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Russel Roy Kahmke

Russel Roy Kahmke

Associate Professor of Head and Neck Surgery & Communication Sciences
Head & Neck Surgical Oncology
russel.kahmke@duke.edu
Duke South Yellow Zone 4000, DUMC Box 3805, Durham, NC 27710
DUMC Box 3805, Durham, NC 27710

Selected Publications

Cumulative Incidence and Risk of Depression After Opioid Use in Head and Neck Cancer Patients.

Journal Article Head Neck · April 16, 2026 BACKGROUND: This study examined the relationship between postoperative opioid duration and new-onset depression following head and neck cancer (HNC) surgery. METHODS: We conducted a retrospective review of opioid-naïve patients undergoing HNC surgery from ... Full text Link to item Cite

Association of Distress Severity and Problem Burden in Patients With Head and Neck Cancer.

Journal Article Psychooncology · March 2026 OBJECTIVE: Head and neck cancer (HNC) survivors face heightened psychological distress, but it is unclear how distress severity relates to concerns reported on the National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) Distress Thermometer (DT) problem list. We exam ... Full text Link to item Cite

Comparison of ENLYT®, a Portable Flexible Nasopharyngoscope, with the Standard of Care Nasopharyngoscope.

Journal Article Surg Innov · December 2025 ObjectivesThis study seeks to compare a newly developed portable flexible nasopharyngoscope (ENLYT®) to the standard of care (SOC) flexible nasopharyngoscope.MethodsSubjects were consented to undergo a nasopharyngeal scope exam using ENLYT® after SOC nasop ... Full text Link to item Cite

Preexisting Psychiatric Risk Factors and Any and Long-Term Opioid Use in Head and Neck Cancer.

Journal Article JAMA Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg · December 1, 2025 INTRODUCTION: Head and neck cancer (HNC), one of the most emotionally distressing cancers, carries a significant burden of psychiatric comorbidities. While opioids are commonly prescribed in cancer care, the association between preexisting psychiatric risk ... Full text Link to item Cite

Barriers and Timely Postoperative Radiation Therapy in Head and Neck Cancer.

Journal Article JAMA Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg · December 1, 2025 IMPORTANCE: Initiation of postoperative radiation therapy (PORT) within 6 weeks of surgery is associated with improved outcomes among patients with head and neck squamous cell carcinoma. However, the relationship of barriers to care with timely PORT is unk ... Full text Link to item Cite

Mechanisms underlying an enhanced navigation-based intervention to improve timely adjuvant radiotherapy in head and neck cancer: Secondary outcomes from the NDURE RCT.

Journal Article JCO Oncology Practice · November 19, 2025 95Background: Initiation of postoperative radiation therapy (PORT) ≤ 6 weeks of surgery is part of NCCN Guidelines for head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) and a Commission on Cancer quality metric, yet more than 50% of patients experience a delay ... Full text Cite

Cervical chordoma en bloc resection and staged suprascapular nerve transfer reanimation: illustrative case.

Journal Article J Neurosurg Case Lessons · October 27, 2025 BACKGROUND: Cervical chordomas offer unique challenges to en bloc resection given their proximity to complex anatomy. Achieving tumor-free margins often requires extensive reconstruction that can limit radiotherapy dosing and postoperative visualization du ... Full text Link to item Cite

Novel Risk Factors for Postoperative Hematoma Requiring Reoperation Following Anterior Cervical Discectomy and Fusion.

Journal Article Clin Spine Surg · June 1, 2025 STUDY DESIGN: Retrospective cohort study. OBJECTIVE: To investigate the correlation between comorbid chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), asthma, tobacco use, and the incidence of postoperative hematoma requiring reoperation after anterior cervica ... Full text Link to item Cite

The Role of Sleep Apnea in Postoperative Neurocognitive Disorders Among Older Noncardiac Surgery Patients: A Prospective Cohort Study.

Journal Article Anesth Analg · January 1, 2025 BACKGROUND: Obstructive sleep apnea is associated with increased dementia risk, yet its role in postoperative neurocognitive disorders is unclear. Here, we studied whether the severity of untreated obstructive sleep apnea is associated with the severity of ... Full text Open Access Link to item Cite

Factors Associated with Head and Neck Cancer Postoperative Radiotherapy Delays: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis.

