Rate My Professor Ron Mitchell

Ron Mitchell, M.D., is Professor of Otolaryngology holding the William Beckner, M.D., Distinguished Chair in Otolaryngology at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas. He serves as Vice Chairman of the Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Chief of Pediatric Otolaryngology, and head of the Sleep Disorders Center at Children’s Medical Center. A native of England who has practiced medicine in the United States since 1999, Dr. Mitchell joined the UT Southwestern faculty in 2011. His academic background includes a medical degree from the University of Southampton School of Medicine in 1987, an internship in general surgery at the University of Southampton in 1988, residency in general surgery at the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh in 1992, fellowship in pediatric otolaryngology at Le Bonheur Children’s Hospital in 1996, and residency in otolaryngology at the Royal College of Surgeons of England in 1999.

Dr. Mitchell specializes in pediatric otolaryngology, airway conditions, and sleep disorders, with research centered on obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) in children, including its associations with tonsillar hypertrophy and obesity, and the impacts of adenotonsillectomy on behavior, sleep, health, and quality of life. He chaired the American Academy of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery task force that published the Clinical Practice Guideline: Tonsillectomy in Children (Update) in 2019 and a prior committee producing the Clinical Consensus Statement: Tracheostomy Care in 2013. His scholarly output includes dozens of peer-reviewed papers, numerous book chapters, and three books on pediatric otolaryngology. Highly cited publications feature "A randomized trial of adenotonsillectomy for childhood sleep apnea" (New England Journal of Medicine, 2013), "Clinical practice guideline: tonsillectomy in children" (Otolaryngology–Head and Neck Surgery, 2011), and "Clinical practice guideline: tonsillectomy in children (update)" (Otolaryngology–Head and Neck Surgery, 2019). Dr. Mitchell edits four otolaryngology journals, peer-reviews for eleven others, and has pioneered multidisciplinary clinics for children with complex airway issues at Children’s Medical Center. Notable awards include D Magazine Best Doctor (2022-2025), Best Pediatric Specialist (2014-2021), Distinguished Service Award from the American Academy of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery Foundation (2018), and Honor Award (2008).