Pediatric Surgery

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:

• Gallstones & biliary dyskinesia
• Thoracic abnormalities such as pectus excavatum & pectus carinatum
• Hernias and hydroceles
• Oncologic surgery
• Ovarian cysts & tumors
• Tracheoesophageal fistulas
• Trauma surgery

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.

Riley Hospital for Children at IU Health has been named a Level I Children’s Surgery Center by the American College of Surgeons (ACS), becoming the first and only children’s hospital in Indiana to earn this status. As the highest distinction, Level I Children's Surgery Centers can provide the most comprehensive surgical care to infants and children - including those with some of the most complex conditions.