Center for Pediatric Airway Disorders Patient Stories

When Bradley was born, his “seal-like” bark and struggle to breathe were dismissed by local doctors. His family brought him to CHOP for answers and treatment.

The team at the Center for Pediatric Airway Disorders gave Zakary what he’d never before had: a fully functioning airway.

Paralyzed vocal cords required a trach that kept Maxwell out of the water. Surgery at CHOP allowed him to dive in the waves.

The team from CHOP’s Center for Pediatric Airway Disorders gave Mason what his parents had been told was impossible: breathing without a tracheostomy tube.

Thanks to an experimental airway tumor treatment she received at CHOP, Hannah can talk now with her friends — really talk — because all the tumors are gone.

The Pediatric Voice Program at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia helped Kayla strengthen her voice, and she’s putting it to good use: promoting her own book.

Steven came in to the world facing more challenges than most people face in a lifetime, but after 35 medical procedures and 12 major surgeries by CHOP specialists, the 12-year-old is thriving.

Diagnosed with bilateral vocal cord paralysis as a baby, Lailani was unable to breathe on her own until age nine. That's when her sought treatment at CHOP’s Center for Pediatric Airway Disorders.

After living with vocal cord paralysis for six years after a tumor was removed, Michael and his family found CHOP's Center for Pediatric Airway Disorders and laryngeal nerve reinnervation, a procedure that would give him his voice back.

Paige had severe tracheal stenosis, a life-threatening airway narrowing. Doctors recommended major surgery – a fix made riskier since she had just one lung.