Rachel L. Leonardis

University of Pittsburgh, VA Pittsburgh Healthcare System

Papers

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About

Rachel L. Leonardis is a pioneering otolaryngologist and surgeon whose work has significantly advanced the field of pediatric and robotic-assisted head and neck surgery. Her research focuses primarily on transoral robotic surgery (TORS), exploring its feasibility and clinical outcomes across a range of challenging conditions in both pediatric and adult populations. Leonardis is perhaps best recognized for her groundbreaking investigations into robotic-assisted procedures in children — a population where surgical precision and minimally invasive approaches are especially critical. Her 2013 study on transoral robotic-assisted lingual tonsillectomy in pediatric patients, cited 42 times, helped establish the viability of robotic technology in pediatric otolaryngology. Building on this foundation, her 2014 work on robotic-assisted laryngeal cleft repair — cited 35 times — demonstrated that complex airway reconstructions once requiring open approaches could be performed transorally in young patients. She further expanded the application of TORS to adults through her research on pharyngeal stenosis, a notoriously difficult post-treatment complication of head and neck cancer. Collectively, her contributions have helped redefine surgical standards in otolaryngology, offering clinicians evidence-based guidance on integrating robotic platforms into complex airway and pediatric surgical care.