A photo of Jose Peiro.

Jose L. Peiro, MD, PhD


  • Endoscopic Fetal Surgery Director, Fetal Care Center
  • Pediatric Surgeon, Division of General and Thoracic Surgery
  • Professor, UC Department of Surgery
My patients receive the same treatment and personal care I would want for myself or my family.
Jose L. Peiro, MD, PhD

About

Biography

I am a pediatric surgeon specializing in neonatal and fetal malformations. I provide standardized surgeries and innovative, leading-edge therapies to pediatric and fetal patients.

My philosophy and approach to care is based on my medical background and training. When I work with patients and families, I explain and clarify the basis and features of the condition and provide a rationale for treatment.

As the endoscopic fetal surgery director at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, I try to be comprehensive and calm any fears and concerns.

My patients receive the same treatment and personal care I would want for myself or my family. I spent many years of my life acquiring precious medical knowledge and experience through medical school, residency, specialty training and my surgical practice. I attended many courses and conferences and learned from many mentors. I completed all of this so that I could provide the best possible care to my patients.

I believe that I have a moral obligation to share my experience with the new, younger generation. I teach and educate medical students and fellows to continue knowledge transfer in my field. I want to contribute a new treatment or discovery through research that will improve care for my patients.

Just after finishing medical school, I learned that working with children is different and amazing. They’re delicate and fragile, and yet surprisingly strong, resilient and equipped with a large capacity for recovery. Pediatric surgery allows me to treat many conditions located throughout the body.

With a focus in neonatal surgery, I’ve treated children with congenital malformations. A pregnant mom I consulted decided to interrupt her pregnancy because her son was diagnosed with a complete cleft-lip palate. She was born with the same condition and didn’t want her son to suffer as she did. I told her that surgical advances were superior, and kids can do better, but she was firm on her decision.

This experience inspired me to find ways to intervene earlier and provide care for babies with congenital malformations before birth. The fetus is my patient, too, and I discovered fetal surgery was evolving into a new medical field. I immersed myself in prenatal intervention. I trained for it, started a pioneer program in Europe and built a research lab.

My research focuses on understanding the physiopathologic mechanisms of pediatric and fetal congenital malformations and finding solutions or therapeutic strategies to improve current treatments. To achieve these goals, I use basic and translational research. I study myelomeningocele (spina bifida) and congenital diaphragmatic hernia (CDH). My other research interests include fetal cleft lip-palate, amniotic bands, gastroschisis, cell therapy and tissue engineering. I developed several animal models for intrauterine correction of different fetal conditions. My lab work focuses on promoting translational research for use in people.

I am honored to have pioneered a fetal surgery program in Europe that started in 2002 and includes clinical practice and research — which also afforded me a letter of recognition from the Minister of Health. I moved to Cincinnati Children’s to lead the fetal surgery program and introduce innovative therapies. I also enjoy mentoring new and growing fetal surgery programs worldwide.

When I’m not working, I dedicate much of my time to my family. We play sports together, watch movies and travel to remote places around the globe. I was a rugby player for many years. Now, I try to stay in shape by running and playing soccer.

MD: Medical School at Universidad Autonoma de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain, 1989.

MBA: Health and Hospital Management, Universitat Oberta de Catalunya (UOC), Barcelona, Spain, 2010-2012.

Residency: Pediatric Surgery, Hospital Vall Hebron (UAB), Barcelona, Spain, 1991-1995.

Observership: Fetal Surgery, The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA, 2001.

Interests

Neonatal surgery; fetal surgery, pediatric surgery

Services and Specialties

Colorectal Disorders, Surgery - General and Thoracic, Fetal Care, Congenital Diaphragmatic Hernia

Interests

Myelomeningocele intrauterine repair; fetal tracheal occlusion for CDH

Research Areas

General and Thoracic Surgery

Additional Languages

French, Portuguese, Spanish

Insurance Information

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Publications

Selected

Optimization of Pulmonary Vasculature Tridimensional Phenotyping in The Rat Fetus. Aydin, E; Levy, B; Oria, M; Nachabe, H; Lim, F; Peiro, JL. Scientific Reports. 2019; 9:1244.

Selected

Error traps in fetal surgery. Peiro, JL; Crombleholme, TM. Seminars in Pediatric Surgery. 2019; 28:143-150.

Selected

[Prenatal surgery for spina bifida]. Peiró Ibáñez, JL. Cirugia pediatrica : organo oficial de la Sociedad Espanola de Cirugia Pediatrica. 2019; 32:53-62.

Selected

Congenital diaphragmatic hernia: the good, the bad, and the tough. Aydin, E; Lim, F; Kingma, P; Haberman, B; Rymeski, B; Burns, P; Peiro, JL. Pediatric Surgery International. 2019; 35:303-313.

Selected

Using poly(l-lactic acid) and poly(ɛ-caprolactone) blends to fabricate self-expanding, watertight and biodegradable surgical patches for potential fetoscopic myelomeningocele repair. Tatu, R; Oria, M; Pulliam, S; Signey, L; Rao, MB; Peiro, JL; Lin, C. Journal of Biomedical Materials Research. Part B: Applied Biomaterials. 2019; 107:295-305.

Selected

CD200-CD200R imbalance correlates with microglia and pro-inflammatory activation in rat spinal cords exposed to amniotic fluid in retinoic acid-induced spina bifida. Oria, M; Figueira, RL; Scorletti, F; Sbragia, L; Owens, K; Li, Z; Pathak, B; Corona, MU; Marotta, M; Encinas, JL; Peiro, JL. Scientific Reports. 2018; 8:10638.

Selected

Proteomic profiling of tracheal fluid in an ovine model of congenital diaphragmatic hernia and fetal tracheal occlusion. Peiro, JL; Oria, M; Aydin, E; Joshi, R; Cabanas, N; Schmidt, R; Schroeder, C; Marotta, M; Varisco, BM. American Journal of Physiology: Lung Cellular and Molecular Physiology. 2018; 315:L1028-L1041.

Selected

Fetal tracheal occlusion in mice: a novel transuterine method. Aydin, E; Joshi, R; Oria, M; Varisco, BM; Lim, F; Peiro, JL. Journal of Surgical Research. 2018; 229:311-315.

Selected

Isolation, characterization, and differentiation of multipotent neural progenitor cells from human cerebrospinal fluid in fetal cystic myelomeningocele. Marotta, M; Fernandez-Martin, A; Oria, M; Fontecha, CG; Gine, C; Martinez-Ibanez, V; Carreras, E; Belfort, MA; Pelizzo, G; Peiro, JL. Stem Cell Research. 2017; 22:33-42.

Selected

Management of fetal teratomas. Peiro, JL; Sbragia, L; Scorletti, F; Lim, FY; Shaaban, A. Pediatric Surgery International. 2016; 32:635-647.

From the Blog

Novel Smart Patch for Fetoscopic Myelomeningocele Repair
Surgical Science

Novel Smart Patch for Fetoscopic Myelomeningocele Repair

Jose L. Peiro, MD2/16/2021

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4.6
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