Craniofacial team: a group of physicians and medical professionals working together to evaluate and treat children and adults with a variety of abnormalities of the face, head, and neck, especially those of congenital origin.

The craniofacial team at Loma Linda University Children's Hospital has been seeing patients for approximately twenty years. The team has evaluated and treated more than 1,200 patients in 2006. During weekly meetings the members of the team evaluate new and return patients.

Each year one in 600-700 babies are born with cleft lip and/or palate. Children with this condition make up a majority of the craniofacial team patient population. Approximately 70 percent of the patients we see each year are children with cleft lip and/or palate. The team offers various services for these children such as surgery, dental and orthodontic care, speech therapy, genetic evaluation and counseling, feeding instructions, pediatric evaluation, assessment of psychosocial needs, eye, ear, nose, and throat examination, and nursing evaluation.

Children who have other anomalies of the head and neck are also evaluated by the team. Included are children who have hemifacial microsomia, craniosynostosis, and other genetic and congenital syndromes such as Apert syndrome, velocardiofacial syndrome, and Peirre Robin sequence.

The objective of the team is to examine all children and develop a patient-specific treatment plan that may be implemented in coordination with local community resources. A copy of this plan is sent to the child and family as well as appropriate health-care providers.

There are approximately seventeen members on the craniofacial team ranging from a general pediatrician to a geneticist. Patients who are new to the team have appointments that start in the morning and extend into the afternoon. These appointments are made to facilitate evaluations by the appropriate team members on the same day. At the end of the day, there is a team conference when each child is discussed separately and the treatment plans are recommended by the entire team. Each specialist provides professional advice for the final team report. Parents and primary care providers play an important role in scheduling and approving follow-up testing, surgeries, and other interventions.

The craniofacial team meets every Monday and Friday and accepts most insurance including: Medi-Cal, CCS, and HMOs with prior authorization.

Location
2195 Club Center Drive, Suite G
San Bernardino, CA 92408

Please call (909) 835-1819 with any questions, concerns, and appointment information.

Team members are as follows:

Edward N. Elmendorf III, MD, FAAP, pediatrics, Clinical Director of team

Mark C. Martin, MD, DMD, FRCSC, plastic surgery

Andrea Ray, MD, plastic and reconstructive surgery 

Robin Clark, MD, genetics

Subhadra Ramanathan, MS, genetic counseling 

Kiti Freier, PhD, pediatric psychology

Wayne Tanaka, DDS, oral and maxillofacial surgery

Gabriella E. Garcia, DDS, MS, orthodontics

Alexander Zouros, MD, neurosurgery

Kimberlee McMillian, MSW, PPSC, social work

Heather Woolard, MS, CCC-SLP, speech-language pathology

Holly Bernardi, RN, BSN, PHN, nursing

Merrilee Hadley-Scofield, MPH, MS, RD, CDE, nutrition

Danielle Newton, MS, SLP

Rachelle Wareham, MD, ear, nose, and throat; head and neck surgery

Timothy Stevens, DDS, oral surgery

Liyona Khoury, PhD, developmental psychology

Bonnie Nelson, DDS, dentistry

Jung-Wei Chen, DDS, MS, PhD, dentistry

Contact information

2195 Club Center Drive, Suite G
San Bernardino, CA 92408
Phone: (909) 835-1818