Esophageal & Airway Care
This department offers
- Esophageal and airway center
Answers for little airways and esophageal complications
When breathing or swallowing is hard, everyday life gets hard too. Our pediatric esophageal and airway team brings specialists together for coordinated visits to find answers and a plan that fits your child.
What we do
Airway-related esophageal conditions affect how the esophagus and trachea function and interact. In a healthy system, the esophagus carries food to the stomach while the airway remains separate for breathing. When structural abnormalities like tracheoesophageal fistulas or other structural abnormalities disrupt this separation, children may experience:
- Difficulty swallowing or choking during feeds
- Frequent respiratory infections or coughing
- Reflux or vomiting
- Poor weight gain or feeding intolerance
Our team uses specialized tests to diagnose the issues, often leading to surgical intervention. Once corrected, our team then cares for the children for as long as is medically necessary to ensure they live their lives to the fullest.
Conditions we treat
- Tracheoesophageal fistula (TEF) and esophageal atresia (EA), including long-gap EA
- Tracheomalacia, laryngomalacia, bronchomalacia
- Subglottic/tracheal stenosis and recurrent croup/stridor
- Chronic cough, aspiration, and feeding/swallowing difficulties
- Esophageal strictures, caustic or foreign-body injury
- Severe gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) and reflux-related airway issues
- Eosinophilic esophagitis (EoE) and motility concerns (with GI)
- Vocal cord paralysis, airway lesions, and complex tracheostomy needs
- Vascular rings/slings causing airway or esophageal compression
Collaborative and coordinated care
Our esophageal and airway center treats your child comprehensively, ensuring there is one location where all specialists can gather to coordinate care.
Treatment may include:
- Endoscopic evaluation: laryngoscopy, bronchoscopy, esophagoscopy (often combined)
- Esophageal and airway dilations; foreign body removal
- TEF/EA repair and revision; H-type fistula repair
- Laryngotracheal reconstruction (LTR) and cricotracheal resection (CTR), when needed
- Anti-reflux surgery (e.g., fundoplication) and gastrostomy/jejunostomy as appropriate
- Swallow studies (VFSS), FEES, pH/impedance testing, and manometry (in coordination with GI)
- Tracheostomy care, decannulation pathways, and home-care education
- Speech/feeding therapy, respiratory therapy, and nutrition support
National recognition
Intermountain Primary Children's Hospital is ranked by U.S. News & World Report as one of the nation's best children's hospitals in 11 of 11 pediatric specialties, including gastroenterology and GI surgery.
Why choose us
One team, one plan
Your child sees multiple specialists in a coordinated visit, reducing appointments and speeding answers.
Pediatric-only expertise
Airways and esophagi in kids are different. Our surgeons, anesthesiologists, and therapists care only for children and teens.
Minimally invasive whenever possible
We prioritize endoscopic and small-incision options to lessen pain, scarring, and time away from school.
Care that follows your child’s growth
From NICU through adolescence, we monitor progress and adjust the plan as needs change.
Meet our team
Our multidisciplinary team consists of pediatric surgeons, pediatric pulmonologists, pediatric otolaryngologists, pediatric gastroenterologists, nurse practitioners, social workers, and psychologists dedicated to the care of patients with esophageal airway conditions.
Our providers
