Pediatric surgeons dedicate their practice to treating children ranging from the neonatal stage through late adolescence. The medical needs of a child differ from those of an adult, requiring pediatric surgeons to have additional education and advanced training. Our pediatric surgeons are recognized as experts in a broad range of specialties, including minimally invasive surgery, pediatric surgical oncology, fetal diagnosis, and treatment of congenital birth defects, pediatric trauma, and surgical procedures for intestinal failure. Through the most current and state-of-the-art surgical techniques, we help treat each child’s condition so he or she can focus on being a kid.Our team has expertise in the latest surgical technologies and the most delicate surgical situations, including neonatal surgery and ECMO (heart and lung bypass for severely ill infants). Our surgeons use advanced, minimally invasive surgical techniques wherever possible to help secure outpatient surgeries or shorter hospital stays, and less postoperative discomfort for the child. All of our team members have extensive experience in working with children, and take extra measures to ensure that each child feels safe and comfortable. Specialized care is offered in the following areas: Mechanical cardiac assist device program Newborn surgery, including repair of severe newborn congenital malformations of the airway, respiratory, gastrointestinal, and genital tracts Operations for inguinal hernias, hydroceles, correction of undescended testicles, and other groin problems Pediatric abdominal surgery Pediatric heart transplant Pediatric thoracic surgery Surgical management of complex solid tumors Thoracoscopic and laparoscopic treatment of such conditions as abdominal and thoracic tumors, congenital lung masses, intestinal atresia, and trachea-esophageal fistula The first pediatric Level I trauma center in Connecticut at Yale New Haven Hospital Six conveniently located outpatient pediatric centers across the state where patients can be evaluated by a pediatric surgeon International recognition for new ways to reduce anxiety and pain in children who need surgery

The Sarcoma Program at Smilow Cancer Hospital consists of a multidisciplinary team of physicians who diagnose, treat, and provide expert care for patients with both soft tissue sarcomas and sarcomas of the bone, or osteosarcoma. Our team includes orthopedic physicians, dermatologists, diagnostic radiologists, medical oncologists, pediatric oncologists, radiation oncologists, and pathologists, all with specific expertise in the treatment and care of patients with sarcoma. For diagnosis, our physicians employ state-of-the-art methods including CT scanning, which is excellent at seeing both bone and soft tissues; MRI, which has the ability to “view” the tissue in and around bone with exquisite detail; PET scanning that is able to look at the cancer’s biological activity at the cellular level; bone scans that use a very small amount of radioactive material to check for cancer cells within the bone; and X-ray. Bone scans can also be performed to check for cancer cells in the bone. Surgery Surgery is often a key treatment for patients with sarcomas of the bone. Upon consultation to determine a treatment plan designed to meet the individual needs of the patient, the following types of surgery may be considered: Wide local excision: Removal of the cancer and some healthy tissue around it. Limb-sparing surgery: Removal of the tumor in an arm or leg without amputation, preserving the use and appearance of the limb. The tumor is removed—and tissue and bone that are removed may be replaced with a graft using tissue and bone taken from another part of the patient’s body, or with an implant. Most patients with osteosarcoma can be treated with this type of surgery. Amputation: In some instances, it is not possible to remove the entire tumor in limb-sparing surgery, and therefore amputation may be considered to remove part or all of an arm or leg. The patient may be fitted with a prosthesis after amputation. Radiation Some patients who are undergoing surgery may have radiation therapy first to shrink a tumor to improve the success of the surgery. Radiation therapy is also often used after surgery to try to eliminate any remaining cancerous cells. Therapeutic Options Following successful surgery to remove the sarcoma, patients are also given chemotherapy to kill any remaining cancer cells. For soft tissue sarcomas, chemotherapy may be used before or after surgery and radiation. There are several approved chemotherapy options for patients and their oncologists to consider. Additionally, clinical trials offering the latest treatment combinations and new therapies are available for our patients through Yale Cancer Center, a comprehensive cancer center designated by the National Cancer Institute. Smilow Cancer Hospital and Yale Cancer Center are also members of the Sarcoma Alliance for Research through Collaboration (SARC). SARC is a collaboration of distinguished research institutions throughout the country that work together to design and evaluate clinica

When caring for children with cancer, we focus on protecting normal, growing tissue while accurately targeting disease with radiation. As part of the Yale Cancer Center, our team of experts includes not just radiation oncologists, but also experts in pediatric hematology-oncology and other subspecialties such as laboratory medicine, surgery, neurosurgery, orthopaedics, pathology, and diagnostic radiology. We also have a highly trained support staff of nurses, social workers, and radiation therapists to support children and their families as they go through the treatment process. Very young children, generally those less than four years of age, are often unable to cooperate with daily external radiation treatments. Pediatric anesthesiologists assist these children with outpatient sedation or general anesthesia. This allows children to sleep through therapy, ensuring radiotherapy precision and avoiding psychological trauma.