Otolaryngology and Communication Enhancement

Who we are

The Department of Otolaryngology (ENT) and Communication Enhancement at Boston Children's Hospital is the oldest and largest center for pediatric otolaryngology in the United States. Here, your child will receive expert diagnosis and surgical treatment for disorders of the head and neck, including ears, nose, sinus, throat and vocal cords, and air and food passages.

Children's also evaluates and rehabilitates children with hearing, voice and speech disorders. Your child will be seen by dedicated, board-certified otolaryngologists, audiologists, speech-language pathologists, and educators. Children's ENT\CCE department cares for more than 56,000 outpatient visitors annually and performs more than 6,000 surgical procedures each year.

Our expertise

Children's is consistently at the forefront of innovation. Children's doctors have performed pioneering work in the treatment of a poorly understood syndrome called PFAPA (periodic fever, aphthous ulcers, pharyngitis and adenitis). Many children suffering from PFAPA endure mysterious, spiking fevers as high as 105 degrees, sometimes with seizures, that refuse to respond to antibiotics or fever reducers. The fevers come and go without warning.

Thanks to the groundbreaking work of Greg Licameli, MD, FACS, and his Children's colleagues, it was found that tonsillectomy (the removal of the tonsils) is almost always curative for PFAPA. The surgery has proved life-changing for countless families. In virtually all cases, surgery has improved patients' quality of life dramatically. Parents no longer have to worry about their child suffering seizures, missing school or having to be kept away from other children because of a fever. "We have a bunch of very grateful families," Licameli says.

Download our Otolaryngology fact sheet for key highlights and information.

Global recognition

Children's is not only the largest center for pediatric otolaryngology in the country but also one of the largest and most experienced pediatric ORL programs in the world.

Discover: Otolaryngology(ENT) and Communication Enhancement

Surgery found to cure mysterious, unexplained fevers

A report in the February Archives of Otolaryngology and Head and Neck Surgery finds tonsillectomy (with or without adenoidectomy) is almost always curative. The reason, like the illness, remains a mystery, as extensive pathology studies of the tonsils and adenoids have found no evidence of infection or abnormality. But desperate families are opting for the surgery as a last-ditch measure, and are finding it to be life-changing.