Surgical Innovator

Dr. Tabitha Ireland Galloway ’06: Makes Her Mark in Medicine

Dr. Galloway is impacting lives on the leading edge of medicine. As an ENT physician at the University of Missouri’s Ellis Fischel Cancer Center, Galloway specializes in the surgical treatment of patients with a wide range of head and neck cancers. She is one of only 200 surgeons nationwide with a focused practice designation in complex adult thyroid and parathyroid surgery.

“I treat cancers from the collarbones up,” said Galloway. “That includes everything from surgical intervention for nose and throat cancers, skin and melanoma advanced tumors and thyroid cancer to performing endocrine surgery and treating salivary gland disorders.”

Pursuing Medical Miracles

Some of Galloway’s most innovative work has focused on highly complex “free tissue transfer reconstructions” of a patient’s head and/ or neck. The micro-vascular procedures involve transplanting various body parts to the head and neck to rebuild defects after cancer treatments, trauma or other causes. The results are often miraculous, saving a patient’s life while also largely preserving their way of living.

“I can reflect on a handful of patients who I honestly felt like might have been given up on somewhere else,” said Galloway. “They had stage IV cancers requiring large surgical procedures.”

One of Galloway’s most complex cases featured a man suffering from a rare form of cancer in his sinus cavity. While another surgeon worked to remove the tumor, Galloway reconstructed the patient’s face using bone and tissue from his lower leg. The surgery was a huge success and follow-up treatments kept the patient cancer-free while he regained his normal speaking voice and ability to swallow, as well as full flexibility and strength in his leg.

“Being able to take someone through that process to the other side where they’re interacting with people and they’re back in their lives is rewarding. Getting to those five-year (cancer-free) visits with those patients is special. Some of them still come back once a year just to give me a hug and update me on their lives — that’s really cool.”

Of course, Galloway is also quick to acknowledge the pain and heartache that comes with difficult outcomes.

“Sometimes it’s hard to sleep because we don’t always win with cancer patients. Reframing your mindset to what defines a win can help. It might not be overall survival, but meaningful survival.”

Whatever her patients are facing or experiencing, Galloway says it’s vital for her to be right there with them — providing clear information and compassionate care for every step of the journey.

“One thing I really pride myself on is being able to communicate with patients well. Speaking to people on a level where they are at while going through something scary is essential. I think a lot of my communication and interaction skills come from my liberal arts education at Simpson.”

Mentee Turned Mentor

Growing up in eastern Iowa with a strong Methodist faith, Galloway was drawn to Simpson’s Methodist roots — finding the perfect place to nurture her love for science. She especially enjoyed the chance to do cadaveric dissections in her human anatomy course.

“From that point, I knew I wanted to become a physician,” said Galloway. “Dr. [Jackie] Brittingham and Dr. [Amy] Doling were among my key cornerstone professors who really mentored and encouraged me to continue on the career trajectory towards medicine.”

Today, Galloway is mentoring tomorrow’s doctors as a member of the teaching faculty at the University of Missouri School of Medicine (MU School of Medicine). She works closely with her otolaryngology residents in clinic and surgical settings most every day, seeking to inspire the kind of enthusiastic inquiry and development of problem-solving skills she first honed at Simpson.

Along the way, she’s had the chance to mentor several Simpson graduates attending the MU School of Medicine, including Dr. Maggie Long Wieser ’18. Wieser is now following Galloway’s career footsteps as a fourth-year otolaryngology resident at the University of Kentucky.

“Dr. Galloway is a big reason that I decided to specialize in ENT,” said Wieser. “I first worked with her in the OR as an early third-year medical student. As a medical student, attending physicians — especially surgeons — can be intimidating, but Dr. Galloway was always approachable and open to teaching. She became my clinical advisor, and I attribute a lot of my success of matching into ENT to her.”

All-Consuming Calling

When Galloway isn’t mentoring the next generation of doctors or doing cutting-edge surgery, she’s fully immersed in other cancer fight endeavors. As chair for the Commission on Cancer at the Ellis Fischel Cancer Center, she seeks to ensure exceptional cancer care across Missouri.

Galloway also serves as a principal investigator in several clinical trial studies that she hopes will ultimately help produce enhancements in quantity and quality of life outcomes for cancer patients.

“There’s a lot I could be doing within my specialty, but being on the oncologic side of things is the best fit for me to make meaningful connections with my patients. This is my niche and my calling.”