Accepting new patients

Derek J. Lam, M.D., M.P.H.

Accepting new patients

  • Pediatric Otolaryngologist
  • Professor of Otolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery, Division of Pediatric Otolaryngology, School of Medicine
  • Associate Professor of Otolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery, School of Medicine

Expertise

  • Surgery
  • Otolaryngology (ENT)
  • Pediatrics

Special focus

  • Otolaryngology Surgery (Pediatric)
  • Otolaryngology/ENT (Pediatric)
  • Sleep Disorders (Surgical)
  • Sleep Disorders Surgery (Pediatric)

Locations and contact

I see patients at

About me

Derek J. Lam MD, MPH joined the faculty of the Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery at Oregon Health and Science University in 2012. He completed his medical school, residency, and Masters of Public Health at the University of Washington in Seattle and a Pediatric Otolaryngology fellowship at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center. He is the Surgical Director of the Doernbecher Aerodigestive Clinic, a multidisciplinary clinic managing complex aerodigestive disorders in children.

Dr. Lam is certified by the American Board of Otolaryngology and is a member of the American Academy of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, the American Society of Pediatric Otolaryngology, the American Academy of Sleep Medicine, the International Surgical Sleep Society, the European Society of Pediatric Otorhinolaryngology, and is an Associate Fellow of the American College of Surgeons. He is actively involved in administrative and academic committees at the institutional and national levels and is a peer reviewer for multiple national and international journals.

Dr. Lam is a clinician-scientist with an active research program in the work-up and surgical management of pediatric obstructive sleep apnea, supported by a K23 grant through the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute. Besides pediatric sleep apnea, his clinical interests include dysphagia management, airway reconstruction, and surgical management of adult obstructive sleep apnea, including upper airway stimulation.

Languages spoken

  • English

Education and training

  • Degrees

    • B.A., 1998, Cornell University
    • M.D., 2003, University of Washington School of Medicine
    • M.P.H., 2006, University of Washington School of Public Health
  • Internship

    • General Surgery, University of Washington, Seattle WA, 2003
  • Residency

    • Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, University of Washington, Seattle WA, 2010
  • Fellowship

    • Pediatric Otolaryngology, Cincinnati Children’s Hospital, 2012
  • Certifications

    • American Board of Otolaryngology, 2011-2021

Memberships and associations:

  • American Academy of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery
  • Oregon Academy of Otolaryngology
  • American Society of Pediatric Otolaryngology
  • American Academy of Sleep Medicine
  • International Surgical Sleep Society
  • European Society of Pediatric Otorhinolaryngology
  • Fellow of American College of Surgeons
  • Aerodigestive Society
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Insurance

Before scheduling your appointment, we recommend you contact your insurance company to verify that the OHSU Health location or provider you plan to visit is included in your network. Your insurance company will also be able to inform you of any copayments, co–insurance, or deductibles that will be your responsibility. If you proceed in scheduling an appointment and your health insurance benefits do not participate with OHSU providers, your out of pocket liability may be higher. Visit the billing and insurance section of our site for more information.

Ratings and reviews

Overall: 4.6 out of 5 (124 Ratings, 46 Reviews)

The patient ratings score is an average of all responses to the question "How likely would you be to recommend this provider to your family and friends (on a scale of 0 to 10)" on our nationally-recognized NRC patient surveys.

  1. Dr. Lam was patient and knowledgeable. He took a conservative approach to avoid unnecessary procedures while addressing all of the needs of our child. We are quite happy with the outcome of the procedure to date. No bleeding or complications, and a very smooth recover so far.

  2. Very friendly. Very informative. Helped us understand all the options and treatment we should plan for.

  3. Odd interaction. Our concerns felt invalidated and the experience was not reassuring.

  4. Dr Lam and staff were fantastic

  5. Dr. Derek Lamb is very concise and to the point and very pleasant, He is the kind of person that when you're around him you feel like you can trust his skill that means a lot to me

  6. Very knowledgable, easy to talk to, very comfortable presence.

  7. very positive experience with the doctor and his staff at the clinic! Kind, professional, and efficient.

