Dr. Bradley W. Kesser is a distinguished otolaryngologist specializing in otology and neurotology at the University of Virginia (UVA) Health System in Charlottesville, Virginia. He earned his medical degree from the University of Virginia School of Medicine in 1993 and completed his residency in Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery at UVA in 1998. Further honing his expertise, Dr. Kesser pursued a fellowship in otology/neurotology at the renowned House Ear Clinic in Los Angeles, California, completing it in 2000.

Dr. Kesser’s clinical focus encompasses a range of conditions, including congenital ear diseases such as aural atresia, hearing loss, dizziness and balance disorders, skull base tumors, acoustic neuroma, and chronic ear diseases like cholesteatoma. His research interests are diverse, covering areas such as optimizing outcomes for aural atresia surgery, addressing unilateral hearing loss in children, exploring pulsatile tinnitus, and developing simulation tools for teaching diagnostic otoscopy and myringotomy with ventilation tube insertion.

In addition to his clinical and research endeavors, Dr. Kesser has held significant leadership roles. He served as the Chair of the Otology/Neurotology Education Committee of the American Academy of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery foundation(AAO/HNSF) and currently holds the position of Secretary - Treasurer of the American Neurotology Society and Otology/Neurotology, Inc. At UVA, he has been appointed as the Associate Designated Institutional Officer for all Graduate Medical Education (GME) training.

Dr. Kesser’s contributions to the field have been recongnized through various honors, including induction into the University of Virginia Academy of Distinguished Educators and being listed among the Best Doctors in America from 2011 to 2021.

Before You Consider Surgery

Start With an Expert Evaluation

Not every child with aural atresia is a candidate for atresia repair.

Before surgery is considered, Dr. Kesser reviews the patient’s medical history hearing tests, temporal bone CT, and other relevant information.

In general, patients being considered for surgical evaluation should provide:

• Temporal bone CT

• Pure-tone audiometry

• Relevant hearing test results

• Recent medical records

• Photographs when appropriate

CT imaging should be obtained using appropriate temporal bone protocols and should generally be recent enough to accurately represent the patient’s current anatomy.

The purpose of evaluation is not simply to determine whether surgery can be performed. It is to determine whether surgery is an appropriate option for that particular patient.