Pediatric Surgery Fellowship | Clinical Programs
Adolescent Weight Loss (Bariatric) Surgery Program
- General surgery faculty involved: Brian Carmine, MD, FACS; Donald Hess, MD, FACS
The Adolescent Weight Loss (Bariatric) Surgery Program is dedicated to understanding and addressing the medical, surgical, nutritional, emotional, and social needs of children who are candidates for weight loss surgery. Our team of experts work with children and their families to provide the knowledge and support they need to maximize the chance for long-term health and well-being.
Center for Advanced Intestinal Rehabilitation (CAIR)
- General surgery faculty involved: Tom Jaksic, MD, PhD; Biren Modi, MD, PhD; Mark Puder, MD, PhD
Short bowel syndrome is a complex and often devastating disorder caused by the loss of part of the small bowel. Treatment options for children with this condition include nutritional management, medical services, or surgical services. The Center for Advanced Intestinal Rehabilitation actively participates in research focused on the treatment and understanding of short bowel syndrome and has made major contributions to the field. Boston Children’s doctors developed the serial transverse enteroplasty (STEP) procedure, a breakthrough surgical technique that lengthens the bowels of children with short bowel syndrome.
Colorectal and Pelvic Malformation Center
- General surgery faculty involved: Belinda Dickie, MD, PhD; Prathima Nandivada, MD
The Colorectal and Pelvic Malformation Center specializes in caring for infants, children, and adolescents with routine to complex colorectal and pelvic conditions. Our team of pediatric experts from surgery, gastroenterology, urology, and gynecology work together to provide comprehensive and personalized treatment plans for patients and families. Our team also partners with the Motility and Gastrointestinal Disorders Center on related colorectal disorders, such as bowel management.
Congenital Diaphragmatic Hernia Center
- General surgery faculty involved: Terry Buchmiller, MD; Jill Zalieckas, MD, MPH; Farokh Demehri, MD
Boston Children’s treats more than 20 newborns with a congenital diaphragmatic hernia (CDH) each year, with a success rate among the best in the world. Our survival rate is close to 90 percent, while the national average at major medical centers is only 65 percent. When a CDH is diagnosed or suspected during pregnancy, treatment is coordinated through the Maternal Fetal Care Center. Children also come into the care of the program when a CDH is diagnosed after birth, and on an outpatient basis for long-term treatment.
Esophageal and Airway Treatment Center (EAT)
- General surgery faculty involved: Benjamin Zendejas-Mummert, MD, MSc; Farokh Demehri, MD; Somala Mohammed, MD
The Esophageal and Airway Treatment (EAT) Center cares for infants, children, and young adults with esophageal and airway problems. Our treatments are the most effective surgical approaches in the world, helping children with airway and esophageal problems to eventually eat and breathe normally. Our goal is to help each and every child achieve a healthy esophagus and airway. Patients and their families come to Boston Children’s from all over the world for treatments they can’t receive anywhere else. For our team, these very rare esophageal conditions are not rare at all. Our doctors have the knowledge and skill only time and experience can provide.
Inflammatory Bowel Disease Center
- General surgery faculty involved: Belinda Dickie, MD, PhD; Jill Zalieckas, MD, MPH; Farokh Demehri, MD; Prathima Nandivada, MD
The Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) Center is one of the most heavily referred to centers in the world when it comes to diagnosing and treating children with Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis. Our team includes IBD and childcare specialists, each with a unique role in providing care to make treatment as easy as possible for young patients and their families.
Maternal Fetal Care Center (MFCC)
- General surgery faculty involved: Terry Buchmiller, MD; Biren Modi, MD, PhD; Farokh Demehri, MD
The Maternal Fetal Care Center provides the finest diagnosis, ongoing screening, and care for a mother carrying a baby with a confirmed or suspected congenital anomaly. For these families, our center offers entry to a continuum of care and support that extends throughout childhood — from prenatal diagnosis and counseling, through treatment and long-term follow-up.
Midaortic Syndrome and Renovascular Hypertension Center (MAS/RVH)
- General surgery faculty involved: Heung Bae Kim, MD; Khashayar Vakili, MD; Alex Cuenca, MD, PhD
The Midaortic Syndrome and Renovascular Hypertension (MAS/RVH) Center is one of the only centers of its kind dedicated to diagnosing, treating, and providing long-term support for children of all ages with either or both of these rare conditions. The program’s multidisciplinary team — which brings together clinicians from specialties including anesthesiology, cardiology, nephrology, radiology, and surgery — meets twice monthly to review cases and recommend the best available treatment options for each child based on age, diagnosis, and other factors.
Node Assessment Program (NAP)
- General surgery faculty involved: Christopher Weldon, MD, PhD
Our Node Assessment Program (NAP) provides a multidisciplinary approach to the care of children with persistent swelling of the lymph nodes (or glands), a condition known as lymphadenopathy. Pediatric patients of all ages and their families have access to experts in the field, including otolaryngologists, surgeons, pathologists, hematologists/oncologists, infectious disease specialists, and radiologists from the top-ranked pediatric hospital in the U.S.
