Emergency icon Important Updates
Department Epilepsy Center
Primary Location Cleveland Clinic Main Campus
Type of Doctor Children & Adolescents Only
Languages English
Surgeon No
Locations
Cleveland Clinic Main Campus
Primary Location

Cleveland Clinic Main Campus

Appointment:
216.636.5860
Desk:
216.445.8124
Fax:
216.445.6813

Additional Locations

Specialties & Treatments

Treatment & Services

  • Center for Pediatric Epilepsy
  • Epilepsy Surgery Evaluation
  • Epilepsy Surgery in Children
  • Pediatric Neuroscience
  • Subdural Recording Signal Analysis
  • Vagal Nerve Stimulation
  • Video EEG Monitoring
  • Video EEG Monitoring for Pediatric Seizure Disorders
View all 8 Treatment & Services +

Specialty in Diseases & Conditions

  • Autoimmune Epilepsy
  • Developmental Disorders of the Brain
  • Infantile Spasm
  • Ketogenic Diet
  • Lennox-Gastaut Syndrome
  • Lissencephaly
  • Malformations of Cortical Development
  • Medically Refractory Status Epilepticus
  • Non-Epileptic Seizure
  • Rasmussen Encephalitis
  • Status Epilepticus (Continuous Seizures)
  • Sturge-Weber Syndrome
  • Tuberous Sclerosis Complex
View all 13 Specialties +
Insurance

Insurance

Is Cleveland Clinic Part of Your Insurance?

Review a list of accepted insurance plans for our Northeast Ohio locations or learn more about purchasing a contracted managed care plan.

View All Plans
Biography

About Elia Pestana Knight, MD

Dr Elia M. Pestana Knight is a pediatric epileptologist in the Pediatric Epilepsy Section, Epilepsy Center at the Cleveland Clinic Neurological Institute in Cleveland, Ohio. She is also an Assistant Professor of Medicine at the Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine.

Dr. Pestana Knight completed medical school in Cuba (1991) where she graduated at the top of her class. She trained in general neurology (1995) and pediatric neurology (1996) at the Instituto Nacional de Neurologia y Neurocirugia, Havana, Cuba. After moving to the United States in 1999, Dr. Pestana Knight completed a research fellowship in epilepsy at the Cleveland Clinic (2004), residency training in Pediatrics at Rainbow Babies and Children’s Hospital (2007), and Pediatric Neurology residency at the University of Michigan (2010). She is board certified in Pediatrics, Neurology with special qualifications in Child Neurology and Epilepsy.

Dr. Pestana Knight has more than 30 papers published in peer-reviewed journals related to epilepsy and neurological disorders. Her areas of research interest include co-morbidities in pediatric epilepsy, epileptic encephalopathy, epilepsy surgery and pediatric epilepsy outcomes. Dr. Pestana Knight is an enthusiastic teacher. She loves taking care of children with epilepsy and their families, particularly children with refractory seizures. She currently lives in Cleveland, Ohio.

Education & Professional Highlights

Education & Professional Highlights

Appointed
2013

Education & Fellowships

Fellowship - University of Michigan Health System
Child Neurology
Ann Arbor, MI United States
2010

Residency - Rainbow Babies & Childrens Hosp.
Pediatrics
Cleveland, OH
2007

Internship - Children's Hospital of Michigan
Pediatrics
Detroit, MI United States
2005

Fellowship - Cleveland Clinic
Epilepsy
Cleveland, OH
2004

Residency - Institute of Neurology and Neurosurgery
Cuba
1995

Medical Education - Facutad De Ciencias Medicas Matamzas/Univ of Havana Cuba
Cuba
1991

Medical Education - Universidad de Mantanzas
M.D.
Mantanzas, Cuba
1991

Certifications

  • Psychiatry and Neurology - Epilepsy
  • Psychiatry and Neurology - Neurology with Special Qualifications in Child Neurology

Specialty Interests

Epileptic encephalopathy, epilepsy outcome, epilepsy epidemiology, EEG

Research & Publications

Research & Publications

See publications for Elia Pestana Knight, MD.

(Disclaimer: This search is powered by PubMed, a service of the U.S. National Library of Medicine. PubMed is a third-party website with no affiliation with Cleveland Clinic.)

Industry Relationships

Industry Relationships

Cleveland Clinic physicians and scientists may collaborate with the pharmaceutical or medical device industries to help develop medical breakthroughs or provide medical expertise or education. Cleveland Clinic strives to make scientific advances that will benefit patient care and support outside relationships that promise public benefit. In order for the discoveries of Cleveland Clinic physicians' and scientists' laboratories and investigations to benefit the public, these discoveries must be commercialized in partnership with industry. As experts in their fields, Cleveland Clinic physicians and scientists are often sought after by industry to consult, provide expertise and education.

