“When our son was born, we learned he had Microtia/Atresia. It was an overwhelming time. We started doing our research and knew one day our son will have reconstruction surgery. When Mateo came of age, we started looking at different surgeons. We did our homework and decided on meeting Dr. Scott Stephans. It was the most extended doctor’s appointment with a lot of information. Thank you, Dr. Stephans, for answering all of our questions and putting our family at ease. We decided right away he was the doctor for our son Mateo. Even though we live in Maryland, we would make it work to travel to Nashville, TN. We got all the tests done to schedule his 3D ear reconstruction surgery for July 2020. Then Covid hit in spring 2020. Knowing our son would go through a 12-hour surgery and dealing with a pandemic was nerve-wracking. I want to say thank you to the nurses and doctors at Vanderbilt Children’s Hospital who performed and post-care for his surgery was terrific! The healing process was slow, but distance did not matter for Dr. Stephan’s team. Mateo received outstanding care throughout it all, and a true blessing at the end was to hear our five-year-old at the time tell us that his baby ear became a big ear!! Thank you so much to Dr. Stephan’s team made sure we made the best decision for our son Mateo. May God bless you always! – Karla Garcia
“We first visited Vanderbilt when Collin was around the age of two. Dr. Eavey, Dr. Stephan, Dr. Rivas, and the rest of the staff at Vandy each spent a great deal of time with us describing all of our options and gave us a lot of information about Microtia Atresia. It was a very welcoming environment and they were very helpful with all of our questions. Our experience at Vandy has been absolutely fantastic. Dr. Stephan and his staff explained the entire surgical process so we would be aware of what to expect. Everyone at the Wilkerson Center and the Monroe Carroll Hospital have made us feel welcome and comfortable every step of this journey. We would choose the same option if we had to do it all over again and are very thankful for the doctors and staff at Vandy!” – Lindsee Baubles
“Our family started taking our daughter to the ear clinic at Mass Eye and Ear to see Dr. Eavey. When Dr. Eavey moved to Vanderbilt, we actually followed him to Vanderbilt to continue care over our daughter.” – Melissa Bruhl
“Dr Bennett is an exceptional physician. He is the only physician that I trust carrying for my ear.”
– Anonymous
“Tim had microtia surgery performed by Dr. Stephan on July 23, 2020. After surgery when we went home, the swelling started and I began to question if I made the right decision for my 4 1/2 year old baby. Once we got to the reveal day, Tim was feeling better and so was momma. Dr. Stephan removed the bandages and the glasscock ear cover and I saw Tim smile. His confidence increased as the days and weeks continued. Today is 6 weeks from the surgery and I have no regrets and one very happy and confident little boy with his new “big ear”! – Rebecca Austin
“I can’t say enough great things about Vanderbilt University Medical Center and the Microtia and Atresia Clinic. Dr. Stephan gave our son a beautiful ear when we were almost out of hope. Wonderful people and amazing doctors. Huge thank you to you all!”
– Kerry McAleer-Keeler
“Our daughter, Randalynne was born with Bilateral Microtia and Atresia. We went almost the first year of her life getting the run around about getting her a hearing device. We finally met with a E.N.T who referred us to Vanderbilt University Medical Center. Our first appointment was an all day visit for us at the Microtia and Atresia Clinic. We met we many Doctors at the Microtia and Atresia Clinic including Dr. Margaret McRedmond. Within a month of our first visit we got told that they had a loaner device for Randalynne. A few short weeks after, we got a phone call telling us Randalynne’s very own device was already there. We are very pleased with the way they all have treated us and Randalynne. If it wasn’t for us getting referred to Vanderbilt we would probably still be getting the run around. We are very thankful for Vanderbilt and Dr. McRedmond and all the staff for everything they have done for Randalynne and how much they taught us about her diagnosis.” – The Hobbs Family
“Everything at Vanderbilt was wonderful and everyone was very kind and treated us well with care. We received constant updates because the surgery took a long time. When we saw the result of Quitzia’s new ear, we were so happy! Before Quitzia had surgery with Dr. Stephan, she had little confidence and was shunned by others because of her little ear. Now, she is so happy, feels comfortable and is more confident! She even wears a ponytail now so everyone can see her new ear! We would absolutely recommend Dr. Stephan to other families who have children like Quitzia!” – Yadira Irery Valdez Soto
“We originally came to Dr. Stephan about three years ago with little hope from multiple failed rib graph surgeries and Dr. Stephan gave us hope again with the Medpor surgery. Trace is almost 16 yrs old and we have since moved to Cocoa Beach Florida where Trace is always on the beach and fishing, lol. He has now taken up playing soccer where when he’s not at the beach. Before his surgery, Trace had very little self-esteem and now when I look at this young man he’s so full of life! He even shaved half of his head this past summer, which is a very big thing for him because his little ear was always a problem to him. I can’t thank you enough for giving my son back his confidence. I tell him all the time that he is my hero, he’s so strong and confident and as a mother it makes my heart smile.” – Amber Cummings
“Dr. Bennett is a very personal physician. I think he is the best at listening to me explain how I feel about
my hearing difficulties. He tries very hard to help me to hear on with my Meniere’s disease.”
