Pediatric Surgery

Why choose UCLA Health for pediatric surgery?

At UCLA Health, our pediatric surgeons use the latest and most advanced surgical techniques to care for your child. We work closely with your child's primary care doctors, family doctors, and other specialists to ensure they receive the best possible treatment.

Highlights of our surgical services include:

Specialized Expertise: Our pediatric surgeons have specialized experience in many areas, including gastrointestinal, colorectal, oncological, and thoracic surgeries. We are experts in minimally invasive techniques, which means fewer stitches and a quicker recovery for your child.

World-Renowned Program: UCLA Mattel Children's Hospital is a major referral center for chest anomalies, such as pectus excavatum (sunken chest syndrome). We attract patients from across the U.S. and around the world, due to our leading-edge techniques and exceptional results.

Expert Care for Newborns: At the UCLA Fetal Care Center, our labor and delivery department is conveniently located next to our neonatal care unit, so newborns can receive immediate, advanced care if needed. A dedicated team of specialists, including surgeons, maternal-fetal medicine experts, cardiologists, and neonatologists, works together to provide care for a wide range of conditions.

Convenience and Accessibility: Our surgeons are committed to serving the Los Angeles community at multiple locations, ensuring your child receives world-class outpatient care close to home.

Commitment to Excellence: UCLA Mattel Children’s Hospital is designated as a Level I institution by the American College of Surgeons (ACS) Children’s Surgery Verification (CSV) program. This prestigious designation means our team of experts adheres to rigorous standards in pediatric anesthesia, neonatal intensive care, emergency medicine and other critical areas. Mattel Children’s is one of only five centers in California to receive this designation and is the sole recipient in Los Angeles.

Our areas of care

UCLA Health pediatric surgeons deliver effective care using the latest surgical techniques. You can feel comfortable knowing that your child is in expert hands. Our specialties include:

Adolescent bariatric surgery

We collaborate with the UCLA Fit for Health Program to offer bariatric surgery and proven weight loss strategies for children and adolescents. Our goal is to help your child lose weight, maintain their progress, and enhance their overall well-being. To support your child before and after surgery, we provide classes on exercise and healthy habits that last a lifetime. Our registered dietitians also create personalized nutrition plans to help your child stay healthy and thrive.

Neonatal surgery

At the UCLA Fetal Care Center, our pediatric surgeons collaborate with experts in maternal-fetal medicine, pediatrics, and neonatology to provide comprehensive care for babies with congenital abnormalities. Our unique setup allows us to care for both moms and babies on the same floor, before, during, and after delivery.

Before delivery, we offer prenatal consultations to provide parents with compassionate care and important information about their baby’s treatment plan. On delivery day, babies transition directly to neonatal care, and if needed, receive any necessary surgery right away, without having to be transferred to another hospital. This seamless approach allows treatments to begin as soon as possible, leading to better outcomes. It also keeps parents and babies close together during treatment, creating a supportive and connected environment for families.

Oncological (cancer) surgery

Our pediatric surgeons use the latest techniques to remove cancerous and benign (noncancerous) tumors. We partner with your child’s oncology team to deliver coordinated care and support at every step. As leaders in cancer care for children, we specialize in a range of procedures, including surgery to remove tumors on the lungs or chest wall.

Outpatient and inpatient surgery

We're here for your child, whether they need a routine outpatient procedure or a more complex surgery that requires a hospital stay. Our pediatric surgeons are experts in the latest techniques, including robotic surgery and minimally invasive approaches. Minimally invasive surgeries typically allow for smaller incisions, fewer stitches, and a quicker recovery time for your child. We’re also proud to offer lifesaving trauma surgery at the UCLA Mattel Pediatric Trauma Center and Harbor-UCLA Medical Center.

Pancreatic surgery for hyperinsulinism

At UCLA Health, we are one of the few centers in the U.S. with a dedicated team to treat hyperinsulinism, a rare disorder that causes dangerously low blood sugar in infants and children. Our surgeons work closely with specialists from various fields to provide the best care.

We use a unique 18F DOPA PET scan to help identify which patients might need surgery, making us the only center in Southern California—and one of just four in the country—offering this advanced technology. This scan helps us determine if a pancreatectomy (removing part or all of the pancreas) is needed, offering the hope of a cure or significant improvement.

