Craniofacial Center

At the Craniofacial Center at The Children's Hospital at Montefiore (CHAM), our exceptional multi-disciplinary team of specialists has helped us to become one of the most respected craniofacial programs in the world. We've helped thousands of children born with birth anomalies, complex craniofacial tumors, and post-traumatic craniofacial deformities. We earned the unique honor of completing the world's first totally successful separation of twins joined at the head. Our staff is devoted to providing careful attention to each child's medical needs, while offering family-centered care that empowers each child's extended care network and helps the entire family to enjoy the highest quality outcome possible.

History of cutting edge care

Since it was founded in 1959, our Craniofacial Center has established a reputation as one of the most prestigious centers at Montefiore, thanks to our pioneering care for children and adults with defects and deformities of the head and neck. We are one of the oldest continuously functioning craniofacial programs in the world.

Our multidisciplinary craniofacial team at CHAM includes:

• Plastic surgeons
• Neurosurgeons
• Geneticists
• Cardiologists
• Maxillofacial Surgeons
• ENT Specialists
• Pediatric Dentists
• Orthopaedic Surgeons
• Speech Pathologists
• Pediatric Nurses
• Social Workers
• Rehabilitation Specialists
• Prosthodontists

Together, our board-certified physicians and surgeons take time with each patient to provide a thorough evaluation and careful diagnosis using state-of-the-art diagnostic services, including CT scans with 3-dimensional reconstruction. During our multidisciplinary consultations each patient and their family is given a private exam room. Each member of the team then visits the family in privacy, allowing the family to be evaluated by the team without traveling from office to office. Our unique collaborative approach to treatment puts a premium on the education and involvement of patients and caregivers during every stage of care. Our Child Life Program brings children to the operating room before their surgery, so they'll feel more relaxed when it's time for surgery.

As one of the country's leading craniofacial centers, we attract patients from around the country and overseas. Treating such a broad range of patients allows our doctors to continually enhance their experience and gives them the expertise to determine the best time in a child's development to perform surgery.

Tania Shiminski-Maher, MS, CPNP