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Complex diseases of the upper and lower airways prove to be a major challenge for physicians worldwide. Patients typically require a multidisciplinary approach, as problems that clinicians face are often complex and multifactorial. Specialisms that often need to be consulted include paediatric otorhinolaryngology, pulmonology, paediatric and thoracic surgery, and swallow and speech therapy.
Why choose for treatment by the Paediatric Airway Team at Erasmus Medical Centre in the Netherlands?
The Erasmus MC is the largest tertiary care and academic hospital in the Netherlands. The Sophia Children’s Hospital is the largest academic paediatric hospital in the Netherlands and operates under the Erasmus MC.
The Erasmus MC paediatric airway team has a long and outstanding reputation for the treatment of complex airway diseases in children. It is a recognized national and international centre of excellence for complex airway diseases. Our hospital can proudly offer the services of highly specialized medical professionals for the treatment of complex and rare diseases.
What the Paediatric Airway Team does at Erasmus MC’s Paediatric Chest Centre at the Sophia Children’s Hospital
We at the Paediatric Chest Centre are committed to provide the very best of care for complex airway diseases and disorders with the highly skilled and experienced physicians and medical staff at the Erasmus MC hospital.
The airway team operates within the Paediatric Chest Centre, a separate clinic within the Sophia Children’s Hospital that is solely dedicated to the treatment of complex diseases of heart, lungs and airways in children. Our team offers a true multidisciplinary approach for complex airway diseases, with evaluation, examination and multidisciplinary meetings throughout to determine the best possible treatment path.
All possible diseases of the upper and lower respiratory tract are treated by the paediatric airway team. Our multidisciplinary approach facilitates swift evaluation and treatment of patients with complex, multifactorial airway diseases.
We treat :
- All possible diseases of the upper and lower respiratory tract
We have special expertise in:
- acquired and congenital laryngotracheal stenosis
- laryngotracheal cleft
- tracheomalacia
- tracheal stenosis
Of course, you can always contact us for any disease or disorder related to the upper and lower airways or the respiratory system in general!
Treatment
Our treatments include endoscopic and open airway surgeries.
- We offer endoscopic closure of a laryngeal cleft.
- For laryngotracheal stenosis, we offer endoscopic treatment, laser surgery and balloon dilatation.
- We can place laryngotracheal stents with custom-made silicone stents.
- We offer aortopexy for tracheomalacia;
- Tracheal stenosis is treated with tracheal resection, slide tracheoplasty and balloon dilatation. We treat laryngomalacia with supraglottoplasty
Open airway surgery: laryngotracheal reconstruction (LTR) and cricotracheal resection (CTR)
Our airway team has a lot of experience in the treatment of severe laryngotracheal stenosis. Our primary aim is to create an adequate airway for each child to be able to go through life without a tracheal cannula. We are very happy and proud to have achieved a very high decannulation rate in our children: we have accomplished successful decannulation in 95% of the children who received open airway surgery.
After surgery and successful decannulation, we provide an extensive multidisciplinary follow up program in which the children and their families are followed up until adulthood, with special attention for pulmonary function, endurance and quality of life. This follow up program is unique in the world and one of the cornerstones of our multidisciplinary approach.
Paediatric Airway Team follow-up care
All patients treated for complex airway disease are enrolled in a standardised follow up program. By following up on our patients, we aim to further improve our treatments and outcomes for the patient, as well as future generations. The Erasmus MC airway team is the only team in the Netherlands specialized in serving paediatric airway disorders that has a standardised follow-up program in place.
More about the Paediatric Airway Team at Erasmus MC
Our Team
To ensure that our patients at the Paediatric Chest Centre receive the most comprehensive care, we have established a multidisciplinary team of professionals and physicians renowned in the field of paediatrics, paediatric otorhinolaryngology, paediatric pulmonology, paediatric surgery, thoracic surgery and swallow and speech therapy. All are experienced professionals in the diagnosis, management and treatment of complex airway diseases and the team offers state of the art care of the highest standard.
Our Medical Expertise
The Ear, Nose and Throat (ENT) department at both the adult and children’s hospital has been a leader in the field of complex airway diseases and has set the national standard for many years. We were recently rewarded the Dutch Centre of Excellence Award for the diagnosis and treatment of laryngeal cleft, laryngotracheal stenosis and tracheal stenosis. The team’s president, Bas Pullens, is one of the coordinators of the European Reference Centre “Rare craniofacial anomalies and ENT disorders” dealing with rare ENT diseases such as airway stenosis and clefts.
The Sophia Children’s Hospital
At the Sophia Children’s Hospital, we believe in patient and family centred care. Next to taking the very best of care of our patients, we also go to extreme lengths to take care of the patient’s family, and include them in the medical process to the best possible extent. We believe that in doing so, we will accomplish more and be able to treat our patients optimally.