American Head & Neck Society

Advancing Education, Research, and Quality of Care for the Head and Neck oncology patient.

Published on by Merry Sebelik

Merry Sebelik, MD, FACS – Atlanta, Georgia

Practice Contact Information

Emory University
550 Peachtree Street Northeast
Suite 1135
Atlanta
Georgia
30308
United States

Phone: 4047780278
Email: msebeli@emory.edu
Web Site: https://otolaryngology.emory.edu/about-us/faculty/merry-sebelik.html

Areas of surgical specialization in Head and Neck Surgery

Endocrine Surgery, Head and Neck Surgeon

Biography/Statement

Merry E. Sebelik, MD, FACS is a Professor in Emory University’s Department of Otolaryngology, Head & Neck Surgery, serving in the Division of Head & Neck Surgical Oncology with the Winship Cancer Institute, a NCI-designated comprehensive cancer center.

She received her medical degree and Otolaryngology, Head & Neck Surgery training at the Medical College of Wisconsin as well as fellowship training in Head & Neck Surgical Oncology at UT MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, TX.

Dr. Sebelik’s clinical practice has an emphasis on endocrine surgery of the head and neck, with recent training in minimally invasive techniques for management of benign thyroid pathology.   She has incorporated surgeon-performed, point-of-care ultrasound into staging, treatment planning and preoperative surgical assessment of her patients. Additionally, she participates in research studies addressing expanded indications for ultrasound use in clinical care and employs ultrasound imaging in translational research.

She is an American College of Surgeons National Ultrasound Faculty member and conducts training courses in head and neck ultrasound and participates as a didactic and practical instructor in courses at AHNS, ACS, and AAO-HNS meetings. She co-directed an ACS exported Thyroid and Parathyroid Ultrasound Course at the University of Cape Town in 2018, to Head and Neck Surgeons living and working in Sub-Saharan Africa. Most recently, she joined local and international instructors to deliver additional Head & Neck Point-of-Care ultrasound training at the 3rd Annual African Head & Neck Society meeting in Harare, Zimbabwe.

Dr. Sebelik has a strong interest in addressing deficits in surgical care in low and middle income countries, and has worked with the World Health Organization’s Global Initiative for Emergency and Essential Surgical Care. She currently serves on the Global Surgical Education Subcommittee of the American College of Surgeons Operation Giving Back, as well as the Global Affairs Committee of the American Head and Neck Society.  She serves as a faculty mentor in Emory University’s Global Health Resident Scholar Program, partnering with otolaryngology training in Ethiopia.  She recently joined with colleagues in the African Head and Neck Society to co-author Clinical Practice Guidelines for Thyroid Nodules and Cancer in Developing Countries.

Through her interest in global surgical deficits, Dr. Sebelik has been privileged to collaborate with colleagues and trainees in many low and middle-income countries, and thus facilitate care to head & neck patients who may otherwise have little access to surgical care.

 

Clinical Trials

  • Integrated pilot biomarker trial of VX15/2503 in combination with ipilimumab or nivolumab in patients with head and neck cancer
  • Patient Perceptions about Thyroidectomy

Bibliography

  • Smith A, Ray M, Jain N, Zhang H, Sebelik ME.The Burden of Angioedema on United States Emergency Departments:  2006-2010.  Laryngoscope 2017 Apr;127(4):828-834.

 

  • Smith A, Braden L, Wan J, Sebelik ME.The Effect of Resident Duty Hour Restrictions on Procedure Specific Outcomes in Head and Neck Endocrine Surgery.  JAMA Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg. 2017 Jun 1;143(6):549-554.

 

  • Smith A, Jain N, Wan J, Wang L, Sebelik ME.The Effect of Resident Duty Hour Restrictions on Surgical Complications for Otolaryngology Head and Neck Key Indicator Procedures.  Laryngoscope 2017 Aug;127(8):1797-1803.

