Pediatric Surgery

Pediatric surgeon Dr. Fred Rescorla talking with a young male patient

When your child needs surgery, you and your child might be anxious about the procedure and the need for anesthesia. The Pediatric Surgery Department at Riley at IU Health works with you to mitigate fears and help you understand why surgery is needed.

Why Riley at IU Health for Pediatric Surgery

Children of all ages with a wide range of conditions often require surgical intervention. Our pediatric general surgeons are highly trained in caring for childhood ailments from the common to the complex, including hernias, cancer, congenital anomalies and serious trauma. Our team will discuss all details of the surgery with you and your child. When you know what to expect, you and your child will feel better about the treatment plan.

The Pediatric Surgery Department at Riley at IU Health specializes in several key areas, including:

Our pediatric surgeons provide your child with the most advanced care available in Indiana and the Midwest. Pediatric surgeons are board certified in both general surgery and pediatric surgery. To become a pediatric surgeon, these doctors must complete one of the most rigorous medical and educational pathways to become licensed surgeons. Doctors in this specialty form an elite group, with fewer than 800 pediatric surgeons practicing in the United States and Canada.

Riley at IU Health provides 24/7 emergency care at its Level I Pediatric Trauma Center. Trauma surgery is a coordinated effort by a group of highly trained health professionals. When your child arrives at the hospital, he or she is quickly evaluated and treated by this team. The Level I trauma team is experienced in treating multiple trauma injuries at once.

Riley at IU Health surgeons started a program for extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO), a type of heart-lung bypass for critically ill newborns that oxygenates the blood and removes carbon dioxide outside the body. The ECMO program is unique to Indiana and is ranked among the top five internationally.

Our surgeons also partner with other pediatric specialists in various multidisciplinary programs. These programs provide expert care in clinics where children can be seen by doctors in multiple specialties all on the same day. Pediatric surgeons also work with transplant specialists at IU Health to care for children who need any number of transplant surgeries.

Our specialists participate in clinical studies and research related to many pediatric conditions and surgery procedures. We actively participate in research through the Children’s Oncology Group, an international organization focused on improving outcomes for childhood cancer, and the Midwest Pediatric Surgery Consortium, which studies the best treatment protocols for many different conditions requiring surgery.

Surgery Videocta Surgeryprepenglish

Child's Surgery Prep: English

Katie, a nurse from the surgery team, walks children and their families through what they can expect when having surgery.

Surgery Vdeocta Surgeryprepspanish

Preparándose para la cirugía

Rafael es parte del equipo de expertos que ayuda a que los niños y las familias se preparen para la cirugía en el Hospital Infantil Riley de IU Health.

Pediatric Surgery Volumes and Outcomes

As a nationally ranked leader in pediatric care, Riley at IU Health strives to deliver the best care to all of our patients — this starts with providing our patients, families and providers the information they need when choosing care. We provide this information by publicly reporting our volumes and outcomes. A crucial component to offering outstanding programs and services is tracking the results of the care delivered through them.

Our Surgery Annual Report includes important information about our program, including our volumes and outcomes. Sections of this report are taken and displayed in the charts and graphs below. We want you to play an active role in your child's care team. If you have questions regarding volumes and outcomes, feel free to ask your child’s care team or contact the Pediatric Surgery Department.

Note: due to data collection times, the following data is reported from the 2018 calendar year.

Surgical Cases: 2018

3,269

Our pediatric surgery team performs surgery on children in a number of various areas including trauma surgery, oncologic surgery, chest wall abnormalities such as pectus excavatum and pectus carinatum, and gastrostomy tube placement.

Outpatient Visits: 2018

4,433

Our team provides pre and post operative outpatient care to children throughout the state — making care easier to access for our patients and their families.

Select Pediatric Surgery Procedures - 2018

  • Abdominal Wall 185
  • Chest Wall 106
  • Colorectal 234
  • Neonatal 226
Surgical Outcomes Callout

Surgery Annual Report

Read more about our surgical quality and patient safety outcomes.

Conditions Treated

Our pediatric specialists provide patient- and family-centered care for most related conditions. The links below provide more specific information about some, but not all, of the conditions that we treat.

Services Offered

We offer a number of different Pediatric Surgery services. Below are some, but not all, of the services that we provide. If you have a question about a specific service that is not listed here, please contact our department.

Doctors

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    Locations

    Locations

    In addition to our primary hospital location at the Academic Health Center in Indianapolis, IN, we have convenient locations to better serve our communities throughout the state.

    Sort through 12 facilities offering pediatric surgical care by entering your city or zip below.

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    Department Forms & Resources

    The Pediatric Surgery at Riley at IU Health provides the following resources for parents, healthcare providers and personnel. We have also curated relevant resources from other websites and provided links with brief descriptions of the information that is available.

    Resources

    Related Programs & Departments

    The Pediatric Surgery Department collaborates with other specialty programs at Riley at IU Health.

    For Health Professionals

    The Pediatric Surgery Department works closely with referring physicians in gastroenterology, neonatology, pulmonology and trauma. Our pediatric surgeons are key members of several programs at Riley at IU Health, including biliary atresia and intestinal care. We also teach medical students and residents, so they can receive training in pediatric surgery and participate in research.

    Refer A Patient

    Refer A Patient

    Riley at IU Health works with referring physicians in Indiana and beyond.

    Refer A Patient

    Research

    Under the direction of Troy A. Markel, MD, the Pediatric Surgery Basic Science Research Laboratory at Riley at IU Health focuses on defining novel diagnostic tools and therapies for neonatal intestinal disorders such as necrotizing enterocolitis and intestinal ischemia. In 2018, Dr. Markel received more than $600,000 in grant funding from the National Institutes of Health to support the lab for the next four years. In addition, he was awarded $225,000 through the American College of Surgeons Clowe’s Memorial Fund. The lab continues to partner with private philanthropists and local industry in an attempt to detect and eradicate these conditions in newborns.

    Visit the Department of Surgery at Indiana University School of Medicine for information about the latest research in the field of surgery.

    Education

    The Pediatric Surgery Department at Riley at IU Health works with medical students, residents and fellows to teach many aspects of pediatric surgery.

    Education Resources: