Minimally Invasive and Robotic Surgery Providers and Staff

Meet the Minimally Invasive and Robotic Surgery Team

Children’s Hospital’s divisions of Pediatric General and Thoracic Surgery and Urology comprise the Minimally Invasive and Robotic Surgery Center.

Division of Pediatric General and Thoracic Surgery

George Kingsley Gittes, MD

Chief, Division of Pediatric Surgery
Director, Richard King Mellon Institute for Pediatric Research
Benjamin R. Fisher Chair of Pediatric Surgery
Professor, Department of Surgery, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine
Surgeon-in-Chief Emeritus and Co-scientific Director, UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh
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Marcus Malek, MD

Clinical Director, Division of Pediatric Surgery
Assistant Professor of Surgery, Department of Surgery, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine
Director, Pediatric Surgical Oncology
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Kelly Austin, MD

Pediatric Surgeon, Division of Pediatric General and Thoracic Surgery
Director, Colorectal Center for Children 
Surgical Director, Pediatric Intensive Care Unit
Program Director, Surgical Critical Care Residency Program
UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh 
Associate Professor
University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine
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Geoffrey Bond, MD

Surgical Director, Intestinal Care and Rehabilitation Center, Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh of UPMC
Assistant Professor in Transplant Surgery, University of Pittsburgh, Thomas E. Starzl Transplantation Institute
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Serena Hsi Ju Chan, MD

Chief, Division of Pediatric and Adolescent Gynecology
UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh
Assistant Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology
University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine
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Kevin Mollen, MD

Associate Surgeon-in-Chief, Division of Pediatric General and Thoracic Surgery
Surgical Director, Inflammatory Bowel Disease Center
Program Director, Pediatric Surgery Fellowship
UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh
Associate Professor of Surgery, Department of Surgery
University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine
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Michael Morowitz, MD

Professor, Department of Surgery, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine
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Ward Richardson, MD

Pediatric Surgeon, Division of Pediatric General and Thoracic Surgery
Director, Benedum Pediatric Trauma Program
UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh
Assistant Professor of Surgery, Department of Surgery
University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine
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Dorothy V. Rocourt, MD, MBA

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Shawn D Safford, MD

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Indranil Sau, MD

Division of Pediatric General and Thoracic Surgery
Clinical Assistant Professor, Department of Surgery, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine
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Stefan Scholz, MD

Pediatric Surgeon, Division of Pediatric General and Thoracic Surgery
Director, Minimally Invasive Surgery
UPMC Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh
Assistant Professor of Surgery, Department of Surgery
University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine
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Paul K Waltz, MD

Pediatric Surgeon, Division of Pediatric General and Thoracic Surgery
Surgical Director, Neonatal Intensive Care Unit
Associate Clinical Director, Division of General and Thoracic Surgery
Associate Program Director, Pediatric Surgery Fellowship
UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh
Assistant Professor of Surgery, Department of Surgery 
University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine
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Nurse Practitioners

Melissa DeCola, CRNP
Kristen Eberlein, DNP, CRNP
Paula Sever, CRNP

Physician Assistants

Yovana Bontrager, PA-C
Jenna George, PA-C
Erin Hutton, PA-C
Sarah Shumate, PA-C

Nurses

Stephanie Kotz, RN
Rachael Reif, RN

Outpatient Nurse Coordinators

Cassidy Fischer, RN
Kathryn Kilpatrick, RN
Chelsea Neargarder, RN
Kelsey Quinn, RN

Division of Pediatric Urology

Glenn Cannon, MD

Chief, Division of Pediatric Urology, UPMC Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh
Associate Professor of Urology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine
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Rajeev Chaudhry, MD

Clinical Director, Division of Pediatric Urology
Assistant Professor of Urology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine
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Omar Maher Ayyash, MD

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Michael C. Ost, MD

Director of Pediatric Surgical Outreach
Executive Committee Member, UPMC Children’s Community Pediatrics
Assistant Dean, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine
Professor of Urology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine
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Francis X. Schneck, MD

Pediatric Urologist
Program Director, Pediatric Urology Fellowship Program
UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh 
Associate Professor of Urology
University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine
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Nurse Practitioners

Alyssa C. Messina, CRNP
Victoria Morando, CRNP
Kathleen Perich, CRNP

Physician Assistants

Katharine Carter, PA-C