  8. I felt very disrespected, disregarded. All my health and safety concerns regarding my child's overall well-being and overall development were dismissed and basically laughed at. And basically, I clearly, we completely wasted our time going to OHSU, seeing this provider. Thank you.

  9. Long wait beyond my appointment time, but I was given enough time for my own appointment. Provider listened well and answered my questions.

  10. Seems to be a knowledgable and capable surgeon. He performed procedures (drug-induced sleep endoscopy and Inspire implants) that were hard to find in the rest of Oregon. The main area for improvement is that I don't feel I was given much in the way of after-surgery care instructions, so I ended up having to Google it. I found some helpful hints and useful YouTube videos that seemed to be from reliable sources, but its always nice to have your own physician provide the info, so you know you can trust it. Thanks for listening.

  11. I saw Dr. Lam for tonsillectomy and other work because of sleep apnea and incidentally he caught pneumonia twice but he came by my hospital room unexpectedly and was great and I was able to get in to him right away when I was discharged. He's just a great surgeon. He's good at what he does and he's very personable. He listens. He answers. I couldn't recommend, I could not recommend him more.

  12. Dr. Lam is both an exceptional doctor and person. He lives up to the high professional reputation he has established...in every way. He spent an inordinate amount of time answering our questions at our pre-op appointment to ensure we were completely comfortable in making our decision to proceed with surgery and to ensure we were fully aware of all precautions during our post-op appointment. OHSU is fortunate to have Dr. Lam on staff. Thank you!

  13. Dr. Lam was courteous while answering our questions and discussing possible future treatments to help alleviate our son's ongoing medical condition.

  14. Dr. Lam was very thorough, honest, and about the procedures and willing to help our son. I would recommend him.

  15. Dr. Lam was friendly and also very thorough in going over options regarding the reason for my visit.

  16. Dr. Derek Lam was kind, personable, willing and able to answer our many questions. My husband and I felt secure in using him for my possible surgery.

  17. My provider was very informative. He gave me the pros and the cons of having my operation. And he's told me a date when I can expect it. Overall, it was an excellent meeting.

  18. He took his time to explain the procedure my daughter will be having and answered all of my question. Didn't feel rushed, appointment went really smooth.

  19. Dr Lam was professional and answered all questions asked. However, he did not call my wife after my surgery was over to give her a summary of what was performed.

  20. Felt very listened to. I appreciate that!

  21. He was wonderful, and right to the point.

  22. Derek Lam and his associate were extremely professional. They noticed something in my son's knows which they wanted to remove but unfortunately, they could not because of his ongoing anxiety. I tried to get him into the ER the next day and then it just I appreciate everything they've done it. I couldn't have done it without them.

  23. Dr Lam was very thorough and explained this to me in a way that was easy to understand and reasonable.

  24. He is awesome and he is a really great doctor

  25. Doc was through and educated of my condition

  26. My doctor was very informative and polite

  27. He was very punctual, the service on all ends with the receptionist all the way down to his nurse was excellent. I would say probably the best I've ever had. He explained everything in detail all aspects of the different procedures that might happen and ... and what times they would be calling probably and gave me all the information that I needed. It was very very informative, I would very much recommend him again.

  28. I appreciate Dr Lam's knowledge and willingness to spend time answering questions. I feel grateful for his expertise with the apnea implant.

  29. Dr. Lam was extremely neat, his bedside manner was, was very acceptable and..... and appreciated, and he took time to explain what was going on and what the procedure would amount to. I would recommend Dr. Lam to anyone else. Thank you.

  30. Very attentive to the questions I asked him. He explained it very well, look that he is really interested in the health of his patients, it is a pleasure to meet DOCTORS there.

  31. Very thorough and a good communicator.

  32. My first experience with OHSU. On par with the best experiences I've had with medical doctors, their teams, and check-in staff. Very impressive.

  33. Dr. Lam could not have been more enlightening regarding the prospective proceedure, to include the benefits and risks. He continued to patiently provide thougthful answers to our many questions, beyond what we anticipated to be our appointment period. It is comforting to know that he will be performing my future proceedure.