Rate My Professor Saral Mehra

Saral Mehra, MD, MBA, FACS, is an Associate Professor of Surgery (Otolaryngology) at Yale School of Medicine. He holds key leadership positions including Chief of the Section of Head and Neck Surgery within the Division of Otolaryngology, Director of the Head and Neck Tumor Board, Director of the Head and Neck Oncologic and Reconstructive Surgery Fellowship, and Interim Section Chief of Otolaryngology Surgery. Mehra earned his BS from Queen's University in 2002, MD from Columbia Medical School in 2007, and MBA from Columbia Business School in 2007. He completed an internship at New York Presbyterian Hospital (Columbia/Cornell) in 2008, residency in Otolaryngology at New York Presbyterian Hospital (Columbia/Cornell) and Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in 2012, and fellowship in Head and Neck and Thyroid Cancer surgery with subspecialization in complex reconstructive surgery including free tissue transfer at Mount Sinai Beth Israel Medical Center in 2013. Since joining Yale, he has advanced clinical care through multidisciplinary collaboration and high-volume complex case management.

Dr. Mehra specializes in treating head and neck cancers, salivary gland and duct disorders, and thyroid diseases, utilizing minimally invasive techniques such as transoral robotic and laser surgery, salivary endoscopy, and microsurgical reconstruction to optimize patient outcomes and function. His research focuses on head and neck neoplasms, health services research, microsurgery, minimally invasive procedures, plastic surgery, health care quality, efficiency, economics, and clinical trials. Notable publications include "Identifying Opportunities to Deliver High-Quality Cancer Care Across a Health System: A Clinical Responsibility" (Otolaryngology–Head & Neck Surgery, 2024), "Guideline-Adherence in Advanced Stage Head and Neck Cancer is Associated with Improved Survival – A National Study" (Oral Oncology, 2021), "Changes in Population-Level and Institutional-Level Prescribing Habits of Radioiodine Therapy for Papillary Thyroid Cancer" (Thyroid, 2021), "Clinical Value of Transoral Robotic Surgery: Nationwide Results from the First 5 Years of Adoption" (The Laryngoscope, 2018), and "A Clinical Care Pathway to Reduce ICU Usage in Head and Neck Microvascular Reconstruction" (Otolaryngology–Head & Neck Surgery, 2018). Mehra has received the 2023 Yale Cancer Center Award for Excellence in Clinical Care, Faculty Teaching Awards from Yale's Division of Otolaryngology in 2022 and 2019, the 2020 Extra Mile Award from Yale's Department of Surgery, Chief Resident Teaching Award from Columbia/Cornell in 2012, and departmental research and teaching awards during training. He has delivered invited lectures on head and neck cancer outcomes, reconstruction, and robotic surgery at institutions including Saint Louis University, Mayo Clinic, and Technion Israel Institute of Technology, influencing surgical education and practice.