A photo of Rebecca Brown.

Rebeccah L. Brown, MD, FACS, FAAP

  • Associate Director, Trauma Services
  • Director, Pediatric Trauma Fellowship
  • Co-Director, Chest Wall Center
  • Professor, UC Department of Surgery

About

Biography

My clinical specialties are pediatric general surgery, chest wall deformities, pectus excavatum, pectus carinatum, necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC), splenectomy for congenital blood disorders, muscle biopsies, trauma and injury prevention.

I became a physician because I love the joy that comes from helping others. Working with children provides a unique opportunity to make a difference for a lifetime for children and their families. Taking care of children and their families is truly a privilege and one of my greatest joys.

My research interests are chest wall deformities, pectus excavatum, pectus carinatum, trauma and injury prevention. I have been the Cincinnati Children’s site investigator for large multicenter studies investigating the role of partial versus total splenectomy for congenital blood disorders and laparotomy versus peritoneal drainage for NEC. I’m interested in research because I love the challenge of solving important clinical problems that can improve the lives and outcomes for patients.

The current research I do involves evaluating the cardiopulmonary impact of pectus excavatum and bracing for pectus carinatum. I’m also assessing the best approach to splenectomy for congenital blood disorders and determining the best surgical approach for NEC to provide better clinical outcomes.

I am a member of multiple professional organizations, including:

  • American College of Surgeons
  • American Medical Association
  • American Medical Women's Association
  • American College of Surgeons Ohio Chapter
  • Cincinnati Pediatric Society
  • Mont Reid Surgical Society
  • American Pediatric Surgical Association
  • American Academy of Pediatrics Surgical Section and Injury Prevention Section
  • Eastern Association for Surgery and Trauma
  • Pediatric Trauma Society

I am board certified in General Surgery (1998, 2007, 2019) and Pediatric Surgery (2000, 2009, 2020).

MD: University of New Mexico School of Medicine, Albuquerque, NM, 1990.

Residency: General Surgery, University of Cincinnati Hospital, Cincinnati, OH, 1997.

Fellowship: Shriners Burns Institute, Cincinnati, Ohio, 1992-1994; ECMO, Children's Hospital Medical Center, Cincinnati, Ohio, 1993-1994; Pediatric Surgery Fellow, Children's Hospital of Buffalo, Buffalo, NY, 1997-1999.

Certification: Board-certified General Surgery, 1998, 2007; board-certified, Pediatric Surgery, 2000, 2009.

Interests

General pediatric surgery; trauma; injury prevention; minimally invasive surgery; necrotizing enterocolitis; neonatal surgery; minimally invasive surgery; splenectomy for congenital hemolytic anemias; chest wall deformities - pectus excavatum, pectus carinatum, and slipping rib syndrome

Services and Specialties

Colorectal Disorders, Injury Prevention, Surgery - General and Thoracic, Neuromuscular Disorders, Chest Wall

Interests

Pediatric trauma; injury prevention; chest wall deformities

Research Areas

General and Thoracic Surgery

Insurance Information

Cincinnati Children's strives to accept a wide variety of health plans. Please contact your health insurance carrier to verify coverage for your specific benefit plan.

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Publications

The Severity of Pectus Excavatum Defect Is Associated With Impaired Cardiopulmonary Function. Zens, TJ; Casar Berazaluce, AM; Jenkins, TM; Hardie, W; Alsaied, T; Tretter, JT; Moore, R; Foster, K; Fleck, RJ; Hanke, RE; et al. Annals of Thoracic Surgery. 2022; 114:1015-1021.

Design and implementation of a novel patient-centered empowerment approach for pain optimisation in children undergoing major surgery. Chidambaran, V; Simpson, B; Brower, L; Hanke, R; Mecoli, M; Lane, B; Williams, S; McKenna, E; Bates, C; Kraemer, A; et al. BMJ Open Quality. 2022; 11.

Retrospective study comparing outcomes of multimodal epidural and erector spinae catheter pain protocols after pectus surgery. Walter, CM; Lee, CS; Moore, DL; Abbasian, N; Clay, SJ; Mecoli, MD; Olbrecht, VA; Batra, M; Ding, L; Yang, F; et al. Journal of Pediatric Surgery. 2022.

Multimodal continuous ambulatory erector spinae catheter pain protocol for early recovery following Nuss procedure: a retrospective cohort study. Abbasian, N; Clay, SJ; Batra, M; Walter, CM; Olbrecht, VA; Mecoli, M; Lee, CS; Nair, M; Huq, A; Simpson, BE; et al. Regional Anesthesia and Pain Medicine. 2022; 47:421-423.

Are We Ready for Cryoablation in Children Undergoing Nuss Procedures?. Chidambaran, V; Garcia, VF; Brown, RL. Anesthesia and Analgesia. 2022; 134:881-884.

Initial Laparotomy Versus Peritoneal Drainage in Extremely Low Birthweight Infants With Surgical Necrotizing Enterocolitis or Isolated Intestinal Perforation: A Multicenter Randomized Clinical Trial. Blakely, ML; Tyson, JE; Lally, KP; Hintz, SR; Eggleston, B; Stevenson, DK; Besner, GE; Das, A; Ohls, RK; Truog, WE; et al. Annals of Surgery. 2021; 274:e370-e380.

Ventilatory limitations are not associated with dyspnea on exertion or reduced aerobic fitness in pectus excavatum. Hardie, W; Powell, AW; Jenkins, TM; Foster, K; Tretter, JT; Fleck, RJ; Garcia, VF; Brown, RL. Pediatric Pulmonology. 2021; 56:2911-2917.

Pediatric Myocardial T1 and T2 Value Associations with Age and Heart Rate at 1.5 T. Alsaied, T; Tseng, SY; Siddiqui, S; Patel, P; Khoury, PR; Crotty, EJ; Lang, S; Rattan, M; Fleck, R; Pradnekar, A; et al. Pediatric Cardiology. 2021; 42:269-277.

Standardization of clinical care pathway leads to sustained decreased length of stay following Nuss pectus repair: A multidisciplinary quality improvement initiative. Gurria, JP; Simpson, B; Tuncel-Kara, S; Bates, C; McKenna, E; Rogers, T; Kraemer, A; Platt, M; Mecoli, M; Garcia, VF; et al. Journal of Pediatric Surgery. 2020; 55:2690-2698.

The chest wall gender divide: females have better cardiopulmonary function and exercise tolerance despite worse deformity in pectus excavatum. Casar Berazaluce, AM; Jenkins, TM; Garrison, AP; Hardie, WD; Foster, KE; Alsaied, T; Tretter, J; Moore, RA; Fleck, RJ; Garcia, VF; et al. Pediatric Surgery International. 2020; 36:1281-1286.

From the Blog


Should I Worry If My Child’s Chest Is Sunken?
BlogHealthy Living

Should I Worry If My Child’s Chest Is Sunken?

By Rebeccah L. Brown, MD, FACS, FAAP7/27/2021

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