Ibrahim Alava III , MD

Vivian Kaul, MD, serves as an assistant professor in otology, neurotology, and lateral skull base in the Department of Otorhinolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery at McGovern Medical School at UTHealth Houston. She is a member of the American Academy of Otolaryngology – Head & Neck Surgery, the American Neurotology Society, the Triological Society, and the North American Skull Base Society. She also serves as a peer reviewer for leading journals like the Laryngoscope, JAMA-Otolaryngology, and Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery. She has also co-authored numerous articles published in these journals. Kaul’s clinical interests include hearing loss, cochlear implants, bone-anchored hearing aids, acoustic neuroma/vestibular schwannoma, epidermoid cysts, meningiomas, NF2, imbalance, Meniere’s disease, vertigo, encephaloceles, superior semi-circular canal dehiscence, tinnitus, otosclerosis, and cholesteatoma. Her research interests include patient education, cochlear implant outcomes, and lateral skull base outcomes. Kaul was awarded the prestigious American Neurotology Society Research grant to fund her research on cochlear implant patient education. She created a multimedia platform for her patients to better communicate and understand the disease and treatment process. She has given grand rounds and spoken nationally and internationally on many of these topics. She is fluent in English and Mandarin. Kaul has been both a marathon runner and a competitive figure skater.

Andrew G. Tritter, MD, is an assistant professor in the Department of Otorhinolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery. He directs the department’s laryngology division and the Texas Voice Performance Institute. His experiences have given him extensive training in voice, airway, and swallowing disorders for patients of all ages. His clinical interests include care for the professional voice, vocal fold paralysis, spasmodic dysphonia, management of early-stage laryngeal cancer, benign vocal fold lesions, respiratory papillomatosis, tracheal stenosis, laryngeal stenosis, swallowing disorders, chronic cough, and numerous other conditions affecting the throat. Dr. Tritter graduated from Baylor College of Medicine in 2014 and spent six years completing both an internship and residency in otolaryngology-head and neck surgery at the Louisiana State University in Shreveport. He then completed an additional year of fellowship training in laryngology at Columbia University and Weill-Cornell Medical College in New York City. He moved back to his hometown of Houston in 2021 to take a position as an assistant professor in otolaryngology and serves as the new director of the Texas Voice Performance Institute. Patients routinely appreciate Dr. Tritter’s kind and diligent bedside manner. You can rest easy knowing that Dr. Tritter will take his time to fully understand your issues when you come in for a consultation. He is an expert in caring for the needs of professional voice users. This includes singers, performers, teachers, lawyers, receptionists, and many other professions that depend on a strong and reliable voice to function. Patients value having an experienced physician who will listen intently and carefully to their complaints without making them feel rushed. Dr. Tritter’s primary goal is always to help his patients feel better. He strives to have every patient feel completely satisfied with their care when they leave his office. Dr. Tritter has been recognized with numerous awards during his academic career, including membership in the Alpha Omega Alpha honor society. He has presented routinely at national conferences and has multiple peer-reviewed publications in his field. He is a member of the American Academy of Otolaryngology, where he previously served as a representative on the Section for Residents and Fellows and has spent several years serving as a member of the Voice Committee. Dr. Tritter offers numerous procedures and services that are unique within the community, including: In-office awake esophagoscopy, without the need for sedation or anesthesia In-office esophageal balloon dilation for swallowing issues In-office laser treatment of vocal fold polyps and other benign laryngeal lesions In-office bronchoscopy for airway evaluation In-office vocal fold injections for vocal fold paralysis or atrophy Botox injections for spasmodic dysphonia, vocal tremor, and other neurological conditions Superior laryngeal nerve block for chronic cough management He also performs the full spectrum of surgical procedures to treat issues of the voice box and throat. In addition to these procedures and services, Dr. Tritter works closely with numerous speech-language Pathologists specializing in voice therapy and singing voice therapy in the greater Houston area. He works closely with numerous physicians in neurology, gastroenterology, rheumatology, and cardiothoracic surgery to help ensure that you always have an excellent team available to you, no matter the issue. Dr. Tritter is an avid musician and singer who loves experiencing live music around the city. He enjoys cooking, traveling the world, scuba diving, hiking, and spending time with friends and family.

Our mission is to provide the best possible ear, nose and throat care for our patients. Because we are strong advocates for each patients involvement in his or her own healthcare decisions, we invest considerable efforts in the education of patients and their families, during each office or telephone encounter. To help support this educational process, we have created this web site as a supplement for direct communication between the patient and each of our physicians and health care providers. This information is not complete, but we intend to update it regularly to reflect the latest medical developments.