Pediatric Surgeon Helps UH Rainbow Set the Pace for the Field

UH Clinical Update | November 2023

Michael Dingeldein, MD, FACS, FAAP, FCCM, who joined University Hospitals in 2014, is well-known for his expertise as a pediatric surgeon and as Director of Trauma at UH Rainbow Babies & Children’s Hospital.

Michael Dingeldein, MD

In 2022, something more was asked of him on short notice: Could he assume the role of Medical Director of Children’s Surgery? Also, that would mean immediately working on preparations for a site visit by the American College of Surgeons for the Children’s Surgery Verification program.

Dr. Dingeldein said “yes,” and his trauma expertise made him the ideal physician to step into that role.

Still, he had only two months to prepare for that visit. That meant organizing all pediatric surgical divisions, integrating quality structures and preparing a lengthy survey in anticipation of this visit.

Leading the way: The outcome was stellar, says Ethan Leonard MD, MBA, FAAP, FIDSA, Chief Medical Officer of UH MacDonald Women’s Hospital and Rainbow Babies & Children’s Hospital. UH Rainbow was verified as a Level I Children’s Surgery Center, meaning UH Rainbow can manage all levels of complex surgical patients. This is a status held by fewer than 25 percent of children’s hospitals in the U.S. UH Rainbow also has the oldest Level I pediatric trauma center in the region, and it was one of the first in the country.

“In fact, the survey reviewers were so impressed with everything they observed during the visit, that they cited many of our efforts as models for best practice that they intend to share with other sites,” says Dr. Leonard. The service results were “pristine,” he adds, with no deficiencies identified.

“Dr. Dingeldein accomplished all this while bearing a huge clinical load, since because of the departure of a surgeon, we were down to three pediatric surgeons,” he adds.

For all those reasons, Dr. Leonard nominated Dr. Dingeldein for a recent “Dinner with the Doc” honor, which he received as part of the Cliff Appreciates program.

Local roots: Dr. Dingeldein is a native of Northeast Ohio, having grown up in Painesville. He and his wife, Leslie, an emergency medicine physician at UH Rainbow, were drawn to returning to the Cleveland area 10 years ago to work at UH Rainbow and be close to family.

After graduating from the University of Cincinnati with his biology degree, Dr. Dingeldein attended medical school at The Ohio State University. His postgraduate training included general surgery residency at Rush University & Cook County Hospital in Chicago, surgical critical care fellowship at Lurie Children’s Hospital, and pediatric surgery fellowship at Oklahoma Children’s Hospital. Dr. Dingeldein said his residency rotations in pediatric surgery quickly persuaded him that pediatric surgery would be his calling.

Motivated to heal: “What drew me and what draws other people to pediatric surgery is that we see congenital problems in kids that we are able to fix, so they can have a healthy life,” he says. “And even 50 years ago, the condition could have been fatal.”

“That is huge – it’s so incredibly satisfying to have that tangible impact on a child and the family.”

To nominate a physician for this honor, you can obtain the form here.