The 20 Best Painful Swallowing Doctors in Maryland, US

Marvin Lawrence is a Gastroenterologist in Columbia, Maryland. Dr. Lawrence is rated as an Advanced provider by MediFind in the treatment of Painful Swallowing. His top areas of expertise are Swallowing Difficulty, Painful Swallowing, Berdon Syndrome, Diverticular Disease, and Endoscopy.

Lee Akst, M.D., specializes in treating the larynx (voicebox), in particular the treatment of voice and swallowing disorders. He is a leading laryngologist in office-based procedures such as vocal fold injection augmentation, pulsed KTP laser treatment, and laryngeal botox injection. In the operating room, Dr. Akst specializes in phonosurgery for the treatment of vocal cord disease, with emphasis on voice restoration and improvement. A strong focus of his practice involves the use of pulsed angiolytic lasers, which allow for subspecialized care of laryngeal papillomas, laryngeal dysplasia, and early vocal cord cancers while preserving the quality and strength of the voice. Dr. Akst is a national leader in the field of laryngology and serves in leadership roles for the American Laryngological Association, the American Broncho-Esophagological Association, and the American Academy of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery. He lectures extensively on the treatment of laryngeal disease, teaching other physicians how to care for patients with voice and swallowing concerns. His research interests include the development of robotic laryngeal surgery, the study of voice and swallowing complaints in the elderly, and the advancement of pulsed lasers for the treatment of laryngeal diseases with a focus on leukoplakia. This provider is registered with the Florida Department of Health to perform telehealth services for patients in Florida. Dr. Akst is rated as an Advanced provider by MediFind in the treatment of Painful Swallowing. His top areas of expertise are Spasmodic Dysphonia, Laryngitis, Perichondritis, Endoscopy, and Laryngectomy.

Allen Banegura is a Gastroenterologist in Catonsville, Maryland. Dr. Banegura is rated as an Advanced provider by MediFind in the treatment of Painful Swallowing. His top areas of expertise are Familial Adenomatous Polyposis, Angiodysplasia of the Colon, Esophagitis, Gastrectomy, and Colonoscopy.

Dr. Onwueme graduated with Distinction from Yale University with dual BSc/MSc degrees in chemistry and received MD and PhD degrees from Weill Cornell Medical College. He completed his Internal Medicine residency at Brigham and Women’s Hospital (Clinical Fellow Harvard Medical School) and his Gastroenterology fellowship at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. He is currently the Director of clinical trials at Woodholme Gastroenterology and has an ardent interest in the role of microbial metabolites in gut diseases. Dr. Onwueme prizes commitment to quality and compassionate patient care to which he devotes his practice. He has expert knowledge in gut microbiology and a special interest in diarrheal diseases, disordered gut motility, autoimmune and inflammatory bowel disease. Dr. Onwueme is rated as an Advanced provider by MediFind in the treatment of Painful Swallowing. His top areas of expertise are Gastric Dysmotility, Diverticular Disease, Diarrhea, Endoscopy, and Gastrectomy.

Richard Andorsky is a Gastroenterologist in Columbia, Maryland. Dr. Andorsky is rated as an Advanced provider by MediFind in the treatment of Painful Swallowing. His top areas of expertise are Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease (GERD), Crohn's Disease, Swallowing Difficulty, Endoscopy, and Gastrectomy.

Preston Kim is a Gastroenterologist in Columbia, Maryland. Dr. Kim is rated as an Advanced provider by MediFind in the treatment of Painful Swallowing. His top areas of expertise are Gas Bloat Syndrome, Lactose Intolerance, Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease (GERD), Endoscopy, and Gastrectomy.

Loc Le is a Gastroenterologist in Baltimore, Maryland. Dr. Le is rated as an Advanced provider by MediFind in the treatment of Painful Swallowing. His top areas of expertise are Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease (GERD), Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS), Barrett Esophagus, Colonoscopy, and Endoscopy.