Pectus excavatum and pectus carinatum repair

Our pediatric surgeons were among the first to develop techniques for treating pectus excavatum, also known as sunken chest syndrome or funnel chest. This common chest deformity in children causes the chest to appear indented toward the spine, which can sometimes lead to breathing and heart problems in severe cases. Another chest deformity, pectus carinatum, or pigeon chest, causes the chest to protrude outward. Both conditions result from abnormal cartilage growth, typically occurring during childhood or puberty.

We offer both minimally invasive and traditional (open) surgeries to correct these chest conditions. Minimally invasive procedures are usually less painful and involve shorter hospital stays compared to traditional surgery. As a leading referral center, we treat children from around the world, offering personalized care based on each child's age, lifestyle, and overall health.

Vascular anomaly surgery

Our expert team specializes in treating all types of vascular anomalies in children using the leading-edge surgical techniques. Vascular anomalies, such as hemangiomas and malformations, are growths or birthmarks that occur due to abnormal blood vessel development.

To ensure precise and effective treatment, we use advanced imaging to carefully plan and perform surgeries. Our skilled pediatric surgeons use the latest techniques, including lasers, to safely remove these vascular anomalies while keeping scarring to a minimum. We work closely with a team of pediatric specialists, including dermatologists, hematologists, interventional radiologists, and plastic and reconstructive surgeons, to provide the best care for your child.

Conditions we treat

As global leaders in pediatric surgery, our team is dedicated to treating a wide variety of conditions, disorders, and diseases in children. We specialize in caring for babies, children, and adolescents with both congenital conditions (those present at birth) and acquired conditions, such as injuries from accidents and trauma. Some of the most common conditions we treat include:

Birth Defects: Including tracheoesophageal fistula, where an abnormal opening develops between the windpipe and the esophagus.
Childhood Cancers: Including Wilms tumor (kidney growth), neuroblastoma (nerve tissue cancer), childhood ovarian masses and rhabdomyosarcoma (soft tissue tumor).
Childhood Obesity
Colorectal Disorders: Including Hirschsprung disease, encopresis and anorectal malformations (lower intestine abnormalities).
Hernias: Including umbilical hernia (intestines protrude through the abdomen wall at the belly button) and inguinal hernia (intestines bulge through the abdominal wall at the groin).
Hyperinsulinism
Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD): Including ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s disease.
Chest Wall Deformities: Including pectus excavatum (sunken chest syndrome) and pectus carinatum (pigeon chest).

Operations we offer

At UCLA Health, our pediatric surgeons are highly skilled in performing even the most complex procedures for babies, children, and teens. Our wide range of surgical services include:

Cryoablation Techniques: Using extreme cold to remove damaged or abnormal tissues from any part of the body. This minimally invasive procedure involves less pain and scarring compared to open surgery.
Hernia Repair: Using minimally invasive techniques to repair various types of hernias in children, ensuring a quick recovery and minimal discomfort.
IBD Surgery: Specializing in surgeries for Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis, including restorative proctocolectomy. We remove diseased parts of the intestines while preserving the anus, allowing for normal bowel movement control. Our expertise includes advanced gastrointestinal procedures, such as partial or total colon removal.
Nuss Procedure: Offering a minimally invasive solution for pectus excavatum. Surgeons insert a custom-made, curved bar into the chest through small incisions and rotate it to push the chest out. The bar remains in place for 2 to 3 years and is removed during an outpatient procedure.
Orchiopexy (Correction of Undescended Testicle): Gently moving the testicle into its proper place in the scrotum and securing it with stitches.
Pancreatectomy: Performing surgery to remove part or nearly all of the pancreas to treat hyperinsulinism.
Removal of Benign Growths: Conducting outpatient procedures to remove benign (noncancerous) cysts, masses, and lumps from the head, neck, trunk, arms, and legs.
Sleeve Gastrectomy: Performing weight-loss surgery that removes up to 80% of the stomach, reducing food intake while still allowing nutrient absorption necessary for growth.
Surgical Oncology: Collaborating with pediatric oncologists to treat a range of childhood cancers. We utilize the latest technology and advanced techniques to remove tumors effectively.

Meet our team

Our pediatric surgeons are recognized as Fellows of the American College of Surgeons (F.A.C.S.) and Fellows of the American Academy of Pediatrics (F.A.A.P.). We offer exceptional surgical care for your child, providing unmatched expertise in both inpatient and outpatient procedures.