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St. Luke's Children's Cleft and Craniofacial Clinic: Boise

The team at the St. Luke’s Children’s Cleft and Craniofacial Clinic offers cutting-edge, coordinated, single-visit, multidisciplinary care for patients with cleft lip and palate, craniosynostosis, and other craniofacial conditions. 

Our team focuses on providing parents, families, and patients with an exceptional experience and outcome. In addition to offering evaluations for all ages—newborns to adults—we also offer prenatal consultations, providing expecting parents with critical information and reassurance before their baby is born. Our clinic location within the Idaho Elks Children’s Pavilion helps ease the stress of a doctor’s visit for our younger patients.

Our surgeons use the latest techniques including minimally invasive surgery, 3D computer virtual planning, distraction osteogenesis (mandible and cranial), enhanced recovery after surgery (ERAS) protocols, and opioid avoidance.

We treat a variety of conditions including cleft lip and palate; craniosynostosis; Pierre Robin Sequence; velopharyngeal insufficiency (VPI)/hypernasal speech; 22q11.2 deletion syndrome; microtia; plagiocephaly; Aperts, Crouzon, Pfeiffer and other syndromes; cephalohematoma; hemifacial microsomia; Treacher Collins syndrome/oculo auriculo vertebral (OAV) spectrum; and fibrous dysplasia.
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If you have a medical emergency, do not use online scheduling. Call 911 or proceed to your nearest emergency department. If you require immediate assistance for a non-emergency condition, please contact the clinic directly by phone.

Providers

  • Stephanie E. Balais, SLP

    Pediatric Speech Language Therapy

    Biography

    Stephanie Balais, MS, CCC-SLP works with children who have cleft lip and palates, velopharyngeal insufficiency (VPI), and resonance issues. She also has interests in early intervention, fluency issues, Down syndrome, autism, and ADHD assessment and treatment for children with executive function deficits. 

    Stephanie earned her master's degree from Idaho State University. In her free time, she enjoys hiking, swimming, camping, cooking, baking, and spending time with her family.

    Favorite Book: School Bugs by David Carter.

    Availability

    Accepting new patients
     

  • Jennifer J. Cenarrusa, SLP

    Pediatric Speech Language Therapy

    Biography

    Jennifer Cenarrusa, MS, CCC-SLP specializes in treating pediatric patients of all ages with cleft palate, as well as adolescents and teens with voice disorders including vocal cord dysfunction. She is particularly passionate about working with the cleft palate population, and enjoys helping to improve her patients' speech and quality of life.

    Jennifer earned her master’s degree in speech-language pathology from Idaho State University. She enjoys traveling, running, gardening, and spending time with her family.

    Availability

    Accepting new patients
     

  • Phillip L. Chaffin Jr., MD

    Pediatric Otolaryngology

    Biography

    Phillip Chaffin Jr., MD serves as the medical director of the Hearing Loss and Cochlear Implant Program at St. Luke’s. He has clinical interests in the management of hearing loss and the surgical treatment of cleft lip and palate.

    Dr. Chaffin is a diplomate of the American Board of Otolaryngology and a member of the American Cochlear Implant Alliance and American Cleft Palate-Craniofacial Association. He frequently travels overseas on medical missions to treat children with cleft lip and palate.

    Availability

    Accepting new patients
     

  • Nichole R. Cortez, RD

    Nutrition Services for Children

    Biography

    Nichole Cortez, RD is a pediatric dietitian supporting both inpatients in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) and outpatients in NICU follow-up and dietitian clinics. She has special interest in nourishing newborns through the first year of life.

    Nichole earned a bachelor's degree from Bastyr University, where she also completed her dietetic internship. She received her master’s degree in nutrition from the University of Kansas Medical Center. She is a veteran of the US Navy.

    In her free time, Nichole enjoys doing anything she can outside, including hiking, running, and gardening. 

    Availability

    Accepting new patients
     
  • Patrick A. Gerety, MD

    Patrick A. Gerety, MD

    Pediatric Plastic Surgery

    Biography

    Patrick Gerety, MD is a board-certified plastic surgeon, specializing in pediatric and adult plastic surgery. 

    Dr. Gerety was first inspired to specialize in plastic surgery to treat cleft lip and palate. He obtained fellowship training in this area, lived overseas as an international volunteer, and ran a busy cleft lip and palate program in Indiana prior to joining St. Luke's. Today, he co-leads St. Luke’s multidisciplinary cleft lip and palate team.

    Beyond cleft lip and palate, Dr. Gerety is passionate about caring for patients in need of otoplasty for ear deformities, hidden incisions to remove masses, nevus excision reconstruction, and pediatric breast reconstruction. He is a member of St. Luke’s vascular malformations group that cares for patients with hemangioma and venous malformation. 

    Dr. Gerety is also an expert in adult plastic surgery, serving patients with both aesthetic and reconstructive needs. He performs a variety of breast procedures, including reduction, augmentation, lift (mastopexy), reconstruction, and gynecomastia surgery (male breast reduction). In addition, he performs cosmetic procedures such as abdominoplasty, rhinoplasty, face lift, and more.

    Dr. Gerety graduated first in his class at University of Texas Southwestern Medical School, which is ranked as one of the top medical schools in the country. He then completed plastic surgery training at the University of Pennsylvania and the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia.

    Availability

    Accepting new patients
     

  • Lindsey E. Ochoa, PA-C

    Biography

    Lindsey Ochoa is a physician assistant in plastic and craniofacial surgery, treating both children and adults. 

    Lindsey earned her bachelor's degree in kinesiology from San Diego State University, and her master's degree in physician assistant studies from University of South Alabama. Prior to returning to her hometown of Boise, she worked in plastic surgery at UC San Diego and Lifespan, a Brown University affiliate. 

    Availability

    Accepting new patients
     
    • St. Luke's Health Partner
      St. Luke's Health Partner

      These providers work together to achieve patient-centered care, using proven best practices to offer better care to you and your family.

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Conditions

Cleft Lip and Palate
Cleft lip is a treatable birth defect. It happens when the tissues of the upper jaw and nose don't join as expected during fetal development.
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