Elizabeth A. Guardiani, MD

Dr. Guardiani earned her medical degree from Georgetown University School of Medicine, after completing her undergraduate studies at Penn State University. She completed her residency in Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery at Georgetown University Hospital in Washington, DC, where she served as administrative chief resident. She then pursued a fellowship in Laryngology at the New Center for Voice and Swallowing Disorders at St. Luke’s–Roosevelt Hospital in New York, NY, under the mentorship of Dr. Andrew Blitzer.

Dr. Elizabeth Guardiani is an Associate Professor in the Department of Otorhinolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery She is a board certified Otolaryngologist and specializes in voice, swallowing and airway disorders. Dr. Guardiani treats patients with a wide variety of problems including vocal cord paralysis, vocal cord nodules/polyps/cysts, cancer of the vocal cord, cricopharyngeal spasm, zenker's diverticulum, laryngopharyngeal reflux, chronic cough, presbyphonia, recurrent respiratory papillomatosis, as well as neurologic disorders of the larynx including spasmodic dysphonia/laryngeal dystonia, tremor and Parkinson’s disease.

Dr. Guardiani is able to perform a wide variety of procedures in the office under local anesthesia including vocal cord injection augmentation; botulinum toxin injections to the larynx, jaw and salivary glands; stroboscopy; transnasal laryngeal biopsies and laser treatments to the throat. In addition to this Dr. Guardiani has a special interest in airway stenosis (such as laryngeal, subglottic and tracheal stenosis) and works with many patients with different airway issues.

Dr. Guardiani also serves as the Program Director for the Otorhinolaryngology Residency Program.

Airway stenosis, Laryngeal trauma, tracheostomy, movement disorders affecting voice

Nguyen HH, Tong J, Varone A, Fransman RB, Stein DM, Guardiani E, Snow GE. Penetrating Laryngeal Trauma: Management of Severe Injuries Without Open Reduction Internal Fixation. Laryngoscope. 2025 Jun 7. 

Howell R, Johnson C, Allen J, Altaye M, Amin M, Bayan S, Belafsky P, Cervenka B, Desilva B, Dion GR, Ekbom D, Friedman A, Fritz M, Giliberto JP, Guardiani E, Kasperbauer J, Kim B, Krekeler BN, Kuhn M, Kwak P, Ma Y, Madden LL, Matrka L, Mayerhoff R, McKeon M, Piraka C, Rosen CA, Tabangin M, Wahab SA, Wilson K, Wright C, Young VN, Postma G; Prospective OUtcomes of Cricopharyngeal Hypertonicity (POUCH) Collaborative. Surgical Outcomes in Zenker Diverticula: A Multicenter, Prospective, Longitudinal Study. Laryngoscope. 2024 Jan;134(1):97-102. 

Snow GE, Shaver TB, Teplitzky TB, Guardiani E. Predictors of Tracheostomy Decannulation in Adult Laryngotracheal Stenosis. Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg. 2021 Jun;164(6):1265-1271

Meenan K, Bhatnagar K, Guardiani E. Intubation-Related Laryngeal Pathology Precluding Tracheostomy Decannulation: Incidence and Associated Risk Factors. Ann Otol Rhinol Laryngol. 2021 Sep;130(9):1078-1084. 

Bhatnagar K, Meenan K, Guardiani E. Rheumatoid arthritis presenting as acute upper airway obstruction. Am J Otolaryngol. 2020 Nov-Dec;41(6):102545. doi: 10.1016/j.amjoto.2020.102545. Epub 2020 May 16. PMID: 33198054.

Snow G, Guardiani E. Movement disorders and Voice. Otolaryngology Clinics of North America. 2019 Aug;52(4):759-767.