Pediatric Surgery Section
The Pediatric Surgical Section is based mainly at the Riley Children's Hospital. The staff also cares for children with general surgery problems and acute trauma at Wishard Memorial Hospital, Methodist Hospital and at a number of outreach sites. Extensive preoperative, operative and postoperative experience is available in the management of neonatal surgery, pediatric surgical oncology, ECMO, and pediatric trauma, as well as the more commonplace children's surgical problems and ambulatory surgery. The multidisciplinary Pediatric Trauma Program is the only ACS verified Level-I Children's Program in the state.
There is an ACGME-RRC accredited two-year postgraduate training program in Pediatric Surgery available at the Riley Children's Hospital approved for two postgraduate residents, one in each year.
Dr. Fred Rescorla is Surgeon-in-Chief at Riley Hospital and the Director of the Section of Pediatric Surgery. Other full-time faculty members in the section are Drs. Karen W. West, L.R. “Tres” Scherer III, Scott Engum, Thomas Rouse, Deborah Billmire and Alan Ladd. Dr. West is Co-Director of the ECMO program and Dr. Scherer is Director of the Pediatric Trauma Program. Dr. Rouse is the Pediatric Trauma Director at Methodist Hospital. Dr Rescorla and Dr Billmire are representatives to the Children’s Oncology Group and Dr Engum is Director of the surgery medical student clerkship. Former chairman and section director, Dr. Jay Grosfeld, though no longer clinically active remains a visible figure at Riley Hospital.
A comprehensive training program, conference schedule and clinic experience is available. More than 5,700 cases were performed by the Pediatric Surgery Service during the 2005-2006 academic year. General Surgery residents rotate on the service during the first, second and fourth clinical years. Four general surgery residents, two postgraduate pediatric surgery residents, four to five junior medical students and one or two elective senior students are usually assigned to this busy service. The PGY-4 general surgery resident alternates chief call with the postgraduate residents.
An active research program is available in the Pediatric Surgical Research laboratory An affiliation has evolved with the proteinomics laboratory of Dr. Linda Malkas. Current efforts are focused on cell signaling, replication pathways and serologic markers for Neuroblastoma.
