Pediatric Otolaryngology

The Department of Otolaryngology – Head and Neck Surgery at UT Southwestern Medical Center offers an ACGME-accredited Pediatric Otolaryngology Fellowship Program every year. The goal of the fellowship is to prepare future otolaryngologists to become experts in the management of congenital and acquired conditions of the head and neck in infants, children and adolescents. The one-year program is designed to strengthen competencies in assessment of conditions, surgical technique, and organization and management of the pediatric subspecialty service.

The pediatric ENT fellow works closely with 11 fellowship-trained pediatric otolaryngologists, 2 board-certified pediatricians, 3 fellowship-trained neurotologists, and 1 facial plastic surgeon. The Division of Pediatric Otolaryngology at UT Southwestern and Children's Health℠, is the largest in North Texas and one of the largest in the U.S. The division performs over 25,000 outpatient encounters and performs over 9,000 surgeries annually. In addition, the department has robust programs for management of voice and airway disorders, dysphagia, sleep apnea, hearing loss, vascular malformations, pediatric thyroid problems, pediatric sinus and skull base disorders, and velopharyngeal insufficiency. Trainees are exposed to a wide spectrum of clinical pathology, and over a third of index cases are performed in medically complex children. The operative experience occurs primarily at Children’s Health℠ Dallas, a free-standing children's hospital with 490 beds including 47 NICU beds and 44 PICU beds. It is the only pediatric Level I trauma center in the DFW metroplex and North Texas. There will also be opportunities for the fellow to operate with faculty at the Plano satellite campus if desired.

This training program will also provide resources for the fellow to pursue a career in academic medicine. The faculty are productive from a research standpoint and have a strong presence at all national meetings. The faculty hold multiple leadership positions in national organizations such as ASPO, AAO-HNS, and SENTAC. Throughout the course of the fellowship there will be multiple opportunities for the fellow to be involved in research including presenting at meetings and publishing manuscripts. Many past fellows have become academic leaders in the field of pediatric otolaryngology.

Children's Medical Center

Clinical exposure includes a large volume of tertiary level cases including complex laryngotracheal reconstruction, sinus/skull base pathology, tumors of the head and neck including pediatric thyroid disorders and branchial cleft cysts, disorders of the ear and hearing restoration and facial plastic reconstruction. This is a busy clinical fellowship with a high volume of complex cases. In 2024, there were over 50 tracheostomies, 25 open airway surgeries, 60 endoscopic sinus surgeries, 40 cochlear implants, 20 hypoglossal nerve implants and 120 head and neck surgeries (thyroid, congenital neck masses, lymphovascular malformations, etc).

Fellows gain excellent experience in complicated consultations originating from the PICU, CVICU and NICU. Additional exposure in head and neck vascular malformations clinic, pediatric sleep lab and management of cleft lip & palate pathology is provided and encouraged. The breadth of training encompasses a well-balanced experience with a separate fellow clinic, precepted by one of the faculty members.

The didactic program consists of multiple interdisciplinary conferences including a weekly fellow lecture series with guest lecturers, monthly pediatric neuroradiology conference, monthly complex case conference, quarterly multidisciplinary sleep conference and quality improvement conference. The fellow meets quarterly with the pediatric ENT faculty for a journal club discussing articles related to recent cases as well as discussion of quality improvement and research projects.

There are ample opportunities for teaching. The fellow often works with an otolaryngology resident and teaches during our quarterly resident airway foreign body and open airway lab. The fellow also gives 3-5 lectures a year to the pediatric ENT residents and advanced practitioners on a pediatric ENT topic of their choice.

Requirements

• Completion of ACGME-accredited Residency Program
• USMLE Steps 1, 2 and 3
• 3 letters of recommendation

Program Research and Highlights

• Many ongoing IRB-approved clinical research projects spanning hearing loss, obstructive sleep apnea, pediatric tracheostomy, and pediatric aerodigestive disorders
• Collaborative research with University of Texas campuses at Dallas and Arlington
• National Institutes of Health (NIH)-sponsored research in pediatric obstructive sleep apnea
• The largest airway program in the region
• Busy clinical volumes
• The Division manages one of the largest sleep laboratories in the country with over 2,000 sleep studies performed every year
• Quarterly simulation lab focused on airway foreign bodies and open airway reconstruction
• Quarterly simulation lab focused on tracheostomy care and emergencies