A photo of Rebecca Brown.

Associate Director, Trauma Services

Director, Pediatric Trauma Fellowship

Co-Director, Chest Wall Center

Professor, UC Department of Surgery

513-636-4371

513-636-7657

Board Certified

My Biography & Research

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).

Clinical 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

Research Interests

Pediatric trauma; injury prevention; chest wall deformities

Academic Affiliation

Professor, UC Department of Surgery

Clinical Divisions

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

Research Divisions

General and Thoracic Surgery



Blog Posts

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

My Locations

My Education

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.

My Publications

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.

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. 2021.

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.

Long‐term hematologic and clinical outcomes of splenectomy in children with hereditary spherocytosis and sickle cell disease. Hall, BJ; Reiter, AJ; Englum, BR; Rice, HE; Rothman, JA; Davidoff, AM; Nottage, K; Oldham, KT; Scott, JP; Smithers, CJ; et al. Pediatric Blood and Cancer. 2020; 67.

Small bowel-small bowel intussusception with high grade obstruction due to intramural submucosal ileal hamartoma in a 5-year-old child: A case report. Scorletti, F; Bove, K; Brown, RL. International Journal of Surgery Case Reports. 2019; 61:33-37.

Occult RV systolic dysfunction detected by CMR derived RV circumferential strain in patients with pectus excavatum. Truong, VT; Li, CY; Brown, RL; Moore, RA; Garcia, VF; Crotty, EJ; Taylor, MD; Ngo, TM N; Mazur, W. PLoS ONE. 2017; 12.

Gunshot Wound to Chest with Embolization of Pellet into the Left Ventricle: Case Report of an Airsoft Gun Injury. Gurria, J; Riney, LC; Fain, E; Brown, R; Morales, D. 2017; 1:7-11.

Surgical site infection related to use of elastomeric pumps in pectus excavatum repair. Lessons learned from root cause analysis. Apelt, N; Schaffzin, J; Bates, C; Brown, RL; Mecoli, M; Sadhasivam, S; Garcia, V. Journal of Pediatric Surgery. 2017; 52:1292-1295.