Dr. Robert S. Thomas

Dr. Kays is the medical director of the Center for Congenital Diaphragmatic Hernia (CDH) at Johns Hopkins All Children’s and leads the first unit in the country exclusively dedicated to these patients. He also serves as director of the extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) program and co-director of the Fetal Diagnosis/Treatment program. He joined the medical staff in 2016. Dr. Kays has more than two decades of clinical and research leadership in the treatment of CDH, a life-threatening birth defect that affects about one in every 3,000 pregnancies. His research has focused on defining the best treatment strategies for this challenging neonatal diagnosis and contributed to significant advances in care and outcomes. Dr. Kays was previously with UF Health and Shands Children’s Hospital for more than 20 years. He was also surgeon in chief, professor of surgery and chief of the division of pediatric surgery in the University of Florida College of Medicine, Department of Surgery, where he led the ECMO and congenital diaphragmatic hernia program for over 20 years. He is the author or coauthor of more than 60 peer-reviewed original science publications and speaks nationally and internationally on CDH care and outcomes. Dr. Kays earned his medical degree from the Feinberg School of Medicine at Northwestern University. He completed a surgical residency at Strong Memorial Hospital, University of Rochester Medical Center, and then completed a pediatric surgery fellowship at Morgan-Stanley Children’s Hospital of Columbia University, New York. Dr. Kays is a fellow of the American College of Surgeons and the American Academy of Pediatrics and a member of the Children’s Oncology Group. Videos Meet David Kays, M.D. Dr. Kays is rated as an Advanced provider by MediFind in the treatment of Congenital Diaphragmatic Hernia. His top areas of expertise are Diaphragmatic Hernia, Congenital Diaphragmatic Hernia, Hernia, Donnai-Barrow Syndrome, and Appendectomy.

Dr. Smithers is an associate professor of surgery and director of the Esophageal and Airway Treatment (EAT) Program in the Department of Surgery at Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital since 2019. He was honored for Innovations in Clinical Care at the Johns Hopkins Medicine Clinical Awards for 2020. As a leader in both innovation and expertise for pediatric thoracic surgery, he and his team see patients from all over the United States and internationally. The team also makes several invited trips per year around the country and world for lectures and conferences, in addition to helping patients and teaching other surgical teams regarding complex esophageal and airway surgical techniques in the operating room. Dr. Smithers previously served as assistant professor of surgery at Boston Children’s Hospital from 2009-2019, as part of their groundbreaking EAT program. His clinical specialties are congenital and acquired conditions of the esophagus and airway, vascular rings, congenital diaphragmatic hernia, extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO), surgical critical care, and minimally invasive surgery. He earned his medical degree from Albany Medical College and completed his residency in general surgery at Oregon Health and Science University in Portland. He served as fellow in pediatric surgery at Boston Children’s Hospital after completing a research fellowship and a surgical critical care fellowship at Boston Children’s Hospital. He also completed a global surgery clinical fellowship at Harvard Medical School. Videos Meet Jason Smithers, M.D. What is esophageal stricture and how is it treated? What is tracheomalacia and how is it treated? What is recurrent tracheoesophageal fistula (rTEF) and how is it treated? What is long gap esophageal atresia and how is it treated?. Dr. Smithers is rated as a Distinguished provider by MediFind in the treatment of Congenital Diaphragmatic Hernia. His top areas of expertise are Esophageal Atresia, Tracheoesophageal Fistula, Diaphragmatic Hernia, Gastrostomy, and Endoscopy.

Kevin Huguet is a General Surgeon in Saint Petersburg, Florida. Dr. Huguet is rated as a Distinguished provider by MediFind in the treatment of Congenital Diaphragmatic Hernia. His top areas of expertise are Hernia, Cholecystitis, Gallbladder Disease, Hernia Surgery, and Pancreatectomy.