Aerodigestive and Airway Reconstruction Center

Disorders of the airway, esophagus and upper gastrointestinal tract often need complicated medical and surgical care. This can lead to multiple appointments with different specialists who may offer complicated and sometimes contradictory information.

The pediatric Aerodigestive and Airway Reconstruction team at Stanford Medicine Children’s Health works together to streamline this process by coordinating all parts of patient care, constantly striving to provide the best outcome for each patient.

Our dedicated team consists of specialists from the departments of otolaryngology-head and neck surgery (ENT), pulmonary (lung) medicine, gastroenterology (dealing with the digestive tract), pediatric surgery and speech-language issues. Together, the aerodigestive and airway reconstruction team organizes clinic visits, diagnostic tests and operating room procedures among all necessary health care providers to provide the highest quality of care. This coordination and communication among many departments increases patient safety, improves results and reduces discomfort.

One of our center’s primary goals is the treatment of children with disorders affecting the airway. We are one of the busiest pediatric airway centers in the United States.

More information on airway reconstruction >


Meet the Director

Douglas Sidell, MD, and the Aerodigestive and Airway Reconstruction team, help children with problems involving the neck, airway, ears, nose and throat. When a patient is able to breathe and sleep better, become more active in sports and hear better in the classroom, our team knows they are making a difference.

Learn more about the team >

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Aerodigestive and Airway Reconstruction Center podcasts

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Aerodigestive and Airway Reconstruction Patient Stories

Family Sleeping Easy After Newborn’s Laryngomalacia Treatment

No one expects to get any sleep with a new baby. It takes a while for babies to settle into a sleep cycle, and they have to eat often. Yet these usual...

On the Road to Normal Eating for Baby Born With Laryngeal Cleft

At our aerodigestive center, we have a large multidisciplinary team—ENTs who intimately understand airway disorders, speech-language pathologists and ...

Six Adopted Kids, All With Special Needs

The Moore family of Concord, California, has set a record for having the most kids from one family receiving care at Stanford Medicine Children’s Heal...