Pediatric Surgeons of West MI, P.C.
PEDIATRIC SURGEONS of West Michigan (PSWM) specializes in the comprehensive surgical care of children right here in Grand Rapids. A team of eight pediatric surgeons are highly skilled in the diagnosis and treatment of a wide variety of elective and urgent surgical problems seen in patients from birth to young adulthood.
“The ability to receive state-of-the-art care in your own backyard is a huge advantage,” says Dr. Emily Durkin, M.D., one of the eight specialists on staff at PSWM. “The (Helen DeVos Children’s) hospital, health system, and children’s surgery in general has evolved, along with the other major medical centers in the country. If you look at the training background and degrees of our surgeons, you’ll see that we’ve trained all over the country at prestigious medical centers. We’ve all chosen to practice in Grand Rapids because it’s a great community with an amazing health system.”
PSWM’s board-certified pediatric surgeons are dedicated to providing children and families with the best possible care. They follow a very simple rule: They treat each individual as they would a member of their own family.
Children need to have their parents and family members close by as part of their treatment and support system, Dr. Durkin says. “Parents need to feel comfortable that their child is getting the best care possible, and it all comes together through what we do in our practice,” she adds.
Many times, patients are referred to a surgeon by their primary care physician, and parents don’t even think to ask about the surgeon’s background or experience. “Parents need to ask these questions and find out if they’re sending their child to the best person to be doing (that particular) type of surgery,” Dr. Durkin says. “The advantage of pediatric surgeons is that we’re fully trained general surgeons who have gone on to do an additional two years of training in pediatric surgery.”
PSWM’s physicians take care of a wide range of patients, from premature infants born weeks ahead of their due dates to teenagers — and, in certain cases, young adults. They perform surgeries for everything from hernias and appendectomies to more complex operations for certain cancers or bowel diseases. They also work closely with other medical and surgical specialists to coordinate the best care for patients, allowing them to “not only get state-of-the-art surgical care, but also state-of-the-art care in all pediatric specialties,” Dr. Durkin says.
PRACTICE PHYSICIANS:
Marc G. Schlatter, MD Board Certified Pediatric Surgeon
Neal D. Uitvlugt, MD Board Certified Pediatric Surgeon
James M. DeCou, MD Board Certified Pediatric Surgeon
Emily T. Durkin, MD Board Certified Pediatric Surgeon
John (Jack) G. Schneider, MD Board Certified Pediatric Surgeon
Daniel J. Watkins, MD Board Eligible Pediatric Surgeon
Elliot C. Pennington, MD Board Eligible Pediatric Surgeon