Journal Article Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg · November 2024 OBJECTIVE: Initiating postoperative radiotherapy (PORT) within 6 weeks of surgery for head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) is included in the National Comprehensive Cancer Network Clincal Practice Guidelines and is a Commission on Cancer quality m ... Full text Link to item Cite

Neighborhood-Level Disadvantage and Delayed Adjuvant Therapy in Head and Neck Cancer.

Journal Article JAMA Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg · June 1, 2024 IMPORTANCE: For patients with head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC), initiation of postoperative radiation therapy (PORT) within 6 weeks of surgery is recommended by the National Comprehensive Cancer Network Guidelines and the Commission on Cancer. ... Full text Link to item Cite

Delays Starting Postoperative Radiotherapy Among Head and Neck Cancer Patients: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis.

Journal Article Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg · February 2024 OBJECTIVE: Initiating postoperative radiotherapy (PORT) within 6 weeks (42 days) of surgery is the first and only Commission on Cancer (CoC) approved quality metric for head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC). No study has systematically reviewed nor ... Full text Link to item Cite

Malnutrition and Adverse Outcomes After Surgery for Head and Neck Cancer.

Journal Article JAMA Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg · January 1, 2024 IMPORTANCE: Patients with head and neck cancer (HNC) have an increased risk of malnutrition, partly due to disease location and treatment sequelae. Although malnutrition is associated with adverse outcomes, there is little data on the extent of outcomes an ... Full text Open Access Link to item Cite

Soft Tissue Trauma: Critical Recognition and Timing of Intervention in Emergency Presentations.

Journal Article Otolaryngol Clin North Am · December 2023 The facial trauma surgeon will see a variety of facial injuries. Recognition of emergency cases and proper intervention is and this article aims to highlight those cases and the respective proper interventions. ... Full text Link to item Cite

Patient Navigation for Timely, Guideline-Adherent Adjuvant Therapy for Head and Neck Cancer: A National Landscape Analysis.

Journal Article J Natl Compr Canc Netw · December 2023 BACKGROUND: Aligned with the NCCN Clinical Practice Guidelines in Oncology for Head and Neck Cancers, in November 2021 the Commission on Cancer approved initiation of postoperative radiation therapy (PORT) within 6 weeks of surgery for head and neck cancer ... Full text Link to item Cite

Deep-Learning-Based Screening and Ancillary Testing for Thyroid Cytopathology.

Journal Article Am J Pathol · September 2023 Thyroid cancer is the most common malignant endocrine tumor. The key test to assess preoperative risk of malignancy is cytologic evaluation of fine-needle aspiration biopsies (FNABs). The evaluation findings can often be indeterminate, leading to unnecessa ... Full text Link to item Cite

Lateral neck dissection surgeon volume and complications in head and neck endocrine malignancy.

Journal Article Gland Surg · July 31, 2023 BACKGROUND: Increased surgeon volume is associated with decreased complications for many surgeries, including thyroidectomy. We sought to use two national databases to assess for associations between surgeon volume and complications in patients undergoing ... Full text Link to item Cite

Integrated Health Maintenance Reminders for Improved HPV Vaccine Administration: Toward Improvements in Completion Disparities.

Journal Article Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg · July 2023 OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the effect of a health maintenance reminder (HMR) on human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine administration and completion across different age, insurance, and race cohorts. STUDY DESIGN: Retrospective pre-post analysis. SETTING: Academic ... Full text Link to item Cite

Thyroid Cytopathology Cancer Diagnosis from Smartphone Images Using Machine Learning.

Journal Article Mod Pathol · June 2023 We examined the performance of deep learning models on the classification of thyroid fine-needle aspiration biopsies using microscope images captured in 2 ways: with a high-resolution scanner and with a mobile phone camera. Our training set consisted of im ... Full text Link to item Cite

Larynx Cancer: Reconstructive Options.

