Dr. Jeffrey Ahn – Medical Director

• Board certified in Otolaryngology–Head & Neck Surgery
• Medical Director at Park Avenue Medical Center
• Associate Professor of Otorhinolaryngology/Head & Neck Surgery at University of Pennsylvania, Perelman School of Medicine
• Senior Research Advisor at Columbia University, Center for Craniofacial Regeneration
• Affiliations with Mt. Sinai and Lenox Hill Hospital
• 20+ years of experience at Columbia University Medical Center

Dr. Jeffrey Ahn, the medical director at Park Avenue Medical Center, is a double board-certified surgeon in both Otolaryngology-Head & Neck Surgery and Facial Plastic & Reconstructive Surgery who served as a full-time faculty member at Columbia University for 20+ years. He also served as the Director of Sleep Disorder & Robotic Surgery at Columbia University Medical Center for 10 years. Dr. Ahn has performed over 4,000 endoscopic sinus surgeries with an excellent safety track record. He is also one of the first surgeons in the world to perform robotic surgery for obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) and has performed more TORS for OSA than anyone else in New York since 2011. Dr. Ahn currently serves as a clinical faculty member in the Department of Otorhinolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery at University of Pennsylvania, Perelman School of Medicine.

Dr. Ahn received his medical degree from Columbia University, College of Physicians & Surgeons in 1987 and completed his residency training in Otolaryngology-Head & Neck Surgery at Columbia University Medical Center. After fellowship training in Facial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery at New York University, he returned to Columbia in 1996 to become a full-time faculty member in the College of Physicians & Surgeons. Over the course of his twenty-year career at Columbia, Dr. Ahn served as Director of Resident Training, Director of Facial Plastic Surgery, and Director of Sleep Disorder & Robotic Surgery in the Department of Otolaryngology-Head & Neck Surgery; for ten years, he also served as Director of the 4th Year Medical Student Rotation. Dr. Ahn was among the first surgeons in the world to perform da Vinci ® Trans-Oral-Robotic Surgeries (TORS) for obstructive sleep apnea, and is responsible for the successful establishment of the Trans-Oral-Robotic Surgery (TORS) Program for Obstructive Sleep Apnea at Columbia. He also collaborates with Dr. Jeremy Mao in tissue engineering research at Columbia’s Center for Craniofacial Regeneration, under a grant from the National Institute of Health (NIH).

Mission and Specialities

Patient comfort is at the heart of Dr. Ahn’s academic work and private practice. Over the years, he has been at the forefront of developing minimally invasive head and neck procedures that reduce patient discomfort and make patient recovery time shorter and less painful. Moreover, his additional fellowship training in Facial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery means that he is particularly skilled in reducing the visible impact, as well as the physical discomfort, of head and neck surgery. Dr. Ahn was the first surgeon in the United States to use the coagulating agent Costasis to control bleeding during nasal and sinus surgeries; this spared patients from undergoing painful post-operative packing. Since 2005, Dr. Ahn has been performing balloon sinuplasty, a minimally invasive method whose endoscopic, catheter-based technology has vastly improved and shortened the patient recovery experience. Currently, Dr. Ahn is involved in stem cell research for connective tissue engineering in head and neck reconstruction, and in the research and development of head and neck robotic surgery.

Minimally Invasive Robotic Surgery

Dr. Ahn was among the first surgeons in the world to perform da Vinci® transoral robotic surgeries (TORS) for obstructive sleep apnea. While leading the Sleep Disorder & Robotic Surgery division at Columbia University Medical Center, he was the first surgeon in the New York metropolitan area to specialize in the procedure, and has performed more TORS for obstructive sleep apnea than any surgeon in the area. Meanwhile, he has innovated a method within TORS that focuses not only on tongue reduction but also on modification of the epiglottis, thus improving the surgery’s success rate.

Medical Background and Training

Dr. Ahn received his medical degree from Columbia University, College of Physicians & Surgeons, and did his internship training in General Surgery at Columbia University Medical Center. His residency training in Otolaryngology-Head & Neck Surgery was also at Columbia University Medical Center. Dr. Ahn then underwent fellowship training in Facial Plastic & Reconstructive Surgery at New York University Medical Center.

After his fellowship, Dr. Ahn returned to Columbia University Medical Center as a full-time faculty member in Otolaryngology-Head & Neck Surgery. Subsequently, he served as Director of Residency Training in Columbia’s department of Otolaryngology-Head & Neck Surgery for 12 years and the Director of Columbia’s 4th Year Medical Student Rotation for 10 years. Currently, he serves as Associate Professor of Otorhinolaryngology/Head & Neck Surgery at University of Pennsylvania, Perelman School of Medicine as well as Senior Research Advisor for Columbia University, Center for Craniofacial Regeneration.

Hospital Affiliations

We are affiliated with the following hospitals in the NYC area:

Titles and Offices Held

Dr. Ahn’s current titles at Columbia University and University of Pennsylvania, Perelman School of Medicine are Senior Research Advisor, Center for Craniofacial Regeneration and Associate Professor, Otorhinolaryngology/Head & Neck Surgery, respectively. He has over 20 years of clinical experience, and is also currently involved in the research and development of robotic sinus surgeries, as well as stem cell research at Columbia University to produce cartilage used in head and neck reconstruction.

Schedule an Appointment or a Consultation with Dr. Ahn

Call (212) 714-9494 to schedule an appointment or consultation with Dr. Ahn.