Dr. Michael Alterman, DMD

Leading Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery — Salivary Gland Surgery & Sialendoscopy in Israel

Position: Senior Physician (Attending), Director of the Outpatient Clinic, and Residency Program Director — Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery

Hospital: Hadassah Medical Center — Ein Kerem, Jerusalem

Dr. Michael Alterman is in the Forbes list of the best Israeli doctors. His clinical and academic work focuses on minimally invasive endoscopic techniques for diagnosis and treatment of salivary gland disorders, and he has co-authored publications and a textbook chapter with Prof. Oded Nahlieli — one of the world’s foremost pioneers and authorities in sialendoscopy. Dr. Alterman works alongside a senior team of oral and maxillofacial surgeons at Hadassah, one of Israel’s largest academic medical centers.

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Salivary Gland Surgery

• Sialendoscopy — endoscopic diagnosis and treatment of obstructive and inflammatory salivary gland disease
• Endoscopic removal of salivary stones (sialolithiasis) — parotid and submandibular glands
• Treatment of ductal stenosis — balloon dilation and stenting
• Management of chronic and recurrent sialadenitis (including juvenile recurrent parotitis)
• Endoscopically-assisted intraoral extraductal surgery for salivary gland pathology
• Minimally invasive alternatives to traditional sialadenectomy (gland removal)
• Management of complications of salivary gland surgery and sialendoscopy

General Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery

• Dentoalveolar surgery — extractions, including complex and impacted teeth
• Dental implant surgery and related bone grafting procedures
• Diagnosis and surgical treatment of cysts and benign tumors of the jaw
• Treatment of oral and maxillofacial infections
• Collaborative care with general dentists and other medical specialists for comprehensive patient management

Departmental Scope (Hadassah OMS Department)

• As part of the wider department, contributes to and collaborates on: orthognathic and craniofacial surgery, head and neck oncological surgery, temporomandibular joint (TMJ) surgery, craniomaxillofacial trauma, vascular malformations, congenital deformities, and pediatric oral surgery (including sedation cases)

Education

Dental Degree

• DMD (Doctor of Dental Medicine) — Faculty of Dental Medicine, Hebrew University of Jerusalem and Hadassah, Jerusalem, Israel

Residency / Specialty Training

• Residency in Oral, Facial, and Maxillofacial Surgery — Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Hadassah Medical Center — Ein Kerem, Jerusalem, Israel
• Board Certification in Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery — Israeli Ministry of Health / Israeli Scientific Council

Subspecialty Training

• Advanced training in Endoscopic Salivary Gland Surgery (Sialendoscopy) — in collaboration with Prof. Oded Nahlieli, an internationally recognized pioneer of the technique

Professional Experience

• Post-residency – present: Senior Physician (Attending), Department of Oral, Facial, and Maxillofacial Surgery — Hadassah Medical Center, Ein Kerem, Jerusalem
• Current: Director of the Outpatient Clinic — Department of Oral, Facial, and Maxillofacial Surgery, Hadassah Medical Center
  • Oversees outpatient diagnostic and ambulatory surgical services for the department
  • Clinic includes 6 diagnostic and simple surgical stations, 5 operating rooms for ambulatory surgery under local anesthesia, a dedicated sedation operating room, a recovery room for children and adults, and a seminar room for case discussions
• Current: Residency Program Director — Department of Oral, Facial, and Maxillofacial Surgery, Hadassah Medical Center
  • Responsible for training and supervising approximately 6 residents in the department at any given time
• Current: Director, Salivary Gland Disease Clinic — Hadassah Medical Center
  • Leads the dedicated referral clinic for diagnosis and endoscopic treatment of salivary gland disorders
  • Works as part of the senior surgical team alongside Dr. Adir Cohen (jaw joint surgery), Dr. Yoram Fleissig (oncologic and microvascular reconstructive surgery), Dr. Jawad Abu Tair (oncologic and head-and-neck tumor surgery), and other senior OMS colleagues
• Ongoing: Senior Lecturer — Faculty of Dental Medicine, Hebrew University of Jerusalem and Hadassah
  • Teaches dental and medical students, and supervises postgraduate OMS residents
• Ongoing: Private Practice — performs the full range of dental surgical procedures in collaboration with general dentists and specialists from other medical fields

Selected Research & Publications

Dr. Alterman’s research and academic publications focus primarily on sialendoscopy and salivary gland disorders, in close collaboration with Prof. Oded Nahlieli, a globally recognized authority in this field.