Journal Article Otolaryngol Clin North Am · April 2023 Reconstruction for laryngeal cancer will depend on the defect left by surgical resection and patient-related factors such as medical comorbidities and history of previous radiation treatment. The goals of reconstruction are to preserve and/or restore the p ... Full text Link to item Cite

Sociodemographic Differences in Patient-Reported Pain and Pain Management of Patients With Head and Neck Cancer in a Community Oncology Setting.

Journal Article JCO Oncol Pract · March 2023 PURPOSE: While pain is prevalent among survivors of head and neck cancer (HNC), there is a lack of data on pain management in the community oncology setting. We described sociodemographic correlates and disparities associated with patient-reported pain amo ... Full text Link to item Cite

Octreotide may improve pharyngocutaneous fistula healing through downregulation of cystatins: A pilot study.

Journal Article Laryngoscope Investig Otolaryngol · February 2023 BACKGROUND: Pharyngocutaneous fistula (PCF) and salivary leaks are well known complications of head and neck surgery. The medical management of PCF has included the use of octreotide without a well-defined understanding of its therapeutic mechanism. We hyp ... Full text Link to item Cite

The evolution of facial reanimation techniques.

Journal Article Am J Otolaryngol · 2023 This review article provides an updated discussion on evidence-based practices related to the evaluation and management of facial paralysis. Ultimately, the goals of facial reanimation include obtaining facial symmetry at rest, providing corneal protection ... Full text Open Access Link to item Cite

Prediction model to estimate overall survival benefit of postoperative radiotherapy for resected major salivary gland cancers.

Journal Article Oral Oncol · September 2022 OBJECTIVES: To develop and validate a prediction model to estimate overall survival (OS) with and without postoperative radiotherapy (PORT) for resected major salivary gland (SG) cancers. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Adults in the National Cancer Database diagno ... Full text Link to item Cite

Surgeon Volume and Complications in Lateral Neck Dissection for Squamous Cell Carcinoma: A Multidatabase Analysis.

Journal Article Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg · December 2021 OBJECTIVE: To determine whether annual surgeon volume of lateral neck dissections for squamous cell carcinoma is associated with complication rates. STUDY DESIGN: Retrospective review. SETTING: Two US databases spanning 2000 to 2014. METHODS: Neck dissecti ... Full text Link to item Cite

Effect of COVID-19 pandemic lockdowns on planned cancer surgery for 15 tumour types in 61 countries: an international, prospective, cohort study.

Journal Article Lancet Oncol · November 2021 BACKGROUND: Surgery is the main modality of cure for solid cancers and was prioritised to continue during COVID-19 outbreaks. This study aimed to identify immediate areas for system strengthening by comparing the delivery of elective cancer surgery during ... Full text Link to item Cite

Postoperative radiotherapy is associated with improved overall survival for alveolar ridge squamous cell carcinoma with adverse pathologic features.

Journal Article Head Neck · January 2021 BACKGROUND: Alveolar ridge squamous cell carcinoma (ARSCC) is poorly represented in randomized trials. METHODS: Adults in the National Cancer Database diagnosed with ARSCC between 2010 and 2014 who should be considered for postoperative radiotherapy (PORT) ... Full text Link to item Cite

A contemporary review of machine learning in otolaryngology-head and neck surgery.

Journal Article Laryngoscope · January 2020 One of the key challenges with big data is leveraging the complex network of information to yield useful clinical insights. The confluence of massive amounts of health data and a desire to make inferences and insights on these data has produced a substanti ... Full text Link to item Cite

The effect of lateral neck dissection on complication rate for total thyroidectomy.

Journal Article Am J Otolaryngol · 2020 PURPOSE: To determine the complication profile for total thyroidectomy with and without concomitant lateral neck dissection using a large administrative database. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The IBM MarketScan® Commercial Database (2010-2014) analytic cohort wa ... Full text Link to item Cite

The MARBLE Study Protocol: Modulating ApoE Signaling to Reduce Brain Inflammation, DeLirium, and PostopErative Cognitive Dysfunction.