 

  • Smith A, Grady A, Vieira F, Sebelik ME.The Use of Ultrasound Guided Needle Biopsy for Diagnosis of Advanced Stage Upper Aerodigestive Tract Malignancy.  OTO-HNS Open Access Dec 2016.

 

  • Shires CB, Smith A, Jones J, Sebelik ME.The Use of Ultrasound for Sizing Tracheoesophageal Speech Prostheses.  OTO-HNS Dec 2016;157(6):1075-1078.

 

  • Shires CB, Smith A, Lee J, Boughter JB, Sebelik ME.Classification System for Lateral Pharyngotomy:  Systematic Study of Anatomic Exposure in a Human Cadaver Model.  Surgical and Radiologic Anatomy Surg Radiol Anat 2017 Sep;39(9):975-979.

 

  • Smith A, Kortebein S, Eid A, Boughter JB, Cary N, Brooks J, Sebelik ME.Comparing Cancellous Bone Volume of the Manubrium to Iliac Crest in Fresh Cadavers.  OTO-HNS 2017 Jul; 157(1):36-41.

 

  • Giurintano JP, Moskovitz J, Sebelik ME, Hoit, D, Michael LM, Shires CB.Endovascular Extraction of a Needle from the Internal Carotid Artery: A Novel Approach to a Controversial Dental Misadventure. J Neurol Surg Rep 2017;78:e106-e108.

 

  • Wood J, Densky J, Boughter JB, Sebelik ME, Shires CB.Anterior Skull Base Reconstruction:  Does Fat Preparation Matter?  J Neurol Surg Rep 2018 Apr;79(2):e31-e35.

 

  • Davis KS, Vila PM, Bonila-Velez J, Sebelik ME, Orloff LA.Current Experience of Ultrasound Training in Otolaryngology Residency Programs.  J of Ultrasound in Medicine, 2018 Aug 12;doi: 10.1002/jum.14700.

 

  • Thimmappa V, Smith A, Wood J, Shires CB, Langsdon S, Sebelik ME.Management Protocol for Primary Hyperparathyroidism in a Single Institution: Utility of Surgeon Performed Ultrasound.  Gland Surg 2018 Aug ;(7) Supplement 1.

 

  • Jonas R, Bell EB, Sebelik ME, Dedhia R.Ultrasound Guidance for Implantation of Hypoglossal Nerve Stimulator in a Breast Implant Patient.  Laryngoscope 2018 Sep 12;doi: 10.1002/lary.27511.

 

  • Dewan K, Sebelik ME, Boughter JB, Shires CB. Validation of ultrasound as a diagnostic tool to assess vocal cord motion in an animal feasibility study. Gland Surg 2018 Oct;7(5):433-439. doi: 10.21037/gs.2018.07.09

 

  • Giurintano JP, Kortebein S, Thompson J, Sebelik ME, McLevy-Bazzanella J.Intratonsillar Abscess:  A Not-So-Rare Entity.  International J Ped Otorhinolaryngol 2019 Apr; 119:38-40.

 

  • Smith A, Thimmappa V, Boughter JB, Vanison C, Shires CB, Sebelik ME.The effect of intrathyroidal versus intraperitoneal bevacizumab on thyroid volume and vasculature flow in a rat model.  Gland Surg 2019 Jun;8(3):212-217.

 

  • Shires CB, Wilson C, Sebelik ME.Thyroid Surgery YouTube Videos:  Estimating Quality by Surgeon Characteristics and View Rate.  Gland Surg 2019 Jun;8(3):207-211.

 

  • Multiple authors, Sebelik ME, et al.African Head and Neck Society Clinical Practice Guidelines for Thyroid Nodules and Cancer in Developing Countries and Limited Resource Settings.  Head Neck 2020 Mar 7; Online ahead of print. DOI:1002/hed.26094

 

  • Klug T, Shires C, Shete M, Sebelik ME.Multiplanar CT reconstruction to diagnose Lemierre Syndrome.  OTO-HNS Open Access; Accepted for publication 2020 Jun.