Dr. Martin Citardi Delivers the 2025 Duncavage Lecture on AI for Surgeons
Martin J. Citardi, MD, professor and chair of the Department of Otorhinolaryngology at McGovern Medical School at UTHealth Houston, presented the 10th annual Duncavage Lectureship at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in September. The series brings a visiting professor to Nashville annually to lecture on a topic in rhinology.
Dr. Citardi spoke on “Generative AI for Surgeons,” focusing on what generative AI is, its potential applications in surgical practice, and risk management considerations for surgeons who use it. “As an example, generative AI can be used in surgical practice for improved efficiency, particularly as a personal digital assistant to document clinical notes during patient encounters. Ambient documentation significantly reduces time spent on charting and improves the quality of documentation,” he says. “AI can also be used for various projects, such as assembling information to speed the writing of authorization letters. Managing the risk associated with the technology involves understanding the limitations of what your AI application has been trained to do and not pushing it beyond its capabilities.”
Appointed vice dean for clinical technology at UTHealth Houston in 2019, Dr. Citardi is responsible for overseeing the implementation of IT systems that support care delivery at UT Physicians, the clinical faculty practice of McGovern Medical School. In 2023, he championed the establishment of the UTHealth Houston Center for Digital Healthcare Innovation (external link).
He specializes in the treatment of complex sinus and nasal diseases and is a founding physician of both the Texas Sinus Institute and Texas Skull Base Physicians, subspecialty programs that combine clinical care, research, and education. An internationally recognized ear, nose, and throat surgeon, Dr. Citardi has special interests in refractory sinusitis, revision sinus surgery, CSF rhinorrhea, image-guided surgery, and minimally invasive anterior skull base surgery.