Journal Article J Alzheimers Dis · 2020 BACKGROUND: Perioperative neurocognitive disorders (PND) are common complications in older adults associated with increased 1-year mortality and long-term cognitive decline. One risk factor for worsened long-term postoperative cognitive trajectory is the A ... Full text Open Access Link to item Cite

Nomogram to Predict Survival Benefit of Postoperative Radiotherapy for Major Salivary Gland Cancers

Conference International Journal of Radiation Oncology*Biology*Physics · September 2019 Full text Cite

Oral cavity cancer: Diagnosis and treatment

Chapter · January 1, 2018 A comprehensive history, thorough head and neck physical examination, and adequate staging are critical to guide optimal locoregional treatment and evaluate for second primaries in patients with oral cavity cancer. A multidisciplinary approach-including he ... Full text Cite

Oral Cavity Cancer: Diagnosis and Treatment

Chapter · January 1, 2018 A comprehensive history, thorough head and neck physical examination, and adequate staging are critical to guide optimal locoregional treatment and evaluate for second primaries in patients with oral cavity cancer. A multidisciplinary approach-including he ... Full text Cite

Laser-Assisted Indocyanine Green Dye Angiography for Postoperative Fistulas After Salvage Laryngectomy.

Conference JAMA Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg · August 1, 2017 IMPORTANCE: Pharyngocutaneous fistula formation is an unfortunate complication after salvage laryngectomy for head and neck cancer that is difficult to anticipate and related to a variety of factors, including the viability of native pharyngeal mucosa. OBJ ... Full text Link to item Cite

Trends in Otolaryngology Consultation Patterns at an Academic Quaternary Care Center.

Journal Article JAMA Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg · May 1, 2017 IMPORTANCE: The consultation patterns of an otolaryngology-head and neck surgery service have not previously been reported. The time, resources, and attention required to operate such a consultation service are unknown. OBJECTIVE: To assess trends in otola ... Full text Link to item Cite

Intraoperative Fluorescence Angiography for Head and Neck Reconstruction

Journal Article Current Otorhinolaryngology Reports · September 1, 2016 Purpose of Review: Reconstruction of head and neck defects that cannot be closed primarily often requires the use of complex locoregional, pedicled, or microvascular flaps. Success of the reconstruction relies on the vascular supply of these flaps to preve ... Full text Cite

Utility of Daily Mobile Tablet Use for Residents on an Otolaryngology Head & Neck Surgery Inpatient Service.

Journal Article J Med Syst · March 2016 The objective of this study was to investigate the utility of electronic tablets and their capacity to increase hospital floor productivity, efficiency, improve patient care information safety, and to enhance resident education and resource utilization on ... Full text Link to item Cite

Incidence of Retrocochlear Pathology Found on MRI in Patients With Non-Pulsatile Tinnitus.

Journal Article Otol Neurotol · December 2015 OBJECTIVE: To identify the incidence of retrocochlear pathology on MRI in patients with non-pulsatile tinnitus. STUDY DESIGN: Retrospective review. SETTING: Tertiary referral center. PATIENTS: Adults with MRIs performed between March 1, 2008 and February 1 ... Full text Link to item Cite

Dysphagia, hoarseness, and globus in a postoperative patient.

Journal Article Am J Otolaryngol · 2015 Sore throat, hoarseness, and dysphagia are known and recognized postoperative complications of laryngeal mask airway use during operative procedures. The patient's symptoms, present immediately after surgery, are thought related to airway manipulation. Air ... Full text Link to item Cite

FoxP3 and indoleamine 2,3-dioxygenase immunoreactivity in sentinel nodes from melanoma patients.

Journal Article Am J Otolaryngol · 2014 OBJECTIVE: 1) Assess FoxP3/indoleamine 2,3-dioxygenase immunoreactivity in head and neck melanoma sentinel lymph nodes and 2) correlate FoxP3/indoleamine 2,3-dioxygenase with sentinel lymph node metastasis and clinical recurrence. STUDY DESIGN: Retrospecti ... Full text Link to item Cite

Utility of Intraoperative Frozen Sections during Thyroid Surgery.

Journal Article Int J Otolaryngol · 2013 Objective. To describe the usefulness of intraoperative frozen section in the diagnosis and treatment of thyroid nodules where fine needle aspirate biopsies have evidence of follicular neoplasm. Study Design. Retrospective case series. Methods. All patient ... Full text Open Access Link to item Cite