipient of the award for "Clinical Excellence," granted by the faculty of the College of Nursing. Julie is certified by the American Academy of Nurse Practitioners. Since her graduation, she has remained on staff at the SIlverstein Institute in a new role of advanced practice nurse. She has dedicated a large part of her practice to treating patients with tinnitus, providing education to her patients, peers, and the community about the prevalence, causes, and various treatment options for tinnitus. She has also served as faculty of many community and physician seminars both locally and nationally, sharing her expertise on topics relating to her specialty field and on Procedural Coding and Reimbursement.
Julie is a member of the American Academy of Nurse Practitioners, Sigma Theta Tau International, Nursing Honor Society, Society of Otorhinolaryngology-Head and Neck Nurses, American Nurses Association, Florida Nurses Association, and the Sarasota Council for Advance Practice Nurses.
Florida Ear and Sinus Clinical Staff (941.366.9222)
Sharon Wallace, RN
Susan Land, LPN
Robin Riccardi, LPN
Mario Pietripaoli, Clinical Assistant
Colleen Lloyd, Clinical Assistant