Debra Don, MD

Dr. Debra Don serves as an attending physician at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles (CHLA) and holds the position of Associate Professor of Clinical Otolaryngology at the USC Caruso Department of Otolaryngology – Head and Neck Surgery.

Dr. Don earned her medical degree from the Keck School of Medicine of USC in 1991. She completed her residency in Head and Neck Surgery at UCLA Medical Center in 1997, followed by a fellowship in Pediatric Otolaryngology at the Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh.

With over three decades of experience, Dr. Don specializes in pediatric ear, nose, and throat disorders. Her clinical interests include sleep-disordered breathing, chronic sinusitis, congenital head and neck anomalies, and airway management. She has contributed extensively to research in these areas, with numerous publications in peer-reviewed journals. Notable works include studies on sleep architecture in children with obstructive sleep apnea and the use of smartphone otoscopes for home tympanostomy tube surveillance.

Dr. Don is board-certified by the American Board of Otolaryngology–Head and Neck Surgery. She is a Fellow of both the American College of Surgeons (FACS) and the American Academy of Pediatrics (FAAP). Her professional memberships include the American Academy of Otolaryngology, the American Society of Pediatric Otolaryngology, and the Society for Ear, Nose, and Throat Advances in Children. She has been recognized as one of the Best Doctors in America (2009–2015) and has been featured in Pasadena Magazine’s Best Doctors list since 2009.

• Pasadena Magazine: Best Doctors, 2011
• Best Doctors in America, 2009-2010

• Polysomnographic Characteristics of Sleep Architecture in Children With Obstructive Sleep Apnea Ann Otol Rhinol Laryngol. 2024 Jun; 133(6):590-597. . View in PubMed
• Women Surgeons Who Contributed to the Development of Pediatric Otolaryngology in the United States Laryngoscope. 2024 01; 134(1):40-46. . View in PubMed
• Pediatric Invasive Fungal Rhinosinusitis: A Comprehensive Analysis of Prognostic Factors for Survival Laryngoscope. 2023 05; 133(5):1239-1250. . View in PubMed
• Transcutaneous CO2 Monitoring in Children Undergoing Tonsillectomy for Sleep Disordered Breathing Laryngoscope. 2021 06; 131(6):1410-1415. . View in PubMed
• Sleep positions in children with Down syndrome and obstructive sleep apnea Sleep Med. 2021 05; 81:463-465. . View in PubMed
• Prospective Evaluation of a Smartphone Otoscope for Home Tympanostomy Tube Surveillance: A Pilot Study Ann Otol Rhinol Laryngol. 2021 Feb; 130(2):125-132. . View in PubMed
• The Generalizability of the Clinical Assessment Score-15 for Pediatric Sleep-Disordered Breathing Laryngoscope. 2020 09; 130(9):2256-2262. . View in PubMed
• In utero Fetal Intubation for a Large Neck Mass: A Minimally Invasive EXIT Option Fetal Diagn Ther. 2019; 45(4):275-280. . View in PubMed
• Bronchial Mucoepidermoid Carcinoma With the Classic MAML2 Gene Rearrangement in a 2-year-old Boy Pediatr Dev Pathol. 2018 Sep-Oct; 21(5):480-485. . View in PubMed
• The incidence of revision adenoidectomy: A comparison of four surgical techniques over a 10-year period Ear Nose Throat J. 2018 Jun; 97(6):E5-E9. . View in PubMed
• Safety and efficacy of intratympanic ciprofloxacin otic suspension post-tubes in a real-world pediatric population Am J Otolaryngol. 2018 Mar – Apr; 39(2):101-106. . View in PubMed
• Safety and Efficacy of Intratympanic Ciprofloxacin Otic Suspension in Children With Middle Ear Effusion Undergoing Tympanostomy Tube Placement: Two Randomized Clinical Trials JAMA Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg. 2016 05 01; 142(5):444-51. . View in PubMed
• Efficacy of doxycycline and sodium tetradecyl sulfate sclerotherapy in pediatric head and neck lymphatic malformations Int J Pediatr Otorhinolaryngol. 2015 Jun; 79(6):883-887. . View in PubMed
• Bone-Anchored Hearing Aid vsReconstruction of the External Auditory Canal in Children and Adolescents with Congenital Aural Atresia: A Comparison Study of Outcomes. Front Pediatr. 2014; 2:5. . View in PubMed
• Vallecular cyst as a cause of obstructive sleep apnea in an infant J Clin Sleep Med. 2013 Aug 15; 9(8):825-6. . View in PubMed
• Neck abscess due to goose feathers leaked from a down comforter: case report, review of literature, and recommendations for parents Clin Pediatr (Phila). 2013 Aug; 52(8):707-9. . View in PubMed
• Recent advances in pediatric otolaryngology Int J Pediatr. 2012; 2012:535016. . View in PubMed
• Midrapidity antiproton-to-proton ratio in pp collisons at sqrt[s]=09 and 7 TeV measured by the ALICE experiment. Phys Rev Lett. 2010 Aug 13; 105(7):072002. . View in PubMed
• Age specific differences in pediatric obstructive sleep apnea Int J Pediatr Otorhinolaryngol. 2009 Jul; 73(7):1025-8. . View in PubMed
• Antimicrobial therapy for children with adenotonsillar hypertrophy and obstructive sleep apnea: a prospective randomized trial comparing azithromycin vs placebo Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg. 2005 Oct; 133(4):562-8. . View in PubMed
• Pediatric total tonsillectomy using coblation compared to conventional electrosurgery: a prospective, controlled single-blind study Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg. 2004 Jun; 130(6):666-75. . View in PubMed
• Closed reduction of a symphysis fracture in a 2-month-old infant: treatment considerations J Trauma. 2004 Mar; 56(3):706-8. . View in PubMed
• Clinical, radiological, and audiological relationships in hemifacial microsomia Ann Plast Surg. 2003 Aug; 51(2):161-6. . View in PubMed
• Daily home tympanometry to study the pathogenesis of otitis media Pediatr Infect Dis J. 2002 Sep; 21(9):882-5. . View in PubMed
• Efficacy of a stepwise protocol that includes intravenous antibiotic therapy for the management of chronic sinusitis in children and adolescents Arch Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg. 2001 Sep; 127(9):1093-8. . View in PubMed
• Expression of brain-derived neurotrophic factor and its receptor mRNA in the vestibuloauditory system of the bullfrog Hear Res. 1997 Dec; 114(1-2):10-20. . View in PubMed
• Spindle cell variant of embryonal rhabdomyosarcoma Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg. 1997 Apr; 116(4):529-32. . View in PubMed
• Angiolymphoid hyperplasia with eosinophilia and vascular tumors of the head and neck Am J Otolaryngol. 1996 Jul-Aug; 17(4):240-5. . View in PubMed
• Evaluation of cervical lymph node metastases in squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck Laryngoscope. 1995 Jul; 105(7 Pt 1):669-74. . View in PubMed

• Kezirian, Eric
• Chuong, Cheng-Ming
• Koempel, Jeffrey
• Klausner, Jeffrey
• Armstrong, April
• Chmait, Ramen
• Santoro, Jonathan
• Demetriades, Demetrios
• Rafii, Michael