Craniofacial Center

The Craniofacial Center at Children’s Hospital New Orleans

About our program

The Craniofacial Center at Children’s Hospital New Orleans is committed to delivering holistic, coordinated, and state-of-the-art care for children with craniofacial differences. Our team members are experts in addressing complexities of caring for children with clefts and various craniofacial conditions.

Children with clefts and craniofacial differences achieve optimal outcomes when treated by specialists from diverse disciplines. Our multidisciplinary approach ensures that healthcare providers work together to implement a coordinated and patient-centered treatment plan specifically to your child’s needs.

Why choose us

The Craniofacial Center is comprised of subspecialty, fellowship-trained staff, experienced in the complexities and care of infants, children and adolescents with cleft lip and craniofacial anomalies. We are the only full-service pediatric hospital in Louisiana and the Gulf South, and home to the largest team of fellowship-trained craniofacial surgeons in the region. This multidisciplinary team approach ensures that all healthcare providers work together to implement a single, coordinated treatment plan for each child. The plan is shared with the family, the child’s pediatrician and all other pertinent providers.

As leaders in pediatric craniofacial care, our team is renowned for being the most comprehensive and most specialized, thanks to several key factors:

Expertise and experience: Our team comprises fellowship-trained craniofacial surgeons who have undergone specialized training specifically focused on craniofacial surgery. This level of expertise ensures a deep understanding of the complexities involved in treating craniofacial conditions.
Advanced technology: Our center is equipped with state-of-the-art technology necessary for performing complex craniofacial surgeries. This includes advanced imaging techniques, surgical navigation systems, and specialized operating rooms designed for craniofacial procedures.
Exclusive craniofacial pediatrics provider: We are the only center in the Gulf South offering specialized craniofacial pediatrics, ensuring unparalleled expertise and tailored care for patients in the region, while also guaranteeing accessibility and convenience for families in our area.
Our team is approved by the American Cleft Palate-Craniofacial Association. This designation signifies that the Children's Hospital New Orleans Craniofacial Center provides the highest level of care for children with cleft conditions.

Our multidisciplinary approach

We understand the importance of providing comprehensive care tailored to your child’s needs, all while ensuring their journey is approached with compassionate care. Many conditions can affect multiple areas of the body, leading to visits to multiple specialists. That’s why we prioritize multidisciplinary care, enabling families to access their specialists in a single visit, streamlining the care process for your child.

Our craniofacial team comprises specialists in craniofacial pediatrics, plastic and reconstructive surgery, craniofacial surgery, oral and maxillofacial surgery, neurosurgery, genetics, nursing, audiology, dentistry, orthodontics, otolaryngology, social services, speech pathology, and other disciplines. This integrated team collaborates to address the most severe and intricate craniofacial abnormalities, offering patients and their families the advantages of enhanced health and aesthetics.

Our craniofacial services

Our approach to diagnosis

The Craniofacial Center specializes in evaluating, diagnosing, and managing children with congenital and acquired craniofacial abnormalities affecting the head, face, and neck. The first step in treating craniofacial disorders is a thorough evaluation by our expert team. This evaluation may involve medical history review, physical examinations, imaging studies such as X-rays or CT scans, and specialized assessments depending on the specific condition. Through this process, we gain a comprehensive understanding of your child's craniofacial condition, which guides our treatment recommendations.

Prenatal diagnosis

In some cases, craniofacial disorders can be diagnosed in utero through prenatal imaging such as ultrasound or fetal MRI. Prenatal diagnosis allows for early preparation and planning, enabling our team to coordinate care and support for your child from the moment of birth. If a craniofacial anomaly is detected prenatally, our team provides comprehensive, individualized counseling and guidance to address any questions or concerns you may have, ensuring a smooth transition into postnatal care.

Conditions we treat

The Craniofacial Center at Children’s Hospital stands as a premier specialty center in Louisiana dedicated to addressing craniofacial disorders in children. Our center provides comprehensive care for infants, children, and young adults with a wide spectrum of craniofacial conditions. Beyond the conditions mentioned here, we extend our expertise to address numerous other craniofacial challenges.

