It is with great sadness that I must inform you of the passing of Dr. Aristides Sismanis on March 20, 2026. He was 76 years old.
Dr. Sismanis was a valued member of our VCU medical community, serving nearly 46 years. He graduated from the University of Athens Medical School in 1973. He completed his residency training at SUNY Downstate University followed by two fellowships. These included head and neck surgery at Boston University and neurotology at Vanderbilt University. Dr. Sismanis then joined the faculty at Virginia Commonwealth University Health System in the Department of Otolaryngology/Head and Neck Surgery in 1980. Ari became a widely regarded neurotologist on the international stage and a worldwide authority on pulsatile tinnitus. He served as President of the Virginia Society of Otolaryngology/Head and Neck Surgery, received the American Academy of Otolaryngology/Head and Neck Surgery Honor Award, and was named the Top Otolaryngologist-Head and Neck Surgeon in Richmond by Richmond Magazine on several occasions. Ari served on countless national committees, produced over one hundred publications, and delivered over two hundred and fifty presentations around the world. His lectures on pulsatile tinnitus at the annual meeting of the American Academy of Otolaryngology/Head and Neck Surgery quickly became standing room only. Within the institution, Dr. Sismanis was director of the otolaryngology residency program for thirteen years, held numerous leadership positions, and received the MCV/VCU Teaching Award three times.
As chair of the Department from 1995-2008, he created the foundation on which the current Department is built. Subsequently, he returned to Greece and served as Director of Otolaryngology/Head and Neck Surgery at the University of Athens before returning to VCU to continue his clinical practice and research efforts in 2015. His dedication to VCU was steadfast. In addition to serving a long and distinguished tenure at the institution, his legacy continues through the Aristides Sismanis, MD and Anna Sismanis, MD Professorship in Otolaryngology/Head and Neck Surgery established by Ari and his wife Anna in 2010.
He is survived by his loving wife, Dr. Anna Rozaki Sismanis; his children, Stamatina Thompson (Chris), Dr. Dimitrios Novas Sismanis (Georgia, MD), John Sismanis, and his sister, Olympia Sismanis; his four grandchildren, Gabriel and Sophia Thompson and Eleni and Anna Sismanis; and his vast extended family in his homeland of Greece.
Ari will always be remembered as a talented and caring physician, a dedicated teacher and scholar, a supportive and reasoned leader, and most of all, a compassionate and unwavering friend.
Please find the link below to his obituary for details of events celebrating Ari's life and ways to honor his memory:
https://www.blileys.com/obituaries/Aristides-Ari-Sismanis-MD-FACS?obId=47782467
Respectfully submitted,
Laurence J. DiNardo, MD, FACS
Darlene and George P. Emerson, Jr. Professor
Chair, Department of Otolaryngology/Head and Neck Surgery
Virginia Commonwealth University Health System