Ernest Tsao is a Gastroenterologist in Baltimore, Maryland. Dr. Tsao is rated as an Advanced provider by MediFind in the treatment of Painful Swallowing. His top areas of expertise are Hepatitis, Gas Bloat Syndrome, Hepatitis C, Endoscopy, and Gastrectomy.

Steven Epstein is a Gastroenterologist in Baltimore, Maryland. Dr. Epstein is rated as an Advanced provider by MediFind in the treatment of Painful Swallowing. His top areas of expertise are Familial Adenomatous Polyposis, Juvenile Polyposis Syndrome, Attenuated Familial Adenomatous Polyposis, Gastrectomy, and Colonoscopy.

Naveen Gupta is a Gastroenterologist in Bethesda, Maryland. Dr. Gupta is rated as an Advanced provider by MediFind in the treatment of Painful Swallowing. His top areas of expertise are Gastrointestinal Bleeding, Gallstones, Choledocholithiasis, Endoscopy, and Gastrectomy.

Dr. Solowski received her medical degree from MCP-Hahnemann University (now Drexel University College of Medicine) in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and did her residency training in the Department of Otolaryngology at Washington University in St. Louis. She then completed a laryngology fellowship at Medical College of Georgia at Georgia Regents University in Augusta, Georgia. She sees both pediatric and adult patients with diseases of the thyroid/parathyroid glands, sinonasal diseases, head and neck cancers, and other general Otolaryngologic disorders. She treats skin cancers and performs MOHs surgery reconstructions. Dr. Solowski also specializes in treatment and care of recreational and professional voice users, to include singers, teachers, sales personnel as well as those with swallowing difficulties and reflux disorders. Dr. Solowski is rated as an Advanced provider by MediFind in the treatment of Painful Swallowing. Her top areas of expertise are Swallowing Difficulty, Painful Swallowing, Otitis, and Patulous Eustachian Tube.

Biju Alex is a Gastroenterologist in Columbia, Maryland. Dr. Alex is rated as an Advanced provider by MediFind in the treatment of Painful Swallowing. His top areas of expertise are Colitis, Viral Gastroenteritis, Portal Hypertension, Gastrectomy, and Endoscopy.

David Hutcheon is a Gastroenterologist in Lutherville, Maryland. Dr. Hutcheon is rated as an Advanced provider by MediFind in the treatment of Painful Swallowing. His top areas of expertise are Gastrointestinal Bleeding, Intestinal Cancer, Angiodysplasia of the Colon, Colonoscopy, and Endoscopy.

Eric Blum is a Gastroenterologist in Baltimore, Maryland. Dr. Blum is rated as an Advanced provider by MediFind in the treatment of Painful Swallowing. His top areas of expertise are Diverticular Disease, Familial Adenomatous Polyposis, Viral Gastroenteritis, Colonoscopy, and Endoscopy.

Claire Zhang is an Internal Medicine specialist and a Gastroenterologist in Elkton, Maryland. Dr. Zhang has been practicing medicine for over 17 years and is rated as an Advanced provider by MediFind in the treatment of Painful Swallowing. Her top areas of expertise are Hemorrhoids, Tenesmus, Familial Adenomatous Polyposis, Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease (GERD), and Endoscopy.

Thomas Abernathy is a Gastroenterologist in Catonsville, Maryland. Dr. Abernathy is rated as an Advanced provider by MediFind in the treatment of Painful Swallowing. His top areas of expertise are Lactose Intolerance, Familial Adenomatous Polyposis, Hemorrhoids, Gastrectomy, and Colonoscopy.

