Dr. George K. Gittes

George K. Gittes, MD, is the Benjamin R. Fisher Chair of Pediatric Surgery, chief of pediatric general and thoracic surgery, scientific co-director of research at UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh, and director of the Richard King Mellon Foundation Institute for Pediatric Research. He is professor of surgery and professor of pediatrics at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine. Dr. Gittes received his medical degree from Harvard Medical School, Boston, Mass. He completed his surgical internship and residency at the University of California at San Francisco, Calif, and his fellowship at Children’s Mercy Hospital, Kansas City, Mo. Dr. Gittes came to Pittsburgh in 2005 from Children’s Mercy Hospital, where he held the Thomas M. Holder/Keith W. Ashcraft Chair in pediatric surgical research. Dr. Gittes’ clinical interests include neonatal surgery and pancreatic surgery. In his lab, Dr. Gittes and his team perform studies using gene therapy to treat diabetes and acetic acid infusions to treat chronic pancreatitis. His team has found that a virus injected into the pancreatic duct of mice will reverse their diabetes, leading to the potential to change the treatment of both juvenile diabetes and type 2 diabetes. Dr. Gittes is a nationally recognized pediatric surgeon and well-established basic scientist who has received numerous honors and awards. He has published over 250 papers and has given seminars across the globe. He is a member of several professional societies including the American Pediatric Surgical Association, the American Surgical Association, the Association of American Physicians, and the Society of University of Surgeons, where he also served as president. View the full list of Dr. Gittes’ publications on PubMed. View Dr. Gittes’ profile at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine – Department of Pediatrics. Learn more about the Gittes Lab for Diabetes and Pancreatitis Research.

Dr. Gittes is rated as an Experienced provider by MediFind in the treatment of Diaphragmatic Hernia. His top areas of expertise are Hereditary Pancreatitis, Chronic Pancreatitis, Diaphragmatic Hernia, Pancreatectomy, and Islet Cell Transplantation.

His clinical research consists of co-authoring 89 peer reviewed articles. MediFind looks at clinical research from the past 15 years. In particular, he has co-authored 6 articles in the study of Diaphragmatic Hernia.