Surgery
Pediatric Surgery
Surgery at any age can be scary. When it’s your child, you want to know they are being cared for by a team that specializes in pediatric surgery.
University of Iowa Stead Family Children’s Hospital is home to the only team of pediatric surgeons in Iowa and western Illinois specifically trained to care for children, from premature infants to young adults. Our surgeons are specialists in the care of a broad range of pediatric surgical conditions and traumatic injuries.
As part of an academic medical center, our surgeons are also researchers, which means they are on top of the latest surgical techniques and medical discoveries to provide the most advanced care for your child. In addition to traditional procedures, our surgical team also performs minimally invasive surgeries that can reduce the length of hospital stays and minimize pain.
Our multidisciplinary care team includes expert pediatric surgeons, anesthesiologists, nurses, nutritionists, pharmacists, technologists, and support staff, all dedicated to the care of infants and children.
Because we know surgery may just be one part of your child’s care, our pediatric surgery team works together with other pediatric specialists, such as neonatology, hematology, oncology, pulmonology, gastroenterology, otolaryngology, urology, cardiology, and radiology to ensure a complete and comprehensive plan of care. Because we all work together, every team member knows what is happening with your child’s care. This helps us determine what surgery is the best option for your child.
Pain management, nutrition, and social and psychological services are also part of our holistic approach to the care of children. Our family-centered care includes Child Life specialists, tutoring, art and music therapy, occupational therapy, and physical therapy. We partner closely with parents and family members so we can provide the best care and offer the most supportive environment to children.
Level I Pediatric Surgery Center
UI Stead Family Children’s Hospital is a Level I Pediatric Surgery Center—the only children’s hospital in Iowa to receive this highest designation from the American College of Surgeons (ACS). This distinction recognizes our multidisciplinary surgery team for their work in quality and safety to provide the best care to children during and after surgery.
Level I Pediatric Trauma Center
UI Stead Family Children’s Hospital is the first and only verified Level I Pediatric Trauma Center in Iowa. This means UI Stead Family Children’s Hospital meets the highest standards set by the American College of Surgeons for trauma care in children. Our pediatric surgical and medical specialists collaborate to treat minor and serious physical and psychological trauma. We have specialized equipment for children of all ages and sizes, and our staff partakes in ongoing pediatric trauma education to ensure that families receive the highest level of pediatric care available.
Trauma is the leading cause of death and disability in children and adolescents, and preventing it is the best way to impact our children's health and well-being. The pediatric trauma team also provides education on injury prevention and treatment for families and UI Health Care faculty and staff.
Services
- Abscess
- Appendicitis
- Bowel obstruction
- Central line placement
- Port placement
- Empyema
- Enlarged lymph nodes
- Inguinal hernia
- Intestinal bleeding
- Intestinal obstruction
- Ostomy care
- Pyloric stenosis
- Pectus deformities
- Carinatus
- Excavatus (Nuss procedure)
- Poland syndrome
- Laparoscopy
- Thoracoscopy
- Percutaneous gastrostomy tube placement
- Robotically assisted minimally invasive surgery
- Disorders of the esophagus
- Achalasia
- Esophageal stricture
- Foregut duplication and neuroenteric cysts
- Gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD)
- Hiatal hernia
- Disorders of the intestines
- Short gut
- Hirschsprung disease
- Meckel's diverticulum
- Gastrointestinal bleeding
- Perianal disease
- Inflammatory bowel disease
- Crohn's disease
- Ulcerative coliti
- Thyroglossal duct cyst
- Moles
- Complex wound care
- Soft tissue masses
- Brachial cleft cyst
- Adrenal tumors
- Chest wall tumors
- Ewing's sarcoma
- Kidney tumors
- Wilms' tumors
- Nephroblastoma
- Rhabdoid tumors
- Clear cell carcinoma of kidney
- Lung tumors
- Multiple endocrine neoplasia
- Neuroblastoma
- Ovarian tumors/cysts
- Primitive Neuroectodermal tumor
- Rhabdomyosarcoma
- Soft tissue sarcoma
- Teratoma
- Thyroid nodule
- Abdominal wall defects
- Gastroschisis
- Omphalocele
- Cloacal anomalies
- Cryptorchidism (undescended testes)
- Diaphragmatic hernia
- Duodenal atresia
- Hirschprung's disease
- Imperforate anus
- Intestinal atresia
- Lung malformations
- Malrotation of the intestines
- Pulmonary malformations
- Sacrococcygeal teratoma
- Tracheal stenosis
- Tracheomalcia
- Tracheoesophageal malformations
- Vascular malformations
- Lymphangiomas
- Hemangiomas
- Cystic hygromas
- Renovascular hypertension
- Aortic disease
- Vascular access
- Central line and port placement
- Thoracic outlet syndrome (TOS)
The power of play video
The pediatric surgery team at University of Iowa Stead Family Children’s Hospital developed custom medical dolls to help patients and families better understand what to expect before surgery.
Related Medical Services
Our Care Team
- Burn Treatment
- Surgery
- Cardiology
- Surgery
- Transplant
- Department of Pediatrics
- Surgery
- Megan Chase, BSN, RN, CPN, Nurse Clinician
- Hannah Perry, BSN, RN, Specialty Nurse