Sleep Medicine

The Pediatric and Adolescent Sleep Disorders Center at Le Bonheur is the only exclusively pediatric and adolescent sleep disorders laboratory in the region that is accredited by the American Academy of Sleep Medicine (AASM).

The Sleep Disorders Center helps in the management of sleep disordered breathing and various other sleep disorders in children with complex medical conditions such as chronic lung diseases, neuromuscular disorders, craniofacial syndromes, and respiratory control disorders. The center includes a multidisciplinary team of sleep medicine physicians with diverse backgrounds in pediatrics, neurology and pulmonology. Our team is dedicated to helping families navigate the complexities of various sleep disorders that may impact a child's cognition, behavior, academic performance and quality of life.

Our physicians are board-certified or board-eligible in Sleep Medicine.

Our Sleep Technologists are board-certified by the Board of Registered Polysomnographic Technologists.

Facilities

The clinics and services provided at Le Bonheur Sleep Disorders Center include:

• Sleep Disorders Clinic: The clinics provide services to children and adolescents with various sleep disorders, including sleep apnea, narcolepsy, hypersomnia, insomnia, restless leg syndrome, periodic limb movement disorder, parasomnias and circadian rhythm disorders.
• CPAP Clinic: The clinics provide services to children and adolescents who need CPAP or BPAP for various sleep disorders including sleep apnea, sleep hypoventilation syndrome and other disorders.
• Sleep Laboratory: The dedicated pediatric six-bed sleep laboratory provides an important diagnostic tool in evaluating and managing children with sleep disorders. Each monitoring room has a separate but attached room for the patient’s family member.
• Healthy Lifestyle Clinic: Sleep Medicine partners with the bariatric services within the Healthy Lifestyle Clinic to offer multi-disciplinary care to patients.
• Adult Transition Clinic: This clinic provides services to adolescents with sleep apnea, narcolepsy or idiopathic hypersomnia and partners with adult sleep medicine clinics to ensure continuity of care as patients transition to adult care.

Le Bonheur Sleep Center from Le Bonheur Children's Hospital on Vimeo.

Treatment Options

Our multi-disciplinary team of subspecialists works with otolaryngologists (ENT) and other specialists to provide:

• Therapeutic surgical intervention needed for sleep apnea such as tonsillectomy, adenoidectomy and other complex airway surgeries
• Drug-Induced Sleep Endoscopy (DISE)
• Breathing support includes Continuous Positive Airway Pressure(CPAP)/Bilevel Positive Airway Pressure (BPAP) therapy
• Cognitive behavioral therapy

Education & Research

The sleep medicine fellowship at Le Bonheur Children’s is an ACGME-approved graduate medical training program with strong emphasis on clinical and research aspects of the specialty. The combined training program utilizes resources from Le Bonheur Children’s Hospital, the University of Tennessee Health Science Center (UTHSC) and VA Medical Center. The fellowship is a one-year program with 50 percent of the time spent in pediatrics. We offer fellows diverse clinical training in both inpatient and outpatient settings and focus extensively on the management of pediatric and adult patients with a variety of sleep disorders. The Le Bonheur Sleep Center partners with VA Medical Center for this fellowship.

What is a typical first appointment like?

A visit to the Sleep clinic requires a referral from a physician before an appointment is made. The visit includes a full evaluation of sleep history, including sleep habits and discussion of sleep complaints. If appropriate, a sleep study may be recommended and scheduled overnight in our Sleep Center.

The Sleep Center maintains a homelike environment for comfort and to better monitor sleep. Your child can bring books, stuffed animals, blankets or other familiar objects that are part of his or her usual bedtime routine. After the sleep study is completed, a sleep physician will interpret the study, and an appointment will be scheduled to discuss the results. A specialized plan will be developed for each child, and your family will be provided with educational material about your child's particular condition.