Specialist Spotlight: Anne Kim Mackow, MD, Pediatric Surgeon

UH Clinical Update - April 2017

The prospect of a child having surgery is daunting for families, especially when the child is seriously ill or very young. University Hospitals’ pediatric surgeon Anne Kim Mackow, MD, addresses these families’ concerns head-on, through education and building relationships. 

Anne Kim Mackow, MD

“My partners and I try to connect with the child directly and make sure that they feel comfortable,” she says. “Depending on their age, we’ll talk through whether they have any fears to reassure them that they’re in good hands. A lot of it is the tone you set at the beginning. We’re not unapproachable; we’re there for them. The child feeling comfortable with us allows them to feel comfortable when they come into the hospital for the procedure.”

Now in her fourth year at UH, Dr. Kim received her medical degree from New York Medical College. She completed residency training in general surgery at UC Davis Medical Center, with a stint in the middle of residency for research experience at the University of Michigan, working on artificial placenta technology and total liquid ventilation. After completing her residency training in California, she completed her pediatric surgery fellowship at the University of Florida. Dr. Kim is board-certified in surgery and pediatric surgery.

A Colorado native, Dr. Kim was hoping to begin her practice either in her home state or back in California. But then she visited UH Rainbow Babies & Children’s Hospital.

“I took a look and I really liked it,” she says. “I was excited about the possibility of being at a hospital with a strong history of excellent neonatal care and a great group of physicians to partner with.”

Within the footprint of the UH system, Dr. Kim operates and sees patients at both Eastside and Westside locations. She operates at UH Rainbow main campus and UH Ahuja Medical Center, as well as UH Mentor and UH Westlake surgery centers. For pre-surgery and follow-up appointments, she sees patients and families at main campus, Mentor, Strongsville and Westlake.

Beyond the relationship-building she does with her patients, Dr. Kim also enlists help from their parents. She points to the example of premature infants born with a hernia needing repair.

“More than we used to, we try to delay repair of hernias in premature infants,” she says. “We used to always do it before they left the hospital. But now sometimes we try to get them to six months without surgery. We’ll teach the family how to monitor for signs of a hernia and how to even reduce it. As a result, the baby can have an outpatient procedure at six months of age as opposed to having to be admitted overnight to the hospital when they’re much younger.”

Dr. Kim says she’s eager to communicate with UH pediatricians about their patients who may need surgery.

”We are here to be helpful and accessible,” she says. “They should always feel free to give us a call. We will do what we can to get a patient seen in as reasonable a time frame as possible. If a provider needs something quickly addressed by us, it helps tremendously to get a call from them– that will expedite things.”

For more information about Dr. Kim or to make a referral, please call 216-844-3015.