– Anonymous
“Everything is going great! Our daughter is absolutely loving being able to hear us clearly. We are greatly pleased with how amazing the Vanderbilt University Medical Center ENT and Audiology have been and how fast they got everything going with her hearing aid. We are so thankful for everyone that sees her there. And the fact that you emailed us to keep us updated is just amazing. Thank you! – Danielle Harvey
During the past year, our family has driven 11 hours round trip, 8 times to receive amazing care from Dr. Rivas. His care, attention to detail, thoughtfulness, skill, and knowledge has been worth every mile! Dr. Rivas has implanted our child with bilateral abutments, providing our son the best hearing now available. Dr. Rivas also completed a larger surgery on our son when surprises came our way on an MRI. Through it all, he has taken time to answer our every question, brought technical skills to our son’s situation, and has compassion for our unique situation. We are grateful for Dr. Rivas and the team at Vanderbilt Children’s Hospital and the Microtia and Atresia Clinic! – Dayla Hurley
“The healthcare system in Puerto Rico is not the best. I decided to move tot he US, looking for better opportunities for my daughter who was born with bilateral Microtia and Atresia. I moved to Murfreesboro, TN with 3 of my kids, single, with a lot of doubts, but with the hope that everything would be better for everyone. I went to the Childrens Hospital at Vanderbilt, with the surprise that they have a wonderful group of specialists in Microtia and Atresia, which was a blessing, the quality of life changed for my daughter. They had the picnic in Nashville where we found kids and families with the same condition.” – Marylis Pereira
“I am so happy to have met families at the Microtia and Atresia Conference & hear from Vanderbilt’s experts! I am so impressed w/ them & was frustrated trying to find a doctor that offers a 1 stop shop for all the devices that I think I’m going to go back to Nashville for expert assistance. Thanks for doing these picnics. I’m happy to find others & plan to attend future picnics!
– Will Sinnott
“It was amazing! Everybody was nice and he loved it when Dr. Stephan took off his ear cup and he could see his new ear. Everybody told me Everything they were doing so I wasn’t scared. Dr. O’Malley told him all about his new ear and the abutment for his hearing device being snapped on (October 30th 2019). Staff brought him a Halloween trick-or-treat bag. Landon wanted to have a big boy ear. – Landon Broyles
Kathy and family were so happy and everyone was so nice and so sweet. Everything was explained nd Dr. Stephan is an amazing person and surgeon! I cried when I found out that Vanderbilt had a Microtia and Atresia clinic, I cried like a baby out of relief and happiness to know Vanderbilt could help us and Landon. Dr. O’Malley and Dr. Stephan called every hour or so during the surgery to keep us updated on Landon. Update: A few years following Landon’s outer ear reconstruction his family says that “he plays his favorite sport of baseball using a padded helmet to protect his right ear without any worries or concerns. We found this Easton helmet that works great!” – Kathy Broyles
Here are some images of Landon playing baseball:
“Love this group at Vanderbilt Children’s Hospital!” – Kim Church
To make an appointment, e-mail us at: MicrotiaAtresiaClinic@VUMC.org or call ph: 615-343-6166.