On a Mission

James Sidman is a pediatric otolaryngologist practicing at his own clinic, Pediatric ENT Associates, in Minneapolis. It’s the only practice of its kind in the Midwest. Born in Washington, DC, and raised in Boston, he received degrees from Vassar College and Dartmouth Medical School. He served in the National Health Service Corps as a general practitioner and was trained in otolaryngology at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He is married to Joyce, a children’s book author, and they have two sons, Eli and Gabriel, in college.

How did you decide to go into medicine? I was a geophysics major first. Halfway through college, I realized I wasn’t getting the right experience and it was my fault. I dropped out, joined the Peace Corps, and went to Micronesia. I was doing medical work there, so I decided to be a doctor. I came back and pushed very hard to get into medical school.

How did you choose your specialty? I like the ENT field because it’s a combination of medicine and surgery. I love to operate, but I also love patient and family contact. My partners and I do 60 to 70 percent of all cleft lip and palate reconstruction and 95 percent of all pediatric airway construction in this region.

What excites you? I like to learn new techniques and new approaches to problems or inventing new things, such as a new procedure. Teaching young people, and watching them get excited. Also, I’m a big believer in volunteerism. I’m on the board of Children’s Surgery International, which handles overseas mission trips for cleft lip and palate surgery. Virtually no society will accept a person with an unrepaired cleft. It’s the most unbelievable feeling to watch a child or young adult, who once had a big hole in their face, look in the mirror after surgery. They can now become a member of society. Training [foreign] residents is a great feeling, leaving a huge part of myself behind, knowing this person can help more children than I can possibly help in a week. By the end of the week, my Ghanan resident was doing surgeries by himself.

What’s new? We’ve learned that newborns—nowadays with such tiny premature babies surviving—need trache-otomies because premature lungs need help. We were able to remove almost all tracheotomies before the children started school. The same is true with cleft lip and palate. We can restore normal facial appearance and speech. We’ve had big advances in tumor surgery in the head, neck, and shoulder—almost all head and neck tumors are curable with surgery or chemo and surgery.

Greatest accomplishment? My family. Professionally? The airway reconstructions—removing babies’ tracheotomies—which will allow them to live normal lives.

Patient-care philosophy? I try to be conservative. A lot of times we can do surgery, but it’s not always right. A lot of doctors think, “It can’t do any harm,” but I don’t buy that. If there’s not a clear-cut potential benefit, then don’t. Also, treating people with kindness and dignity is worth a lot. It’s one of the best things to restore dignity to people.

Biggest challenge? Besides getting enough sleep? Trying to balance everything. Being on the cutting edge and making sure medicine doesn’t take over my life so I have time for family. I strive for the triple threat: clinical practice, teaching, and research.

What do you do to unwind? Jog. Now that my wife and I are empty nesters, I’ve gone back to playing my banjo. I’m terrible, but enjoy it. And I’ve picked up shooting skeet. I’m terrible at that too. We’re outdoorsy—cross-country skiing, taking our dog for long walks in the woods. 

If you weren’t a doctor, you’d be: A forester or geologist. The only bad part of medicine is that I don’t get to spend enough time outside—it’s hard to practice surgery outdoors.

What don’t people know about you? I was a college dropout. No, I’ve never been to jail!