Ofer Azoulay, MD

Ofer Azoulay, MD, FACS, is an otolaryngologist with advanced fellowship training in head and neck cancer surgery and microvascular reconstruction. He cares for patients with the full spectrum of benign and malignant head and neck tumors, with a particular focus on complex oncologic resections and functional reconstruction that helps restore speech, swallowing, breathing, and appearance after cancer treatment.

Dr Azoulay has performed more hundreds of complex head and neck operations, including reconstruction of the jaw, tongue, oral cavity, pharynx, and skull base. His practice combines meticulous surgical technique with careful preoperative planning and multidisciplinary care, including the use of virtual surgical planning, computer-assisted design, and evidence based protocols to support safe surgery and durable outcomes.

In addition to his oncologic and reconstructive work, Dr Azoulay leads specialized programs in facial nerve paralysis and facial reanimation, as well as advanced sleep surgery for obstructive sleep apnea. His team offers Inspire hypoglossal nerve stimulation and transoral robotic approaches as options for carefully selected patients who do not tolerate or benefit from CPAP therapy. He co-founded a translational research program that studies innovative strategies for facial nerve repair and bionic reanimation, linking laboratory advances with real world patient care.

Before joining Hackensack University Medical Center, Dr Azoulay served as Chief of Robotic and Microvascular Head and Neck Reconstruction at SUNY Downstate Health Sciences University and Director of Microvascular Head and Neck Reconstruction at Kings County Hospital in Brooklyn, New York. He has directed multiple anatomy and reconstruction courses, published widely on head and neck reconstruction and outcomes, and mentors residents, fellows, and medical students in both clinical care and research. He is a Fellow of the American College of Surgeons and an active member of the American Head and Neck Society and the American Academy of Otolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery.

Dr Azoulay is also the founder and chairperson of the Global Head and Neck Alliance, a nonprofit organization that partners with local teams to expand access to high quality head and neck cancer care, education, and reconstructive surgery in underserved regions worldwide. His outreach work includes surgical missions and teaching activities in Central America and the Caribbean.

CLINICAL SPECIALTIES AND INTERESTS

• Head and neck surgery (Oral Cavity, Face Throat, Skull base, Neck) 
• Reconstruction of jaw, tongue, oral cavity, pharyngeal, and skull base defects
• Thyroid and parathyroid surgery
• Salivary gland tumors and disorders
• Skin cancers of the head and neck, including melanoma
• Facial nerve paralysis and facial reanimation
• Sleep surgery for obstructive sleep apnea, including Inspire hypoglossal nerve stimulation and transoral robotic surgery
• Laryngeal and airway disease