Michael Caty, MD, MMM
Robert Pritzker Professor of Surgery (Pediatrics) and Professor of PediatricsCards
About
Titles
Robert Pritzker Professor of Surgery (Pediatrics) and Professor of Pediatrics
Chief, Pediatric Surgery; Surgeon-in-Chief, Yale New Haven Children's Hospital
Biography
Michael G. Caty, MD, MMM, is the Robert Pritzker Professor of Surgery and Chief of the Section of Pediatric Surgery in the Department of Surgery. He also serves as the Surgeon-in-Chief of the Yale-New Haven Children’s Hospital. Board certified in pediatric surgery, Dr. Caty’s clinical interests include neonatal surgery, thoracic surgery, intestinal motility disorders, pediatric surgical oncology, pediatric laparoscopy, and minimally invasive thoracic surgery.
Yale welcomed Dr. Caty in January 2012 after he spent 17 years at the Children’s Hospital of Buffalo, where he was the John E. Fisher Endowed Chair of Pediatric Surgery, Chief of the Division of Pediatric Surgery, Surgeon-in-Chief, and Program Director for Pediatric Surgery. He was the driving physician leader for the planning and development of moving both the inpatient and outpatient services of the Women and Children's Hospital of Buffalo to the Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus. While in Buffalo, he also served as Professor of Surgery and Pediatrics at the University of Buffalo School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences.
Dr. Caty attended Boston College and graduated from the University of Massachusetts Medical School. He underwent his general surgery and research training at the University of Michigan, where he served as administrative chief resident and pursued a research fellowship investigating intestinal injury during ischemia and reperfusion. He finished his pediatric surgery residency at Children’s Hospital of Boston and Harvard Medical School, where he served as chief resident. He obtained a master’s degree in Medical Management in the Heinz School of Public Health at Carnegie Mellon University in 2010.
Dr. Caty is a member of the American College of Surgeons, American Pediatric Surgical Association, American Academy of Pediatrics, Association for Academic Surgery, and the American Surgical Association.
For eight years, Dr. Caty has been named on The Best Doctors in America® List, which represents the top 5 percent of doctors in the country. In 2012 and 2013, Dr. Caty was named among New York Magazine’s best doctors list. In 2009, he received the Kaleida Health Spirit Award, and in 2005 Dr. Caty was awarded the Promising Inventor Award from The Research Foundation of the State University of New York at Buffalo.
Dr. Caty has contributed over 130 articles and chapters to pediatric surgical literature and is the editor of the multi-author textbook, Complications in Pediatric Surgery. He has been involved in the leadership of several pediatric surgical societies, including serving as President of the Pediatric Surgery Biology Club, Chair of the Organization of Children’s Hospital Surgeons-in-Chief, and Chair of the Surgical Section of the American Academy of Pediatrics.
Appointments
Pediatric Surgery
Section ChiefDualPediatric Surgery
ProfessorPrimary
Other Departments & Organizations
- Fetal Care Center
- General Pediatric & Thoracic Surgery
- Inflammatory Bowel Disease Program
- Pediatric Aerodigestive Disorders Program
- Pediatric Aerodigestive Program
- Pediatric Inflammatory Bowel Disease Program
- Pediatric Inflammatory Bowel Disease Surgery Program
- Pediatric Surgery
- Pediatric Surgery
- Pediatric Trauma Surgery Program
- Surgery
- Yale Medicine
- Yale Ventures
Education & Training
- MMM
- Carnegie Mellon Univ (2010)
- Fellowship
- Boston Children's Hospital (1993)
- Residency
- University of Michigan Hospitals (1991)
- MD
- University of Massachusetts (1985)
- BS
- Boston College (1981)
Research
Publications
2024
Massive thymic hyperplasia in a toddler masquerading as a loculated pleural effusion: A case report
Zolfaghari E, Shaughnessy M, Wu H, Caty M, Christison-Lagay E, Hornick M. Massive thymic hyperplasia in a toddler masquerading as a loculated pleural effusion: A case report. Journal Of Pediatric Surgery Case Reports 2024, 110: 102885. DOI: 10.1016/j.epsc.2024.102885.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchMassive thymic hyperplasiaChest X-rayThymic hyperplasiaCase reportComputed tomographyDifferential diagnosis of pediatric patientsSurveillance chest x-raysDiagnosis of pediatric patientsTrue thymic hyperplasiaRecurrent respiratory distressPost-operative coursePercutaneous core biopsyLoculated pleural effusionHistory of multiple admissionsPersistent respiratory symptomsSurgical resectionCore biopsyParapneumonic effusionPediatric patientsAbnormal findingsPleural effusionRight thoracotomyRare conditionRight hemithoraxSuspected pneumonia
