Division of Pediatric Surgery

The Division of Pediatric Surgery at NYU Grossman Long Island School of Medicine aims to provide the highest quality of care to the children of our community, to educate future physicians regardless of their specialty choice, and to investigate important clinical problems through research and quality improvement projects.

We accomplish these goals through the commitment of NYU Langone Hospital—Long Island to operational resources and processes and with the engagement and leadership of our pediatric surgeons. Members of the division work closely with pediatric hospitalists, intensivists, neonatologists, maternal–fetal medicine specialists, and a broad range of pediatric subspecialists to provide world-class care to pediatric patients.

We provide care for pediatric patients 24 hours a day, 7 days a week at the Emergency Department at NYU Langone Hospital—Long Island. Our doctors also provide treatment in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU), Pediatric Intensive Care Unit, and a pediatric floor dedicated to children needing urgent surgical care.

Our broad-based clinical program serves as the cornerstone of pediatric education for general surgery residents at NYU Grossman Long Island School of Medicine.

Pediatric Surgery Education

The Division of Pediatric Surgery offers specialized clinical training for general surgery residents at all levels. Residents gain experience in managing the inpatient service; emergency department (ED), NICU, and floor consults; operative experience; pre- and postoperative care; and clinic time. The division provides interactive lectures to residents on a regular basis.

We offer a multidisciplinary elective in pediatric surgery for phase three medical students. This four-week elective includes rotations in pediatric general surgery, pediatric urology, pediatric orthopedic surgery, pediatric otolaryngology, and pediatric plastic surgery. The elective is designed to prepare future primary care physicians in the scope of practice and referral process for a wide range of pediatric surgical problems. In addition, students learn how to choose a hospital for an urgent surgical problem based on the hospital’s pediatric surgical care resources.

The Division of Pediatric Surgery also provides interactive, problem-based lectures to medical students during their core pediatric and surgery clerkships, which take place during phase two of the MD curriculum.

Pediatric Surgery Research

The Division of Pediatric Surgery leads the following research and quality improvement projects focused on the treatment of acute appendicitis:

Impact of Peritoneal Irrigation on Outcomes in Perforated Appendicitis in Children
Effectiveness of Empiric Antibiotic Regimen for Children with Perforated Appendicitis

We are also in the early stages of collaborating with faculty in the Division of
Neonatal–Perinatal Medicine, part of the Department of Pediatrics, on clinical research projects relating to necrotizing enterocolitis.

Pediatric Surgery Clinical Services

The Division of Pediatric Surgery provides outstanding clinical care to children across a broad base of disease processes. We provide coverage for urgent and emergent problems 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and provide clinic referrals for non-emergent problems. Through a collaboration with faculty in neonatology and in the Division of Maternal–Fetal Medicine, part of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, we participate in the prenatal diagnosis and management program for fetal congenital anomalies. This is a robust clinical program that sees approximately 6,000 deliveries on-site each year.

We provide care for patients with a wide range of conditions, including congenital anomalies, newborn bowel obstruction, necrotizing enterocolitis, pyloric stenosis, acute appendicitis, inflammatory bowel disease, and hernias. We also care for children with tumors of the chest, abdomen, and soft tissues, and provide vascular access for chemotherapy, long-term intravenous nutrition, and hemodialysis.

Our quality improvement efforts include the following:

a collaboration with the pediatric ED and the Division of Pediatric Radiology on the development of a protocol for diagnosis and management of acute appendicitis
a collaborative project with the Division of Pediatric Nephrology to develop guidelines for preparation and insertion of access for hemodialysis in children
establishment of a hospital-based Pediatric Surgery Quality Improvement Committee

We are also developing a pediatric trauma program, with the goal of designation as a Level 2 Pediatric Trauma Center by the American College of Surgeons; establishing a program to treat chest wall deformities; and establishing a multidisciplinary program to treat inflammatory bowel disease.