Aerodigestive Program

The multidisciplinary Aerodigestive Program brings together specialists from Otolaryngology, Pulmonary/Respiratory Medicine and Gastroenterology, Hepatology & Nutrition as well as Speech-Language Pathology and Occupational Therapy to provide diagnosis and management of complex disorders involving the respiratory and digestive systems.

A comprehensive evaluation of your child and a treatment plan are provided in a single visit. Care is coordinated through a stepwise approach to understanding your child’s condition and developing a long-range treatment strategy.  The clinic is held weekly on Wednesdays. For children requiring coordinated procedures under anesthesia, dedicated time is reserved on most Thursdays. Evaluation services include flexible laryngoscopy with or without a flexible endoscopic evaluation of swallowing, videofluoroscopic swallow studies, esophageal manometry, esophageal impedance and pH studies, sleep studies and specialized imaging studies, such as a computed tomography scan or upper gastrointestinal series, and triple endoscopy procedures under anesthesia.

Surgical procedures consist of comprehensive airway reconstruction through both endoscopic and open approaches (including airway dilation, laryngotracheoplasty, slide tracheoplasty, tracheopexy and vascular ring division, and tracheoesophageal fistula repair); laryngeal cleft repair; vocal fold procedures including laryngeal reinnervation; supraglottoplasty; airway stent placement; esophageal dilation; esophageal myotomy; Botox injection; and common ENT procedures, such as adenotonsillectomy and ear tube placement.

Conditions Treated

The conditions we treat include:

• Congenital and acquired airway anomalies including subglottic and tracheal stenosis
• Tracheostomy dependence
• Chronic aspiration with or without recurrent pneumonia
• Feeding difficulties
• Failure to thrive
• Genetic syndromes associated with airway and/or gastrointestinal morbidities
• Congenital airway abnormalities
• Chronic cough
• Esophageal dysmotility
• Gastroesophageal reflux

Team

Matthew Brigger, M.D., M.P.H., Otolaryngology

Tzyynong (Tina) Friesen, M.D., Otolaryngology

Virginia Floco PA-C, Otolaryngology

Aparna Rao, M.D., Pulmonary/Respiratory Medicine

Thu A. Duong, M.D., Pulmonary/Respiratory Medicine

Koorosh Kooros, M.D., Gastroenterology, Hepatology & Nutrition

Soma Kumar, M.D., Gastroenterology, Hepatology & Nutrition

Anne Elizabeth Luke, N.P., Gastroenterology, Hepatology & Nutrition

Kimberly Morris, CCC-SLP-BCS-S,IBCLC, Speech and Language Pathology

Lisa Horvay, OTR/L, Occupational Therapy

Janna Cummings, LVN, Otolaryngology

Sylvia Sandoval, Otolaryngology

For referrals, please contact our care coordinator, Sylvia Sandoval:

Phone: 858-309-7701
Fax: 858-966-8038 

Video: Learn how innovative surgery saved Jacob’s voice