On Friday, Dec. 19, 2025, Benjamin Judson, MD, MGA, MA, MBA, Charles W. Ohse Professor and chair of the Department of Surgery, shared the announcement below with the Yale surgery community.
Announcement
Michael G. Caty, MD, MMM, Robert Pritzker Professor of Surgery and Yale Pediatric Surgery Chief, to Retire
To the Department of Surgery and YNHCH Communities:
We write to share that Michael G. Caty, MD, MMM, Robert Pritzker Professor of Surgery; chief of the Division of Pediatric Surgery at Yale School of Medicine (YSM); and surgeon-in-chief of Yale New Haven Children’s Hospital (YNHCH), is retiring from his leadership roles after more than 13 years of dedicated service. Effective Jan. 1, 2026, Robert Cowles, MD, will assume these roles in an interim capacity, and a national search for a permanent successor will launch in the coming weeks.
Dr. Caty joined Yale in 2012, bringing with him a distinguished record as a nationally recognized pediatric surgeon and academic leader. He has held numerous critical leadership roles throughout his tenure, including service as interim chair of the Department of Surgery, interim surgeon-in-chief of Yale New Haven Hospital (YNHH), and medical staff president (2020–2024). In each position, he provided steady and collaborative leadership, strengthened operational and clinical integration, and advanced our mission as an academic medical center through thoughtful strategic planning and institutional service.
Throughout his tenure, Dr. Caty has led transformative expansions in pediatric surgical care. Under his leadership, the Division of Pediatric Surgery broadened its clinical footprint across the region, strengthened multidisciplinary care pathways, and enhanced access to high-quality, family-centered surgical services. He advanced surgical quality and patient-safety initiatives that have contributed to YNHCH’s growing national reputation and improved outcomes for children. His commitment to collaboration—across surgical, pediatric, nursing, administrative, and hospital teams—helped position the Children’s Hospital as a model of integrated pediatric care. During his tenure as surgeon-in-chief of YNHCH he expanded the pediatric surgical faculty from thirteen to forty-one surgeons. This recruitment resulted in a 300% growth in ambulatory pediatric surgery visits and a growth in surgical volume of 150%.
An accomplished academic surgeon, Dr. Caty has made enduring contributions to Yale’s research and educational missions. His scholarship includes more than 140 peer-reviewed publications, 40 book chapters, 12 visiting professorships, and over 70 keynote and invited national presentations. He has received extramural research funding from the National Institutes of Health, the American Pediatric Surgery Association, the Boeing Foundation, and other institutions. Among his many honors, he received the David J. Lefell, M.D. Prize in 2022 for Clinical Excellence, one of YSM’s most prestigious recognitions for outstanding patient care, and the 2024 Arnold M. Salzberg Mentorship Award from the Surgical Section of the American Academy of Pediatrics, one of the field’s highest national mentorship honors.
As an expert clinician and master surgeon, Dr. Caty led teams in taking on some of the most challenging surgical problems in pediatric surgery, including aortic replacement in a newborn, tracheal reconstruction for tracheal stenosis, repair of cloacal exstrophy, and complex reconstruction of chest wall deformities.
A dedicated educator and mentor, Dr. Caty has shaped generations of pediatric surgeons, residents, fellows, and junior faculty. During his career he trained twenty-eight pediatric surgical fellows. His thoughtful leadership and unwavering commitment to teaching have elevated the culture of mentorship and professional development across YSM and YNHHS, where he has been a trusted partner, collaborator, and advocate for excellence in pediatric care.
Prior to joining Yale, Dr. Caty served in leadership roles at the University at Buffalo and Women & Children’s Hospital of Buffalo. He earned his undergraduate degree at Boston College, and medical degree at the University of Massachusetts, completed his surgical residency at University of Michigan and fellowship training at Harvard Medical School and Boston Children’s Hospital. He has a Master of Arts degree from Yale University and Master of Medical Management Degree from Carnegie Mellon University.
In the coming months, we will work closely with Dr. Caty and Dr. Cowles to ensure a smooth leadership transition. A national search for a permanent successor launched in early December, led by Daniel Boffa, MD, who will chair the search committee.
Please join us in celebrating Dr. Caty’s remarkable career and in thanking him for his leadership, his numerous contributions to Yale and YNHHS, and his deep commitment to advancing pediatric surgery and improving care for children and families.
Sincerely,
Benjamin Judson, MD, MGA, MA, MBA
Charles W. Ohse Professor
Chair, Department of Surgery
Surgeon-in-Chief, Yale New Haven Health
Beth Heinz, MHA, MSW
Senior Vice President, Women's and Children's Services
Yale New Haven Health