Pediatric Surgical Oncology
- General surgery faculty involved: Christopher Weldon, MD, PhD; Brent Weil, MD, MPH
Cancer patients in need of surgery at Dana-Farber/Boston Children’s Cancer and Blood Disorders Center have access to world-class pediatric surgical oncologists, state-of-the-art facilities, and a dedicated anesthesiology department for pre-, peri-, and postoperative care. Working together with treatment teams from all of our pediatric cancer and blood disorders centers, our surgical oncologists are prepared at all times for surgical intervention as a primary or complementary component of a patient’s treatment plan.
Pediatric Transplant Center
- General surgery faculty involved: Heung Bae Kim, MD; Alex Cuenca, MD, PhD
Learning your child may need a transplant can be difficult to absorb. We’re here to offer hope — and help. Our Pediatric Transplant Center has more than 40 years of experience performing life-saving transplants and providing personalized care at every step of the transplant journey. We offer specialized, uniquely collaborative programs dedicated to heart, lung, heart-lung, liver, kidney, intestine and multivisceral, and stem cell transplants, often treating cases others turn away. As Harvard Medical School’s primary pediatric teaching hospital — and the home of one of the largest pediatric research enterprises in the world — our team is at the forefront of clinical advances and research that may even help your child avoid a transplant or extend the time before needing one.
Pectus and Chest Wall Treatment Program
- General surgery faculty involved: Farokh Demehri, MD; Tom Jaksic, MD, PhD; Craig Lillehei, MD; Konstantinos Papadakis, MD
The Pectus and Chest Wall Treatment Program evaluates and treats children and young adults with a wide variety of chest wall deformities. As one of the busiest chest wall treatment programs in the country, we have deep experience in all levels of care: from nonsurgical treatment to minimally invasive surgery, or — when clinically necessary — open surgery. Thanks to our extensive experience, we can ensure each of our patients receives the most appropriate care for their condition.
Pilonidal Care Program
- General surgery faculty involved: David Mooney, MD, MPH; Mark Puder, MD, PhD
The Pilonidal Care Program specializes in the treatment of pilonidal cysts. Our team has a broad range of expertise in treating pilonidal disease and preventing its recurrence.
Thoracic Outlet Syndrome Program
- General surgery faculty involved: Biren Modi, MD, PhD
Thoracic outlet syndrome is a condition whereby symptoms are produced by compression of nerves and/or blood vessels in the upper chest. The passageway for these nerves and blood vessels to exit the chest and supply the arms is referred to as the thoracic outlet. Muscle, bone, and other tissues border the thoracic outlet. Any condition that results in enlargement or movement of these tissues near the thoracic outlet can cause thoracic outlet syndrome. These conditions include muscle enlargement (such as from weightlifting), repetitive use (such as might be seen in baseball pitchers or rowers), injuries, an extra rib extending from the neck (cervical rib), and weight gain. Often no specific cause is detectable. Learn more about the Thoracic Outlet Syndrome Program.
Thyroid Center
- General surgery faculty involved: Biren Modi, MD, PhD; Benjamin Zendejas-Mummert, MD, MsC
The Thyroid Center is one of the first and largest centers in the United States exclusively devoted to the care and treatment of children with thyroid diseases. Our program’s Thyroid Nodule Clinic is one of the largest pediatric practices of its type in the United States.
Trauma Center
- General surgery faculty involved: David Mooney, MD, MPH
Boston Children’s is one of a few hospitals in the United States to earn a Level 1 Pediatric Trauma Center verification from the American College of Surgeons — indicating that we provide the highest level of pediatric injury care. We rank among the top 10 hospitals in the nation for the volume of injured children treated. Each year, we care for twice as many injured kids as all other Boston hospitals combined. Our Critical Care Transport Program is the only CAMTS-certified team in New England — and our Critical Care Transport Ambulance is known as an “ICU on wheels.”
We also know that treating pediatric trauma is different from treating adults, and requires special experience and skill. One the many strengths of our hospital is the multidisciplinary pediatric expertise that comes together for our patients’ care — physicians, nurses, social work professionals, and others — all highly experienced in serving the special needs of injured children and their families.
Vascular Anomalies Center (VAC)
- General surgery faculty involved: Belinda Dickie, MD, PhD; Steven Fishman, MD; Heung Bae Kim, MD
The Vascular Anomalies Center is regarded as the premier center in the world for these disorders. Many of the physicians are internationally renowned for their expertise and innovations in this highly specialized field. Our clinical team has extensive experience in the diagnosis and treatment of vascular anomalies, and it provides care to more than 2,000 patients every year with a variety of these disorders from simple tumors and malformations to the most rare and complex syndromes.