Center for Congenital Disorders

Since its inception in 1987, the Center for Congenital Disorders has provided multidisciplinary care to children with genetic diseases, birth defects and congenital malformations. We provide family-centered care, believing that healing must extend not only to the person with the disease, but to the parents, siblings and extended family members as well. At the Center, the only one of its kind in the New York metropolitan area, we offer a team approach, bringing together practitioners from an array of medical and surgical specialties to care for our most complicated and fragile patients.

The Center is staffed by board certified medical geneticists, genetic counselors and consultants from an array of pediatric specialties, including cardiology, pulmonology, endocrinology, neurology, orthopedic surgery, neurosurgery, urology and plastic surgery. Together, we provide diagnostic services and state-of-the-art care to infants, children and adults with a wide array of conditions that include:  

• Down syndrome and other chromosomal abnormalities 
• Spina bifida (also known as meningomyelocele)
• Neurofibromatosis and other neurogenetic disorders
• Marfan syndrome
• Osteogenesis imperfecta and other skeletal disorders
• Phenylketonuria and other inborn errors of metabolism
• Hearing impairment
• Williams syndrome

We also provide genetic evaluation of patients with developmental disabilities, autism and undiagnosed conditions, genetic counseling to family members and genetic testing in families with breast cancer and other forms of cancer.

Our staff of medical geneticists (and their areas of expertise) includes:

• Robert Marion, MD, Director (spina bifida, dysmorphology)
• Robert Burk, MD (cancer genetic counseling)
• Paul Levy, MD (inborn errors of metabolism)
• Joy Samanich, MD (dysmorphia, Williams syndrome)
• Ellen Hantman, MS (genetic counselor)

Things to bring to your appointment:

• Medical records from visits to other physicians
• X-rays and laboratory studies performed in the past
• Photographs of family members
• Information about medical conditions in family members