Prof. Oded Nahlieli

Prof. Oded Nahlieli D.M.D is the director of the Oral & Maxillofacial Endoscopy and Microsurgery Unit at the Galilee Medical Center, Naharia. He is also the chairman of the Oral & Maxillofacial and Salivary Glands Surgery and Oral Health Unit at A.R.M., The Multidisciplinary Center for ENT, Head & Neck medicine. His main areas of practice are endoscopic surgery of the salivary glands (Sialendoscopy), removal of salivary duct obstructions, excision of salivary glands tumors, endoscopic surgery and micro-surgery for sinus lifts including treatment of dental sinusitis and correction of neurological injuries of the nerves of the tongue and the lips.
Education and Training: Prof. Nahlieli graduated the Hebrew University School of Dental Medicine, in 1979.
He completed his residency in Oral & Maxillofacial Surgery at Barzilai Medical Center, Ashkelon in 1985, followed by a residency in the Oral & Maxillofacial Surgery Department at the Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, USA, which is affiliated to Harvard University, from 1988-1989.
From 1995-2001, Prof. Nahlieli was the Director of the Oral & Maxillofacial Surgery and Medicine Department at Barzilai Medical Center, Ashkelon.
Prof. Nahlieli is a professor at the Ben-Gurion University Medical School and an adjunct professor at Rochester University, NY, USA.

International Social Activity

For the past 11 years, Prof. Nahlieli has been personally invited by the Republic of Equatorial Guinea Ministry of Health, in order to treat and operate on children and adults suffering from maxillofacial congenital deformities. This initiative started when the head of the local hospital contacted Prof. Nahlieli directly to invite him to assist and solve a national critical medical issue - by operating in complicated
cases that require specialized surgical expertise which is unavailable in West Africa.
Every year, Prof. Nahlieli travels for this special 10-days medical mission, equipped with all the special & most advanced equipment which is required for those procedures and surgeries. In every mission, he operates on about 20-25 children, who are sent from all across the country, usually for cleft lip and palate, maxillary deficiency and tumors in this area.

Membership in Professional Associations

Prof. Oded Nahlieli is a member of The Israeli Medical Association (IMA), The Israeli Association for Oral & Maxillofacial Surgery and The Israeli Dental Association. Between 1998-2000, he served as the chairman of The Israeli Association for Oral & Maxillofacial Surgery, and in 2024 he was appointed by the American Academy of Otolaryngology–Head and Neck Surgery as a member of the Advisory Board of The International Society of Sialendoscopy, which set the international standards for specializing in the field of Sialendoscopy and Salivary Glands Microsurgery.

One of the Pioneers of Salivary Glands Micro-Endoscopy

Since 1993, Prof. Nahlieli has been advancing the field of micro-endoscopy of salivary glands (Sialendoscopy) and he is one of the world’s pioneers in this field. In addition, he developed a series of endoscopes and microsurgery techniques in the fields of medicine and dental medicine. The techniques that he developed involve micro-endoscopic technologies and minimally-invasive methods for removing salivary duct obstructions. These methods save the health of the salivary glands through advanced technologies which can be used in clinics without necessarily requiring an operating room and hospitalization.

The Development of the World’s Smallest Interventional Endoscope; Development of a Small External Lithotripter

In 2000, Prof. Nahlieli, together with a leading endoscopes company from Germany, conceived and successfully developed an endoscope with a diameter of less than 1mm, which can both peer into the salivary gland and operate. This is the world’s smallest interventional endoscope. Before the development of this procedure by Prof. Nahlieli, salivary stones were treated by gland excision surgery under general anesthesia. This surgery involves an external scar and risks of damage to the face’s nerves, tongue and lips. In addition, the removal of one salivary gland reduces the amount of oral saliva by about one third, thus increasing the risk of dry mouth and lower protection of the saliva on teeth, gums and deglutition. Thanks to Prof. Nahlieli development, most of the patients today no longer have to endure all of the above. In addition, in the framework of a cooperation with an Israeli company, Prof. Nahlieli developed a small external shock-wave-based device for crushing salivary stones, which makes the removal of the stone much easier. Simultaneously, he developed special stents for such procedures, for preventing secondary obstructions and narrowing of the gland from which the stone was removed. Prof. Nahlieli’s method is considered to be a global breakthrough in the fight for preserving the salivary glands.

Groundbreaking Methods and Techniques; Israeli and International Certificates of Appreciation

Prof. Nahlieli has developed groundbreaking methods and techniques also in the field of dental implants, where he developed a method of sinus lifts via a dedicated implant and a unique treatment for maxillary sinusitis. Due to his extraordinary developments, Prof. Nahlieli received in 2010 a Certificate of Appreciation from the Israeli Government, for the development of groundbreaking medical technologies. Furthermore, in 2019 he received a Certificate of Appreciation from the International Society of Sialendoscopy for his groundbreaking work in the field of Sialendoscopy. Over the years, Prof. Oded Nahlieli published more than 130 articles, 26 chapters, 2 books and 26 patents in the global literature. His articles on sialendoscopy are considered to be a cornerstone in salivary glands diseases treatment, in the international arena.