Selected Publications

1. Nahlieli O, Alterman M. “Sialoendoscopy.” Chapter 22 in: Miloro M, Kolokythas A (eds). Management of Complications in Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery. Wiley-Blackwell, 2022. doi:10.1002/9781119710714.ch22.
   • Covers complications of interventional sialoendoscopy and endoscopically-assisted intraoral extraductal surgeries, including duct avulsion, secondary strictures, gland swelling, salivary fistulas, traumatic ranulas, lingual nerve damage, and hematoma, along with prevention and management strategies
2. Additional publications and research on salivary gland disorders, sialendoscopy techniques, and related oral and maxillofacial surgery topics — further details available via the Hadassah Medical Center research pages and PubMed

Main Research & Clinical Interest Areas

• Sialendoscopy — technique refinement, outcomes, and complication management
• Minimally invasive treatment of obstructive and inflammatory salivary gland disease
• Endoscopic approaches as alternatives to open salivary gland surgery
• Departmental research areas (Hadassah OMS Department) include: bone reconstruction techniques for facial bone defects, personalized diagnosis and treatment in head-and-neck oncology, characterization and treatment of TMJ and salivary gland diseases, and development of advanced minimally invasive techniques in oral, facial, and maxillofacial surgery

Academic & Teaching Activity

• Senior Lecturer, Faculty of Dental Medicine, Hebrew University of Jerusalem and Hadassah
• Teaches medical students, dental students, and advanced degree candidates at the Hebrew University
• Responsible for the OMS residency training program at Hadassah — training future specialists in oral and maxillofacial surgery
• Department is accredited for surgical rotations across multiple surgical specialties in general medicine, as well as various dental specialties

Professional Memberships

• Israeli Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery — Member
• Israeli Dental Association — Member
• Alpha Omega Dental Fraternity — Affiliated (per Hebrew University Faculty of Dental Medicine listing)

Languages

• Hebrew
• English

Awards & Recognition

• Selected by Forbes Israel magazine for its list of Israel’s leading doctors, 2020/21 — category: Oral, Facial, and Maxillofacial Surgery specialists
• Appointed Director of the Outpatient Clinic and Residency Program Director at one of Israel’s most prominent academic OMS departments (Hadassah Ein Kerem)
• Co-authored a textbook chapter with Prof. Oded Nahlieli, a globally recognized pioneer of sialendoscopy, in a leading international reference text on complications management in oral and maxillofacial surgery (Wiley, 2022)
• Appointed Senior Lecturer, Faculty of Dental Medicine, Hebrew University of Jerusalem and Hadassah

Notable Clinical & Academic Milestones

• Directs the Salivary Gland Disease Clinic at Hadassah Medical Center — a specialized referral center for endoscopic diagnosis and treatment of salivary gland disorders, reducing the need for traditional open gland removal surgery.
• Co-authored the “Sialoendoscopy” chapter in Management of Complications in Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery (Wiley, 2022) alongside Prof. Oded Nahlieli — a chapter addressing the specific complication profile of sialendoscopy as distinct from radical salivary gland surgery, and providing guidance for prevention and management.
• Serves within one of Israel’s leading academic departments of oral and maxillofacial surgery (Hadassah Ein Kerem), which conducts basic, clinical, and applied research across bone reconstruction, head-and-neck oncology, TMJ and salivary gland diseases, and minimally invasive surgical techniques.
• Trains the next generation of oral and maxillofacial surgeons in Israel as Residency Program Director at Hadassah — one of the country’s principal training centers for the specialty.