Gastroenterologist Mouen Khashab specializes in therapeutic endoscopy, and he oversees this group of practitioners across the Johns Hopkins enterprise. Nationally and internationally known in the field of interventional endoscopy, Dr. Khashab has contributed immensely to the field’s advancement as a minimally invasive means to treat gastrointestinal and pancreaticobiliary disorders. Dr. Khashab earned his medical degree from the American University of Beirut Faculty of Medicine, and subsequently completed a residency in internal medicine and a fellowship in gastroenterology at Indiana University. He then completed a two-year fellowship at The Johns Hopkins Hospital before joining the faculty in 2011. A busy researcher, Dr. Khashab has published more than 600 papers in peer-reviewed journals. In 2013, he described the procedure called gastric peroral endoscopic myotomy (known as G-POEM) and was able to disseminate and teach it all over the world. Other procedures that he expanded include peroral endoscopic myotomy (POEM), peroral endoscopic myotomy with fundoplication (POEM-F), Zenker’s peroral endoscopic myotomy (Z-POEM) and full thickness resection. In 2022, he received the Master Endoscopist Award from the American Society for Gastrointestinal Endoscopy (ASGE) for his numerous contributions to the field. His procedural expertise includes endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP), endoscopic ultrasound (EUS), interventional EUS, submucosal endoscopy, POEM/achalasia, endoscopic mucosal resection, endoscopic submucosal dissection, luminal stenting, large polyp resection and Barrett’s therapy, among others. Dr. Khashab is involved with multiple gastrointestinal societies and has served on many committees, including the ASGE Standards of Practice Committee, which is in charge of formulating guidelines for the practice of endoscopy. He has also served as an associate editor for the journal Endoscopy, a premier journal in the field. Khashab is a highly sought-after speaker at national and international conferences, and he has participated in multiple live endoscopy conferences. Outside of academic medicine, Dr. Khashab is an entrepreneur. His major interest is in new technology and medical devices, and his goal is to disrupt the field by introducing technology that makes endoscopic procedures safer, easier, efficient and more scalable. Dr. Khashab is rated as an Advanced provider by MediFind in the treatment of Painful Swallowing. His top areas of expertise are Achalasia, Pancreatic Pseudocyst, Bile Duct Obstruction, Endoscopy, and Gastric Bypass.

Agazi Gebreselassie is a Gastroenterologist and a Hospital Medicine provider in Baltimore, Maryland. Dr. Gebreselassie is rated as an Advanced provider by MediFind in the treatment of Painful Swallowing. His top areas of expertise are Jaundice, Macroamylasemia, Portal Hypertension, Endoscopy, and Colonoscopy.

Alexander Hillel specializes in the medical and surgical management of patients who have scar tissue blocking their larynx and/or trachea, a condition called laryngotracheal stenosis. This condition occurs in patients who have had prolonged intubation, an autoimmune disease or a rare disease called idiopathic subglottic stenosis. He also treats patients with voice and throat problems, including spasmodic dysphonia and swallowing difficulty. After he earned his medical degree from the Tulane University School of Medicine, Dr. Hillel completed his residency in otolaryngology–head and neck surgery at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and a fellowship in laryngology and airway surgery at the Emory Voice Center. Dr. Hillel directs a laboratory that seeks to better understand why scar forms in the larynx and trachea. In an effort to improve treatment, he and his team investigate the relationship between the immune system, bacteria and other antigens and scar formation in the airway. He has led a number of clinical trials to improve treatment for subglottic stenosis, including the first interventional study for idiopathic subglottic stenosis. Researchers in Dr. Hillel’s lab are also testing drugs that may halt the progression of, or reverse, scar formation, and they have engineered a drug-eluting stent that is being tested to translate to patients with subglottic stenosis. He holds sponsored grants to conduct his research from the National Institutes of Health, surgical foundations and the medical device industry. In addition to clinical and research work, Dr. Hillel has a leadership role within the Department of Otolaryngology–Head and Neck Surgery, serving as the vice director of education. Dr. Hillel is rated as an Advanced provider by MediFind in the treatment of Painful Swallowing. His top areas of expertise are Spasmodic Dysphonia, Subglottic Stenosis, Perichondritis, Laryngectomy, and Endoscopy.

Kester Crosse is a Gastroenterologist in Columbia, Maryland. Dr. Crosse is rated as an Advanced provider by MediFind in the treatment of Painful Swallowing. His top areas of expertise are Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease (GERD), Hiatal Hernia, Congenital Diaphragmatic Hernia, Colonoscopy, and Endoscopy.