Division of Otolaryngology–Head & Neck Surgery

Faculty of Medicine

Pediatric Otolaryngology

Specialized care for young patients

The Otolaryngology–Head and Neck Surgery service provides care on a consult basis to children and youth in the Atlantic Provinces requiring elective and emergent care for problems related to the head and neck.

The Otolaryngology–Head and Neck Surgery team consists of three physicians, two nurses, two administrators and a variety of health care professionals. As well as providing inpatient care, our service provides care to children through various outpatient clinics: general pediatric otolaryngology clinics, subspecialized clinics and nurse clinics:

General Otolaryngology Clinic

Common conditions seen in the General Otolaryngology Clinic include: ear infections, concerns with decreased hearing and delayed speech development, throat infections, nasal obstruction, sleep disordered breathing, sleep apnea, and congenital disorders of the head and neck, including neck cysts and tongue ties. 

Subspecialized, multidisciplinary clinics

  • Airway/voice disorders - includes pediatric and adult otolaryngologists specializing in airway problems, and airway constructive surgery
  • Ciliary dyskenesia - includes otolaryngology coordinated with respirology and physiotherapy
  • Cleft palate - pediatric otolaryngology coordinated with pediatrics, dentistry, plastic surgery, audiology and speech-language pathology
  • Craniofacial - pediatric otolaryngology coordinated with plastic surgery, neurosurgery, dentistry, oral maxillofacial surgery, speech-language therapy and ophthalmology
  • Otology - includes an audiologist, pediatric otolaryngologist and otologist/neuro-otologist specializing in investigative and rehabilitative treatment for hearing loss
  • Vascular malformations - an interest group made up of otolaryngology, hematology-oncology, plastic surgery, interventional radiology and dermatology to review and determine an optimal treatment plan for these complex cases
  • VPI (velopharyngeal insufficiency) - assessment of hypernasal speech associated with cleft palate or velocardiofacial syndrome (22q11 deletion) with access to otolaryngology, speech language pathology, audiology, genetics, pediatrics and immunology

Nurse clinics

Nurse clinic expedite and facilitate post-operative care and hearing tests for myringotomy tube patients.


For more information on our pediatric otolaryngology services, please visit the Otolaryngology–Head and Neck Surgery page on the IWK Health Centre website.