2023
Combined Repair of Coarctation of the Aorta and Long-Segment Tracheal Stenosis in a Neonate
Lee M, Maurrasse S, Boules H, Faherty E, Weinstock M, Caty M. Combined Repair of Coarctation of the Aorta and Long-Segment Tracheal Stenosis in a Neonate. Annals Of Thoracic Surgery Short Reports 2023, 1: 666-669. DOI: 10.1016/j.atssr.2023.06.015.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchTracheal stenosisLong-segment tracheal stenosisThorough airway evaluationSevere tracheal stenosisPulmonary artery slingSuccessful surgical treatmentComplete tracheal ringsDetailed preoperative planningAirway evaluationCoarctation repairAirway diseaseSurgical treatmentAirway repairRare entityCombined repairIncidental discoveryCongenital cardiacNewborn casesMultidisciplinary coordinationTracheal ringsPreoperative planningCoarctationStenosisAnesthesia specialtyAorta
2022
How I Learned is How I Teach – Perspectives on How Faculty Surgeons Approach Informed Consent Education
White EM, Esposito AC, Kurbatov V, Wang X, Caty MG, Laurans M, Yoo PS. How I Learned is How I Teach – Perspectives on How Faculty Surgeons Approach Informed Consent Education. Journal Of Surgical Education 2022, 79: e181-e193. PMID: 36253332, DOI: 10.1016/j.jsurg.2022.09.001.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchConceptsInformed consentDepartment of SurgeryHealth care systemKruskal-Wallis testingTeaching hospitalCritical careGeneral surgeonsClinical practiceSurgeon demographicsCare systemSurgeonsChi-squarePrivate practiceResident competencySignificant heterogeneityPatientsFaculty surgeonsAttendingsConsentClinical facultyDemographicsSpecialtiesExperiences residentsResidentsHigh levelsEstablishing an Association between Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome and Pilonidal Disease in Adolescent Females
Adjei NN, Yung N, Towers G, Caty M, Solomon D, Vash-Margita A. Establishing an Association between Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome and Pilonidal Disease in Adolescent Females. Journal Of Pediatric And Adolescent Gynecology 2022, 36: 39-44. PMID: 35995086, DOI: 10.1016/j.jpag.2022.08.005.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchConceptsPolycystic ovarian syndromePilonidal diseaseBody mass indexAdolescent femalesRotterdam criteriaOvarian syndromeMass indexHospital participantsFeatures of PCOSTreatment of PCOSRetrospective cohort study SETTINGUrban tertiary medical centerHigher body mass indexCohort study SETTINGTertiary medical centerAdolescent medicine specialistsRace/ethnicityDisease courseMetabolic syndromePayer statusSerum markersPrevalence ratiosMedical CenterTobacco useMedicine specialists
2021
91. Association of Pilonidal Disease with Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome in Adolescent Females
Adjei N, Yung N, Towers G, Caty M, Solomon D, Vash-Margita A. 91. Association of Pilonidal Disease with Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome in Adolescent Females. Journal Of Pediatric And Adolescent Gynecology 2021, 34: 275-276. DOI: 10.1016/j.jpag.2021.02.095.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchTreatment of PCOSPolycystic ovarian syndromePilonidal diseaseTertiary medical centerOvarian syndromeMetabolic syndromePayer statusMedical CenterDiagnosis of PCOSBackground Polycystic ovarian syndromeUrban tertiary medical centerMultiple logistic regression resultsOdds of patientsRetrospective chart reviewSimilar risk factorsQuality of lifeRisk of interventionT-testChi-squared testInstitutional review boardStudent's t-testRace/ethnicityChart reviewPatient ageSerum markersAdrenal Tumors
Model L, Caty M, Christison-Lagay E. Adrenal Tumors. 2021, 1073-1088. DOI: 10.1007/978-3-662-43559-5_157.Chapters50 Appendicitis
Caty M, Grisotti G. 50 Appendicitis. 2021, 541-547.e2. DOI: 10.1016/b978-0-323-67293-1.00050-5.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchYears of ageCommon surgical conditionsLifetime riskSurgical conditionsHealth care providersAcute appendicitisPatients 10Appendiceal perforationPossible appendicitisPediatric populationPerforation rateCare providersHigh incidenceAppendicitisPatientsAgeChildrenAdultsRiskMalesFemalesYearsAppendectomyComplicationsIncidence
2020
Adrenal Tumors
