ENT Special Procedures

Among the special procedures performed by the ENT physicians at Nicklaus Children's are:

  • Head and neck cancer and tumor surgery
  • Diagnostic and therapeutic surgery for pediatric airway disorders
  • Speech fluoroscopy
  • Removal of foreign bodies from the ears, nose and throat
  • Treatment for complex head and neck tumors
  • Treatment of symptoms resulting from cystic fibrosis
  • Tonsillectomy and adenoidectomy for children with bleeding disorders
  • Routine procedures performed on children with high-risk medical problems
  • Evaluation and treatment for facial trauma
  • Routine and complex surgery for pediatric sinus disease
  • Treatment for craniofacial disorders
  • Treatment for complex airway diseases
  • Treatment for various pediatric otology and neurotology diseases, including mastoid disorders and tumors of the cerebellopontine angle
  • Additionally, physicians perform reconstruction of the eardrum or associated ossicles and repair of congenital aural atresia

Airway Dilation

If the subglottis or trachea are narrowed and leading to breathing problems, airway dilation is a potential treatment for these problems. The procedure involves using an endoscope to enlarge the airway.

Bronchoscopy

A bronchoscopy is a medical test that is used to examine and look for problems in the lungs. The procedure may also be used to obtain a sample of tissue from the lungs or airway.

Cleft Lip and Palate Repair

Cleft lip and palate are common facial birth defects that are often seen together. They involve a gap in the lip and palate of the newborn baby. Cleft lip and palate repair refers to the surgical procedures that are used to repair these problems.

Cochlear Implants

Cochlear implants are a form of hearing aid that are surgically implanted in the skin behind the ear. The implants also have an external portion that picks up sound and transmits it to the inner portion. They provide a sense of sound to people with extreme hearing problems or deafness.

Congenital Atresia Repair

Congenital atresia is a defect related to the ear that is present at birth. It refers to the complete absence of the external ear canal. Congenital atresia repair is a surgery to repair this birth defect.

Diagnostic and Therapeutic Surgery for Pediatric Airway Disorders

Children can be born with or develop a variety of different medical conditions that affect the windpipe (trachea), the larynx or other components of the airway. Diagnostic and therapeutic surgery for pediatric airway disorders are procedures that both diagnose the problem and repair it.

Endoscopic Sinus Surgery

Endoscopic sinus surgery is a medical procedure used to clear blocked sinuses.

Fiberoptic Laryngoscopy

A fiberoptic laryngoscopy is an imaging test that uses a small, flexible telescope to examine the nose and throat.

Head and Neck Cancer and Tumor Surgery

In the pediatric population there are variety of tumors that can originate in the head and neck. Common tumors are lymphoma, salivary tumors and thyroid cancer.

Hearing Loss Panel

The hearing loss panel is a medical test that helps in the diagnosis of some genetic causes of hearing loss.

Laryngeal and Tracheal Reconstruction

Laryngeal and tracheal reconstruction is a procedure that widens the windpipe in order to make breathing easier. Reconstruction of the airways is a common treatment for breathing difficulties related to a narrow windpipe.

Laryngotracheoplasty

Laryngotracheoplasty is a procedure that widens the windpipe in order to make breathing easier. It’s a common treatment for breathing difficulties related to a narrow windpipe.

Laser Laryngoscopy and Bronchoscopy

A laryngoscopy is a medical procedure used to examine and diagnose potential problems with the larynx, while a bronchoscopy does the same for the lungs and windpipe. With laser laryngoscopy and bronchoscopy a laser is used to make tiny incisions in the larynx or windpipe in order to treat potential problems.

Myringoplasty

Myringoplasty is a surgical procedure that is used to treat a perforation or hole in the eardrum. Some perforations close spontaneously. Those that do not may require myringoplasty to close the hole.

Myringotomy

Myringotomy with ear tube placement is a very common procedure that is commonly referred to as ear tube surgery. It is usually performed in children to treat recurrent ear infections or persistent fluid in the middle ear. The tubes allow ventilation of the middle ear to decrease the number of ear infections and prevent persistent fluid accumulation in the middle ear.

Partial Cricotracheal Resection

The trachea is the medical term for the windpipe that leads to the lungs. The cricoid is the ring of cartilage around the trachea. If scarring occurs on the cricoid or the portion of trachea below it, a partial cricotracheal resection might be necessary to remove this portion and reconnect the healthy ends.

Reconstructive Surgery of the Middle and Outer Ear

The ear can be malformed or absent for many reasons, either due to a birth defect, trauma, cancer or other reasons. Reconstructive surgery of the middle and outer ear is a medical procedure or a series of medical procedures used to rebuild the malformed or absent ear.

Slide Tracheoplasty

If a patient has difficulty breathing due to a narrow airway, slide tracheoplasty is a potential treatment. The procedure gets its name due to the fact that two cut portions of the trachea are slid over one another in order to create a wider airway.

Speech Audiometry

Speech audiometry will look at how well the patient listens to and repeats words.

Supraglottoplasty

Supraglottoplasty is a surgical procedure performed to treat moderate to severe laryngomalacia.

Tonsillectomy

Tonsillectomy is the surgical removal of the tonsils. It is a common surgery used to treat obstructive sleep apnea, sleep disordered breathing and recurrent tonsillitis.

Video Nasal Endoscopy

An endoscope is a long, flexible, snake-like instrument with a light and a camera on the end that’s used to enter the body and provide imagery in areas not typically accessible. In the case of video nasal endoscopy, the endoscope is inserted into the nose in order to diagnose problems in the nasal passage.

Vocal Fold Injection

The vocal folds are a part of the vocal cords that allow for consistent speech. Some vocal folds end up soft and floppy or stiffer and less flexible than they should be. Vocal fold injection is a procedure that can treat these problems and help restore proper speech.