General Surgery faculty involved: Drs. Brian Carmine, Donald Hess
The Adolescent Weight Loss (Bariatric) Surgery Program at Boston Children's Hospital 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.
General Surgery faculty involved: Drs. Terry Buchmiller, Biren Modi, Jill Zalieckas
The Maternal Fetal Care Center (MFCC) 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.
General Surgery faculty involved: Drs. Tom Jaksic, Biren Modi
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 it's 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.
General Surgery faculty involved: Dr. Belinda Dickie
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.
General Surgery faculty involved: Drs. Terry Buchmiller, Jill Zalieckas
Boston Children's treats more than 20 newborns with a 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 Boston Children's 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.
General Surgery faculty involved: Drs. Thomas Hamilton, Russell Jennings
The Esophageal and Airway Treatment (EAT) Center at Boston Children's Hospital 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 Hospital 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.
General Surgery faculty involved: Drs. Belinda Dickie, Craig Lillehei, Robert Shamberger, Brent Weil, Dr. Jill Zalieckas
The Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) Center at Boston Children's Hospital 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.
General Surgery faculty involved: Drs. Heung Bae Kim, Khashayar Vakili
The Midaortic Syndrome and Renovascular Hypertension (MAS/RVH) Program at Boston Children's Hospital 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.
General Surgery faculty involved: Drs. Robert Shamberger, Christopher Weldon, Brent Weil
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 complimentary component of a patient’s treatment plan.
General Surgery faculty involved: Drs. Heung Bae Kim, Khashayar Vakili
Learning your child may need a transplant can be difficult to absorb. At Boston Children’s Hospital, 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.
General Surgery faculty involved: Dr. Biren Modi
Thoracic outlet syndrome (TOS) 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 weight lifting), 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.
General Surgery faculty involved: Drs. Biren Modi, Robert Shamberger
The Thyroid Program at Boston Children’s Hospital 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.
General Surgery faculty involved: Drs. David Mooney, Jill Zalieckas
Boston Children's is one of only 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 Team is the only CAMTS-certified team in New England — and our Critical Care Transport Ambulance is known as an "ICU on wheels."
At Boston Children's Hospital, 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.
General Surgery faculty involved: Drs. Belinda Dickie, Steven Fishman
The Boston Children’s Hospital 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 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.
