image: Dr. Stilianos E. Kountakis, Professor and Vice Chairman of the Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery at the Medical College of Georgia at Georgia Regents University, is Editor-in-Chief of the first encyclopedia of otolaryngology. view more
Credit: Phil Jones
AUGUSTA, Ga. – Dr. Stilianos E. Kountakis, Professor and Vice Chairman of the Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery at the Medical College of Georgia at Georgia Regents University, is Editor-in-Chief of the first encyclopedia of otolaryngology.
The five-volume "Encyclopedia of Otolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery," published by scientific, technological and medical publisher Springer Science + Business Media, is available in hard copy and also will be published online to enable continuous updating. The online site, still being developed by Springer, http://refworks.springer.com/mrw/index.php?id=3509, should be fully operational in May.
"There is a lot of information out there, but we wanted to provide current and future health care professionals as well as libraries and institutions of higher education with comprehensive, well-sourced and readily searchable information in our specialty," Kountakis said. The project has about 640 contributors with hyperlinks to cited articles and books as well as medical/scientific terms used in the text.
The encyclopedia covers otolaryngology's five specialties: general otolaryngology, which includes Kountakis' specialty rhinology-sinus surgery as well as sleep disorders and diseases related to the ears, nose and throat; pediatric otolaryngology; head and neck surgery; otology-neurology, which includes disorders of the ears and temporal bone; and facial and plastic reconstructive surgery of the head and neck.
"Anytime we need information, we go online to search it out and there is a lot of information out there," said Kountakis. "We wanted to make sure credible sources were answering people's questions. Other specialties have started doing this as well."
While it took about three years of work to get to this point, Kountakis' involvement is ongoing as he continues to work with section editors and contributors to ensure timely incorporation of scientific discoveries and new medical techniques into the online version.
"It took a lot of dedicated individuals to get this done and will continue to require the dedication of many to keep the encyclopedia optimally useful," Kountakis said. "For example, we selected world-renowned otolaryngologists with publishing experience as the Section Editors who continue to be pivotal to assessing and organizing such huge volumes of information."
Section Editors for the new encyclopedia include Drs. Joseph B. Jacobs and Richard A. Lebowitz, New York University Langone Medical, general otolaryngology; Dr. Kevin D. Pereira, University of Maryland School of Medicine, and Dr. Ron B. Mitchell, Saint Louis University School of Medicine, pediatric otolaryngology; Drs. Scott P. Stringer and Kristen J. Otto, the University of Mississippi Medical Center, head and neck surgery; former MCG faculty member, Dr. Brian J. McKinnon, now at the Shea Ear Clinic in Memphis, Tenn.; and Dr. Ira D. Papel, Facial Plastic SurgiCenter, Baltimore, and Dr. Kofi Derek O. Boahene, The Johns Hopkins University, facial plastic and reconstructive surgery.
Kountakis has worked with Springer as an editor of three other books, "The Frontal Sinus," which also has been published in Chinese; "Rhinologic and Sleep Apnea Surgical Techniques," and "Revision Sinus Surgery."
An MCG faculty member for a decade, he directs the MCG/GRU Rhinology Fellowship and Otolaryngology Residency Program. He is a past President of the American Rhinologic Society and the Georgia Society of Otolaryngology/Head & Neck Surgery.