What is unique about Children’s Sleep Disorders Center?
First, it is the only sleep center in the state designed specifically for children. The team of specialists staffing the center includes me, as the pulmonologist; sleep medicine fellows, pediatric residents, a nurse practitioner, pediatric psychologists and pediatric psychology interns. The center has two components: a sleep clinic and a sleep laboratory. Patients with sleep disorders are referred to the clinic by pediatricians, ENT specialists, plastic surgeons and neurologists for evaluation. In the laboratory, which opened in 2004, we perform sleep studies primarily on outpatients. Inpatients referred from plastic surgery for pre- and post-operative evaluation and treatment also are seen. We perform tests to monitor brain waves; airflow; chest, leg and abdominal movements; muscle twitching; oxygen saturation; and the different sleep phases. These studies can indicate the underlying cause of non-respiratory sleep disorders such as insomnia, hypersomnia, narcolepsy, movement disorders
