A new UAB clinic offering a range of ENT services is backed by decades of experience in one convenient location on Highway 119.
UAB ENT at 119, previously known as Alabama Nasal and Sinus Center, officially opened its doors under its new moniker in January 2025. The clinic is led by Michael J. Sillers, M.D., FACS, who recently rejoined the UAB Department of Otolaryngology as a clinical professor specializing in rhinology.
“I started my career at UAB in 1994,” Sillers said. “Now, I’ve come ‘full-circle.’ I am grateful for the opportunity to be part of the UAB team.”
Coming full circle to UAB
Sillers completed his residency in Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery at UAB in 1993 and joined the UAB faculty in 1994 after completing a fellowship in Rhinology and Sinus Surgery at the Medical College of Georgia. He left UAB to establish the Alabama Nasal and Sinus Center in 2005.
As a need for generalized services beyond rhinology became apparent at the practice, Sillers recruited Kristopher F. Lay, M.D., to join him at the Alabama Nasal and Sinus Center in 2013. Lay eventually purchased the practice from Sillers and was the sole owner until he was tragically diagnosed with glioma in fall 2023. Sadly, Lay passed away in December 2024, the same month UAB officially acquired Alabama Nasal and Sinus Center.
Now, the strong foundation established by Sillers and Lay at Alabama Nasal and Sinus Center is echoed at UAB ENT at 119, which continues to grow to meet the demand for otolaryngologic services across the area. Tiffaney Lard, CRNP, joined the clinic in October 2022, adding to a staff that already included two audiologists: Margaret Springfield, AuD, CCC-A, who joined in 2008 and Emily Cole, M.S., CCC-A, who joined in 2005. According to Sillers, the clinic anticipates adding more providers in the future.
A new facility in a convenient location
UAB ENT at 119 offers a range of otolaryngology services, including rhinology (nasal and sinus), audiology, and general otolaryngology.
“We also do in-office rhinologic procedures, which are becoming more popular in the community,” Sillers said. “We were the first to do some of the more unique procedures, such as eustachian tube balloon dilation, radio frequency treatment of nasal valve collapse, posterior nasal nerve ablation, and suture alignment for nasal septal deviation. We participated as clinical research study sites as part of multi-site trials prior to commercial release.”
According to Sillers, the new clinic’s location – at UAB Medicine St. Vincent’s One Nineteen – is a draw for patients.
“The location is incredibly convenient,” Sillers said. “We're right above the Surgery Center, so patients who make a decision for surgery know exactly where they're going.”
Patients come to UAB ENT at 119 from all over the Southeast and beyond, with one regular patient even hailing from Michigan.
“People just really enjoy coming here,” Sillers added.
Longevity in patients and staff
Many of Sillers’ current patients have been seeing him not only since he founded Alabama Nasal and Sinus but also from his time at UAB before starting his private practice 20 years ago.
“I have some very faithful patients who have followed me from the first time I practiced at UAB, at The Kirklin Clinic,” Sillers said. “And of course, due to the nature of rhinologic practice, especially when it comes to chronic sinusitis, I have a relationship with them because of the natural history of the disease. So, I tend to have long-term relationships with a lot of those patients.”
In addition to long-term patients, the clinic also boasts long-time staff members, like Angela Barkley, the clinic’s surgery coordinator, who has been working with Sillers for more than 25 years. Kati Higginbotham, who has been with the practice for 11 years as its office administrator, said the closeness of the staff reflects positively upon the patients.
“So many of our patients compliment us on how friendly, helpful, and knowledgeable our staff is, and we've been together a long time,” Higginbotham said.
According to Sillers, the clinic members are a close-knit “work family,” celebrating birthdays, meeting for devotions, and more.
“That's a rhythm that we've had for a while, and that's really set a great tone for why we're here, for what we're doing, for who we're serving,” he said. “I would say that's probably one reason why we've had low turnover, because I think people feel heard, they feel valuable, and they feel like they're part of something that's great.”
As the clinic is poised to continue the standard of specialized, quality care it has established a foundation for over the past three decades, Sillers lets new patients know what to expect.
“There’s a lot of laughter here,” he said. “And we take things seriously, but we also just want to have some levity at times and let people feel comfortable. I think that's something that we do well.”