About Us

Dr. Elaine Martin completed her Otolaryngology - Head & Neck Surgery residency training at University of California Irvine. Prior to this, she completed medical school at Georgetown University School of Medicine in 2019. She practices comprehensive otolaryngology and has special interests in sinus and ear disorders as well as salivary gland and thyroid surgery

Dr. Eric Waki graduated from UCLA in 1982 receiving honors and was a member of the Phi Beta Kappa Honor Society. He earned his medical degree at UCLA in 1986 and completed his residency at University of California, Irvine. Dr. Waki went on to complete a Fellowship in Pediatric Otolaryngology at Children’s Office of Michigan and is board certified in Otolaryngology.

Dr. Waki is a member of the American College of Surgeons, The American Society of Pediatric Otolaryngology, the Facial Plastic and Reconstructive Society, the Orange County Society of Otolaryngology Head & Neck Surgery, and the American Medical Association. Dr. Waki has served several leadership positions at St. Jude Medical Center over the years and continues to be elected to hold positions there yearly. He was Chief of Surgery at St. Jude Medical Center and President of the Orange County Society of Otolaryngology Head & Neck Surgery.

Dr. Waki has been voted Top Doctors in Orange County several times. Dr. Waki is asked often by pharmaceutical companies to speak on their behalf about their medications that he believes in so highly. Dr. Waki is also a consultant for the company Acclarent, assisting in new product development and speaking engagements to share his clinical experience. Dr. Waki provides charitable work at St. Jude Medical Center as well as other organizations.

Dr. Micahel C. Kao is a board-certified Otolaryngologist. He completed his Otolaryngology – Head and Neck Surgeons residency at the University of Washington in Seattle. He dedicated two additional years of research at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center and his work on developing novel targeted therapy for HNSCC was awarded the Ballantyne resident research award in 2015. He practices comprehensive General Otolaryngology and has a special interest in voice and swallowing disorders, thyroid surgery, sinus and nasal disorders, head and neck oncology, and sleep surgery.

Dr. Kao grew up in Northern California and earned his undergraduate degree from UC Berkeley. He earned his medical degree from New York Medical College.

His wife is an Orange County native and Anesthesiologist, they are both excited to be back in California. Dr. Kao enjoys spending time with his wife, children, and labradoodle. His hobbies include hiking, traveling, playing tennis, and shopping at Costco.

Dr. Eric Sugihara is a board-certified otolaryngologist. He earned his medical degree from Western University of Health Sciences in 2013, graduating with Dean’s List honors. He completed internship and residency at the Detroit Medical Center in 2018, where he was designated chief resident and awarded resident of the year in 2017. Dr. Sugihara additionally completed a fellowship in otology with Dr. Douglas Backous at Puget Sound ENT in 2019.

Dr. Sugihara has interest in humanitarian mission work and has participated with multiple organizations to provide educational, medical, and surgical support in Malawi, Haiti, and Honduras. He has received multiple humanitarian travel grants and presented his most recent otolaryngology mission in Malawi at the AAO-HNSF 2016 national meeting and later published the sustainable otolaryngology model in the “Ear, Nose & Throat Journal” in 2019.

Dr. Sugihara has been involved in research with several publications and presentations at national meetings. His most recent project with Cochlear Ltd. and Dr Douglas Backous studied cochlear implants and the delivery of care, presenting at the American Cochlear Implant Alliance 2019 symposium.

Dr. Christopher Vuong completed his otolaryngology residency and an extra year of training in thyroid/parathyroid surgery at the high-volume academic institution, Loma Linda University Medical Center. He is board certified and his special interests include thyroid/parathyroid surgery, head and neck oncology, salivary disorders, sinus surgery, and voice/swallowing disorders.