To assure professional and commercial integrity in such matters, Cleveland Clinic maintains a program that reviews these collaborations and, when appropriate, puts measures in place to minimize bias that may result from ties to industry. Cleveland Clinic publicly discloses the names of companies when (i) its physicians/scientists receive $5,000 or more per year (or, in rare cases, equity or stock options) for speaking and consulting, (ii) its physicians/scientists serve as a fiduciary, (iii) its physicians/scientists receive or have the right to receive royalties or (iv) its physicians/ scientists hold any equity interest for the physician's/scientist's role as inventor, discoverer, developer, founder or consultant.* In publicly disclosing this information, Cleveland Clinic tries to provide information as accurately as possible about its physicians' and scientists' connections with industry.

As of 8/16/2024, Dr. Pestana Knight has reported the financial relationships with the companies listed below. In general, patients should feel free to contact their doctor about any of the relationships and how the relationships are overseen by Cleveland Clinic. To learn more about Cleveland Clinic's policies on collaborations with industry and innovation management, go to our Integrity in Innovation page.

Donation of Financial Interest. Dr. Pestana Knight has consulted for, received compensation for serving as a fiduciary from, or received royalties from the following companies but instructed them to donate all compensation to not-for-profit causes or to the Cleveland Clinic to support research and education:

  • Marinus Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
  • Pyros Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
  • Takeda Pharmaceuticals North America, Inc.

Public Health Service-Reportable Financial Conflicts of Interest. Cleveland Clinic scientists and physicians engage in basic, translational and clinical research activities, working to solve health problems, enhance patient care and improve quality of life for patients. Interactions with industry are essential to bringing the researchers' discoveries to the public, but can present the potential for conflicts of interest related to their research activities. Click here to view a listing of instances where Cleveland Clinic has identified a Public Health Service (PHS)-Reportable Financial Conflict of Interest and has put measures in place to ensure that, to the extent possible, the design, conduct and reporting of the research is free from bias.

* Cleveland Clinic physicians and scientists subscribe to the guidance presented in the PhRMA Code on Interactions with Healthcare Professionals and the AdvaMed Code of Ethics on Interactions with Health Care Professionals. As such, gifts of substantial value are generally prohibited.

Patient Satisfaction Reviews

62 Patient Satisfaction Reviews

The Patient Satisfaction Rating is an average of all responses to the care provider related questions shown below from our nationally-recognized Press Ganey Patient Satisfaction Survey. Patients that are treated in outpatient or hospital environments may receive different surveys, and the volume of responses will vary by question.

Responses are measured on a scale of 1 to 5 with 5 being the best score.

The comments are submitted by patients and reflect their views and opinions. The comments are not endorsed by and do not necessarily reflect the views of Cleveland Clinic.

Overall Star Ratings
4.9 out of 5
Explains 4.8
Courtesy, Respect & Concern 4.9
Time Spent with Patient 4.3
Patient Rating of Doctor 4.9

12 Patient Comments

Reviewed on Oct 30, 2024

Overall I've been exceptionally impressed by the knowledge and care the physicians provided to my son

Reviewed on Oct 2, 2024

Dr. Pestano is a wonderful doctor. Often at the clinic we feel like we are rushed through our visits, but never with Dr. Pestano. She always treats us with respect and genuinely cares for us as individuals. She is very knowledgeable and I have complete faith in her recommendations. I cannot say the same for other doctors I have seen in her department.

Reviewed on Aug 15, 2024

I was originally scheduled to see Dr. Pestana in person 2 weeks prior to the video appointment. Since that could not happen, The video appointment was necessary.

Reviewed on Aug 15, 2024

Dr. Pestana was very knowledgeable and spent time understanding my concerns and answering my questions.

Reviewed on Jun 27, 2024

Always love seeing Dr. Pestana in person, but the virtual visit was convenient!

Reviewed on Jun 26, 2024

Dr. Pestana was so kind, caring, and knowledgeable.

Reviewed on Apr 16, 2024

Dr Pestana is wonderful. I'm so glad we found her a couple years ago. She has done amazing work with my son and she is wonderful.

Reviewed on Apr 2, 2024

Dr Pestana Knight is always attentive to our concerns and I feel confident in her knowledge

Reviewed on Mar 21, 2024

I really enjoyed my time with the Doctor. Thank you!

Reviewed on Mar 19, 2024

Wonderful visit. Dr. Pestana and Dr. Zhang gave our family a sufficient amount of time. We appreciate how caring and knowledgeable they are.

Reviewed on Mar 15, 2024

Exceptional doctor.

Reviewed on Jan 31, 2024

Dr. Elia Pestana-Knight is a true gem. She listens and works diligently to ensure our daughter receives the best care to have the best outcome. We travel from Texas multiple times a year to see her and have been doing so for five years. We honestly wouldn't see the kind of positive results we have seen if it weren't for her unwavering care and attention

Back to Top