Model L, Caty M, Christison-Lagay E. Adrenal Tumors. 2020, 1-16. DOI: 10.1007/978-3-642-38482-0_157-1.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchOutcomes following adoption of a standardized protocol for abscess drain management in pediatric appendicitis
Eysenbach LM, Caty MG, Christison-Lagay ER, Cowles RA, Dillon B, Goodman TR, Ozgediz DE, Stitelman DH, Solomon DG. Outcomes following adoption of a standardized protocol for abscess drain management in pediatric appendicitis. Journal Of Pediatric Surgery 2020, 56: 43-46. PMID: 33143877, DOI: 10.1016/j.jpedsurg.2020.09.050.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchConceptsPediatric appendicitisClinical outcomesStandardized protocolImaging studiesTertiary care children's hospitalEvidence-based clinical pathwayAlternative imaging studyIR proceduresManagement of abscessesRetrospective chart reviewCases of appendicitisPercutaneous abscess drainageInterventional radiologic proceduresDiagnostic imaging studiesComplicated appendicitisBaseline demographicsChart reviewClinical factorsAbscess drainageClinical presentationDrain outputChildren's HospitalDrain daysClinical pathwayAnesthetic administrationNational Survey of Pediatric Intestinal Rehabilitation Programs in the United States
Park CJ, Shaughnessy MP, Zhang L, Armenia SJ, Caty MG, Cowles RA. National Survey of Pediatric Intestinal Rehabilitation Programs in the United States. Journal Of Parenteral And Enteral Nutrition 2020, 45: 1249-1258. PMID: 32797633, DOI: 10.1002/jpen.1997.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchConceptsPediatric intestinal rehabilitation programIntestinal rehabilitation programPIR programRehabilitation programChildren's Hospital AssociationHospital AssociationQualtrics online survey softwareIntestinal failureReferral centerPrimary carePatient outcomesImproved outcomesNutrition servicesResponse rateOnline survey softwareSurgeryMajority of programsGastroenterologyNursingFurther studiesNational surveySocial work supportSurvey softwareDedicated timeOutcomes
Academic Achievements & Community Involvement
Clinical Care
Overview
Pediatric surgeon Michael G. Caty, MD, understands how frightening it is for parents when their children need surgery. “It’s the most terrifying moment of their lives,” says Dr. Caty.
When talking with nervous parents, the first thing Dr. Caty does is acknowledge their feelings. “I then try to spend a lot of time explaining what I think is going on with their child, and we discuss strategies,” he says. “I assure them that we are in this together.”
Also chief of Pediatric Surgery at Yale Medicine, Dr. Caty is particularly interested in surgery of the trachea and esophagus and reconstruction of complex ano-rectal malformations. “I love the complexity, technicality and challenge of these types of pediatric surgery,” he says. “I became a surgeon because I like that we can intervene and have an immediate impact on a patient’s health. And I’ve always loved children and working with families.”
A father of three, Dr. Caty calls it an “incredible privilege and responsibility” to care for a child—and in many ways, the entire family. “I equally enjoy surgery and seeing patients and families,” says Dr. Caty, who is surgeon-in-chief at Yale New Children’s Hospital. “I love to operate all day long. It’s the most compelling, challenging, and enjoyable thing I can imagine.”
In addition to his clinical and leadership roles, Dr. Caty is a professor of surgery (pediatrics) and of pediatrics at Yale School of Medicine. He has also been repeatedly named to the “Best Doctors in America” list, which represents the top 5 percent of doctors in the country.
Clinical Specialties
Fact Sheets
Pediatric Crohn's Disease
Learn More on Yale MedicinePediatric Ulcerative Colitis
Learn More on Yale MedicinePyloric Stenosis
Learn More on Yale MedicinePediatric Cancer Surgery
Learn More on Yale Medicine
Board Certifications
Pediatric Surgery
- Certification Organization
- AB of Surgery
- Latest Certification Date
- 2013
- Original Certification Date
- 1994
Surgery General
- Certification Organization
- AB of Surgery
- Latest Certification Date
- 2019
- Original Certification Date
- 1992
Yale Medicine News
News & Links
News
- December 12, 2024
American Academy of Pediatrics Honors Dr. Michael Caty
- May 02, 2024
Yale Surgeons Recognized by Connecticut Magazine's 2024 “Top Doctors” List
- February 05, 2024
Surgical Education Solutions: Grant Recipients Announced
- November 29, 2023
Department of Surgery Chiefs Find Their Celebrity Doppelganger