What is Pediatric Surgery?

If Your Child Needs Surgery

General & Thoracic Pediatric Surgery is devoted exclusively to the management of surgical problems in infants and children.  Members of this department are specially certified by the American Board of Surgery to treat congenital malformations, neoplasms, and inflammatory conditions occurring throughout childhood.

Pediatric surgery is not limited to an anatomic area of the body, such as the thorax or abdomen, but encompasses diseases that are unique to children or require special expertise.  These diseases include:

• Cystic hygromas and tumors of the head and neck
• Chest wall deformities, such as pectus excavatum
• Malformations and tumors of the lung and mediastinum
• Esophageal atresia and congenital anomalies of the intestine
• Biliary atresia and hepatobiliary cysts and tumors
• Abdominal masses and tumors such as Wilm’s tumor and neuroblastoma
• Pediatric colorectal diseases, such as imperforate anus, Hirschsprung’s disease and inflammatory bowel disease

Who refers patients for pediatric surgery?

In most cases, a patient is referred to a pediatric surgeon by a pediatrician or family practitioner who discovers a problem that might require surgical treatment.  Unborn babies are referred to pediatric surgeons by obstetricians when congenital defects are discovered by prenatal ultrasound.

Newborn babies are referred to pediatric surgeons by neonatologists for surgical problems that arise shortly after birth.  Sometimes children are self-referred by their parents for the suspicion of a surgical problem.

What are some common symptoms and diagnoses treated by pediatric surgery?

• Abdominal Pain
• Abscess/cellulitis
• Appendicitis
• Burns
• Extra digits (polydactyly)
• Failure to thrive/feeding problems
• Gall bladder attacks
• Gastric emptying delay
• Gastroesophageal relux (GERD)
• Gastroschisis/omphalocele
• Hemangioma
• Hematoma
• Hepatoblastoma
• Hernia (inguinal, epigastric, umbilical, hiatal, femoral)
• Hirschsprung’s disease
• Hydrocele
• Idiopathic Thrombocytopenia
  Purpura (ITP)
• Incontinencen (fecal and/or urinary)
• Intestinal obstruction
• Intussusception
• Keloid(s)
• Lipoma
• Lymphadenopathy
• Malfunctioning vascular device(s)
• Mass/cyst/lesion/tumor
• Necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC)
• Ovarian torsion/cyst/lesion/tumor
• Pancreatitis
• Patent ductus arteriosus (PDA)
• Pectus carinatum (pigeon chest)
• Pectus excavatum (funnel chest)
• Pediatric trauma/injury
• Phimosis (circumcision)
• Pyloric stenosis
• Rectal bleeding
• Short bowel syndrome
• Splenomegaly
• Syndactylism
• Thyroglossal duct cyst
• Torticollis
• Tracheoesophageal fistula (TEF)
• Umbilical remnant/granuloma
• Undescended testicle(s)
• Volvulus

Why choose a pediatric surgeon?

A surgeon who is board-certified in pediatric surgery has undergone an additional two years of specialized training beyond general surgery training, concentrating on the care of newborns and children through age 21.  This specialization allows them to provide better care to this age group, because the needs of children are different from those of adults.

Surgical Team

A graduate of Dartmouth College and Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, Dr. Alexander trained in General Surgery at The Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston and in Pediatric Surgery at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital.  He built a highly successful clinical program and an academic Department of Pediatric Surgery at the Cleveland Clinic where he attained the rank of Department Chairman and Clinical Professor of Surgery and where he successfully performed more than 18,000 pediatric surgical operations.  He has been voted as one of America’s Top Doctors for the past fifteen years.

During his career, he has made a number of contributions to pediatric surgery in the areas of anorectal anomalies, inflammatory bowel disease, solid tumors, and gastrointestinal disease and has authored over 80 publications including original articles to peer reviewed journals and book chapters.  Most recently he has relocated to Paramus New Jersey and is currently in private practice.