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 Children's Health works with you to mitigate fears and help you understand why surgery is needed.
Why Riley Children's Health for Pediatric Surgery
Why Riley Children's Health for Pediatric Surgery
Children of all ages with various 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 severe 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 Children's specializes in several key areas, including:
- Gallstones & biliary dyskinesia
- Chest wall 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 pediatric surgeons, 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 Children's 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 simultaneously.
Riley Children's surgeons started a program for extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO), a 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 on many pediatric conditions and surgical 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 conditions requiring surgery.
Riley Hospital for Children has been named a Level I Children’s Surgery Center by the American College of Surgeons (ACS), becoming the first 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.
Conditions & Services
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.
- Abdominal Wall Defects
- Biliary Atresia
- Congenital Diaphragmatic Hernia (CDH)
- Congenital Pulmonary Anomalies
- Gallstones & Biliary Dyskinesia
- Gastroesophageal Reflux (GER)
- Gastroschisis in Babies
- Hernias & Hydroceles
- Hydrops Fetalis
- Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD)
- Omphalocele
- Ovarian Cysts & Tumors
- Short Bowel Syndrome
- Thoracic Abnormalities
- Tracheoesophageal Fistula
- Undescended Testes
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 and
Locations
Doctors
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.
Department Forms & Resources
Department Forms & Resources
Riley Children's Health provides the following forms 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
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This national organization provides information for families and supports research for childhood cancers such as tumor management.
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National Organization for Rare Disorders
This group provides resources and information for patients and families about treatments for rare disorders such as congenital pulmonary anomalies.
Related Programs & Departments
Related Programs & Departments
The Pediatric Surgery Department collaborates with other specialty programs at Riley at IU Health.
- Biliary Atresia Program
- Burn Program
- Chest Wall Program
- Children's Clinical Research Center
- Children's Health Services Research
- Colorectal and Urogenital Health Center
- Critical Care
- Emergency Medicine
- Fetal Center
- Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology & Nutrition
- Herman B Wells Center for Pediatric Research
- Inflammatory Bowel Disease Program
- Intestinal Care Program
- Malone Antegrade Continence Enema (MACE) Program
- Maternal-Fetal Medicine (MFM)
- Neonatology (NICU)
- Trauma
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Health Professionals
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
Riley at IU Health works with referring physicians in Indiana and beyond. Referring physicians may contact us at 317.944.4681 or by fax at 317.944.9740.
Refer A PatientResearch
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 Clowes 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.