A photo of Juan Gurria.

Juan Pablo Gurria, MD, MSc


  • Pediatric Surgeon, Division of Pediatric General and Thoracic Surgery
  • Director, Surgical Critical Care, Division of Pediatric General and Thoracic Surgery
  • Surgical Director, Pancreas Care Center
  • Assistant Professor, UC Department of Surgery
  • Mayo Clinic School of Medicine and Science
I learned how to listen, examine and understand patients and families, which made me able to guide them throughout their disease and treatment journey. My goal is always to see the patients walk out of the hospital with a smile.
Juan Pablo Gurria, MD, MSc

About

Biography

As a physician, I specialize in surgical critical care including trauma and extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO). My subspecialty surgical expertise includes the comprehensive surgical and multidisciplinary care of patients with neuroblastoma tumors, pancreatic surgery including tumors and patients with acute and chronic pancreatitis requiring total pancreatectomy with islet auto transplantation (TPIAT), congenital hyperinsulinism (CHI) and minimally invasive robotic surgery.

I was inspired by a family member who is a doctor and who I’ve always admired for his well-rounded approach to healthcare. I was immediately connected with the surgical care of diseases since medical school. When I started working with children, I realized they have nothing to do with their conditions, and I could offer them many years of improved quality of life through surgical care.

I was born and raised in Mexico. I trained in amazing hospitals with limited resources, which led me to excel at bedside care. I learned how to listen, examine and understand patients and families, which made me able to guide them throughout their disease and treatment journey. My goal is always to see the patients walk out of the hospital with a smile.

Having trained in Mexico, Spain and the US, I'm fluent in English and Spanish. I understand different international healthcare systems and have worked at various children's hospitals within the US. I hold triple-board certification in General Surgery, Surgical Critical Care and Pediatric Surgery, with additional training in Pediatric Trauma Surgery and ECMO. I also provide care through a multidisciplinary approach with the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU), the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) and the Emergency Department for the sickest patients in the hospital who have undergone, or will require, surgical interventions to improve outcomes.

I have been appointed director of surgical critical care as a foundation for creating an Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME)-accredited fellowship. I’ve always been interested in the care of oncology patients and through a Neuroblastoma Center for Excellence, I provide care to these patients along with a world-renown surgical and oncology team.

Patients with acute and chronic pancreatitis and congenital hyperinsulinism suffer early in their lives with a disease that lasts a long time. As a surgical leader of the Comprehensive Pancreas Center of Excellence team, I coordinate care of these patients along with my medical colleagues, so our patients have the best outcomes. TPIAT has revolutionized the care of pancreatitis in young and adolescent patients.

My clinical research focuses on improving trauma outcomes and helping children victims of physical abuse, neuroblastoma and pancreas care research. Through a partnership with the Cincinnati Reds, I formed an action team to provide injury prevention education and give away helmets for children with limited resources.

I obtained a Master of Science degree in clinical and translational research through the University of Cincinnati, which has helped me develop research projects to provide patients with the best available and up-to-date care.

I balance my life through sports and have been a baseball and soccer player all my life. While still a medical student, I was the sole medical practitioner in a Mexican community of 2,500 people treating everything – even what's not described in medical books.

MD: Universidad Anáhuac México.

Residency: University of Miami / Jackson Memorial Hospital.

Residency: University of Illinois College of Medicine, Peoria, IL. Board Certified in General Surgery.

Fellowship: Pediatric Trauma Surgery, Cincinnati Children's, Cincinnati, OH.

Master of Science: Clinical and Translational Research, University of Cincinnati School of Medicine, Cincinnati, OH.

Fellowship: Surgical Critical Care, Nationwide Children's Hospital / Ohio State University, Columbus, OH. Board Certified in Surgical Critical Care.

Fellowship: Phoenix Children's Hospital / Mayo Clinic School of Medicine and Science, Pheonix, AZ. Board certified in Pediatric Surgery. 

Interests

Surgical critical care and trauma; ECMO; neuroblastoma; pancreas surgery; minimally invasive robotic surgery

Services and Specialties

Surgery - General and Thoracic, Pancreas Care Center, Pancreas Care

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.

View Insurance Information

Publications

Meningitis secondary to rectothecal fistula associated with congenital anterior meningocele. Larson, K; Gurria, JP; Ronecker, JS; Stottlemyre, R; Notrica, DM. Journal of Pediatric Surgery Case Reports. 2022; 84:102343.

Use of transvenous biopsy of tumor thrombus for the diagnosis of Wilms tumor. Lai, K; Wilson, T; Gurria, JP; Willard, S; Carpentieri, D; Padilla, BE. Journal of Pediatric Surgery Case Reports. 2022; 82:102301.

Pediatric Critical Care. Gurria, JP; Egan, JC. Surgical Critical Care and Emergency Surgery. : Wiley; Wiley; 2022.

Interventional endoscopy for abdominal transplant patients. Lin, TK; Abu-El-Haija, M; Gurria, JP; Saad, M; Vitale, DS. Seminars in Pediatric Surgery. 2022; 31:151190.

Pneumatosis intestinalis after hematopoietic stem cell transplantation: When not doing anything is good enough. Wallace, G; Rosen, N; Towbin, AJ; Jodele, S; Myers, KC; Davies, SM; Flannery, A; Gurria, JP. Journal of Pediatric Surgery. 2021; 56:2073-2077.

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; Brown, RL. Journal of Pediatric Surgery. 2020; 55:2690-2698.

Minimally invasive surgery for abdominal and thoracic neuroblastic tumors: A systematic review by the APSA Cancer committee. Gurria, JP; Malek, MM; Heaton, TE; Gehred, A; Lautz, TB; Rhee, DS; Tracy, ET; Grant, CN; Baertshiger, RM; Bruny, J; Christison-Lagay, ER; Rodeberg, DA; Ehrlich, PF; Dasgupta, R; Aldrink, JH. Journal of Pediatric Surgery. 2020; 55:2260-2272.

Topical sirolimus for the treatment of cutaneous manifestations of vascular anomalies: A case series. Badia, P; Ricci, K; Gurria, JP; Dasgupta, R; Patel, M; Hammill, A. Pediatric Blood and Cancer. 2020; 67:e28088.

Patient Ratings and Comments

All patient satisfaction ratings and comments are submitted by actual patients and verified by a leading independent patient satisfaction company, NRC Health. Patient identities are withheld to ensure confidentiality and privacy. Only those providers whose satisfaction surveys are administered through Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center are displayed. Click here to learn more about our survey

4.6
Overall Patient Rating