Melissa Anne Walser, MSPAS, PA-C

Krishna G. Patel, M.D., Ph.D. joined the Department of Otolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery in August 2008. She is a native of Athens, Georgia and attended Columbia University in New York City for her undergraduate education. She then earned M.D. and Ph.D. degrees through the combined program at the Medical College of Georgia, where she was awarded the Excellence in Research Award. Dr. Patel completed a residency in otolaryngology &- head and neck surgery at the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill. Following residency, she pursued fellowship training in facial plastic and reconstructive surgery at the University of California, Davis. During both her residency and fellowship training, Dr. Patel participated in volunteer medical trips to other countries to provide care to the medically underserved. Her recent trips to Ecuador and El Salvador involved surgically repairing children with cleft lips, cleft palates, and ear deformities. She is board certified by the American Board of Otolaryngology and by the American Board of Facial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery. As a member of the MUSC faculty, Dr. Patel's focus is in the areas of aesthetic facial plastic surgery, such as rhinoplasties, Botox, and blepharoplasties. Her practice also includes facial reconstructive surgery, facial trauma surgery, and reconstruction of Mohs defects. She is the director of the Craniofacial Anomalies and Cleft Palate Center and participates in the repair of cleft lips and palates. She also serves on the Executive Board of Directors for the American Board of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery. Dr. Patel sees patients in Rutledge Tower on the main campus of MUSC, as well as at off-site locations in Mount Pleasant.

Ashli O'Rourke, M.D. MS, joined the MUSC Evelyn Trammell Institute for Voice and Swallowing in September 2012. Dr. O'Rourke began her professional career as a speech-language pathologist (SLP), earning her Master's degree in Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology from Florida State University. After more than seven years of clinical speech therapy practice at Emory University Hospital, she attended medical school at the Medical College of Georgia. She completed her residency in Otolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville and her fellowship in Laryngology - Voice and Swallowing disorders at the Medical College of Georgia. Dr. O'Rourke treats adult patients with problems located in the larynx (voice box), airway (wind pipe), or the esophagus (food pipe). This includes hoarseness or voice disturbances, dysphagia, or breathing difficulties due to airway narrowing or scar. She is particularly interested in the diagnosis and treatment of swallowing disorders as well as laryngopharyngeal reflux disease. Her research interests include innovative technologies for the diagnosis and rehabilitation of swallowing disorders. Dr. O'Rourke is board certified through the American Board of Otolaryngology and serves as a Senior Examiner for the Board. She is a Councilor on the Board of Directors for the Dysphagia Research Society and holds the Mark & Evelyn Trammell Endowed Chair in Otolaryngology.

Dr. Abhay Varma is faculty in neurosurgery at the Medical University of South Carolina. He completed his residency in India and fellowships in brain tumor surgery and spine surgery at the University of Pittsburgh, the University of Toronto, and the Cleveland Clinic. He specializes in managing adult brain tumors, hydrocephalus, Chiari malformation, adult spinal and spine tumors, and peripheral nerve disorders, including children with brachial plexus injuries (neonatal brachial plexopathy). His surgical practice offers microsurgery and endoscopic surgery. He also offers brain mapping and awake craniotomies for patients with brain tumors in eloquent areas, like the motor strip, the speech areas, and perisylvian tumors. Dr. Varma accepts new patients in downtown Charleston, Mount Pleasant, and Murrells Inlet.