Cleft lip and palate - openings or splits in the upper lip or roof of the mouth (palate)
Craniosynostosis - fused skull, abnormal head shape, abnormal skull sutures
Microtia
Pierre robin sequence
Treacher collins syndrome
Apert syndrome
Goldenhar syndrome
Hemifacial microsomia
Craniofacial microsomia
Fibrous dysplasia
Facial hemiatrophy (Parry-Romberg syndrome)
Craniofacial clefts
Amniotic band syndrome
Moebius syndrome
Plagiocephaly (flat head syndrome)
Saethre-chotzen
Stickler’s syndrome
Van der Woude syndrome
Velopharyngeal insufficiency

Treatment for craniofacial disorders

At the Craniofacial Center at Children’s Hospital, we understand that every child is unique, and so are their craniofacial conditions. Our treatment plans are carefully tailored following a comprehensive evaluation and diagnosis of your child's condition. Through this process, we collaborate with specialists from various disciplines to provide the most appropriate and effective individualized treatment approach.

Treatment approaches may vary widely depending on the severity and type of craniofacial disorder. While surgery is often a key component of treatment, not every condition requires surgical intervention. Our treatment plans may include:

Non-surgical interventions: For some craniofacial conditions, non-surgical approaches may be sufficient or preferred. This could include therapies such as speech therapy, orthodontic treatment, dental interventions, helmet therapy, or specialized feeding techniques.
Surgical procedures: When surgical intervention is necessary, our team of highly skilled craniofacial surgeons performs a wide range of procedures. These may include corrective surgeries for cleft lip and palate, cranial vault reconstruction for craniosynostosis, ear reconstruction for microtia, and other reconstructive procedures tailored to your child’s needs.
Long-term follow-up: Treatment for craniofacial disorders often requires ongoing monitoring and follow-up care. Our team provides long-term, comprehensive and specialized support from prenatal to adulthood, ensuring continuity of care as your child grows and addressing any emerging needs or concerns along the way.

Refer a patient

The Children’s Hospital Craniofacial Center welcomes referrals from a physician or healthcare provider for a newborn, infant, child, adolescent, or young adult. In addition, the center welcomes new patients who are interested in seeking a second opinion. The Craniofacial Center requests that referring providers send any pertinent clinic notes including newborn discharge summaries, diagnostic testing including any genetic testing and imaging, and any prior evaluations and treatments performed. Imaging studies can also be shared by the organization to PowerShare.

Referring providers or parents looking for a second opinion may contact the Craniofacial Center at 504.896.9857 or the Dedicated Provider Referral Department at 504.894.6778 more information or to schedule an appointment.

Urgent referrals should be made to the Transfer Center at 504.896.6673. The Transfer Center nurse will connect the referring provider with an accepting provider at Children’s Hospital to discuss if a transfer or outpatient evaluation is more appropriate.

Prenatal Consultation

Prenatal consultation is available after a craniofacial condition is identified during a prenatal ultrasound. Our craniofacial pediatrician offers both in-person and virtual prenatal consult with the expectant parents to discuss the unborn baby’s suspected condition and to answer any questions that they may have related to the care of the child after delivery. This consultation and to provides support to the parents and helps to reduce anxiety as they await delivery of their child.

To schedule a prenatal consultation, the referring provider or expectant parent can contact the office at 504.896.9857. Medical records can be faxed to 504.894.5563.

Meet the team

Medical Director:
Gregory Kyle Fulton, MD (Craniofacial Pediatrics)

Surgical Director:
Mohamad Masoumy, MD, MS (Plastics and Craniofacial Surgery)

Audiology:
Amanda Burkhardt, AuD, CCC-A
Amanda Giles, AuD, CCC-A

Genetics:
Regina Zambrano, MD
Christine Spaeth MS, LGC
Maryam Ijaz, MS, LCGC

Neurosurgery:
Jerome Volk, MD

Nurse Navigators:
Kacie Thibodeaux, BSN, RN-BC
Kayla Scholl, BSN, RN

Oral Maxillofacial Surgery:
Brett King, DDS

Craniofacial Orthodontics:
Leslie Slowikowski, DMD

Otolaryngology:
J. Scott McMurray, MD
Kelly Smith, CPNP
Carlyn McKernan, DNP, PNP-PC

Pediatric Dentistry:
Suzanne Fournier, DDS, FACD

Plastics and Craniofacial Surgery:
Mohamad Masoumy, MD, MS
Jennifer Lavie, MD
Michael Moses, MD
Olivia Dejean PA-C