Samir Pandya, MD is a Pediatric General and Thoracic Surgeon at Children’s HealthSM who specializes in minimally invasive surgical techniques.
Dr. Pandya was born and raised in Nairobi, Kenya. He moved to the US for a college education in 1996. He obtained a Bachelor’s of Science in Biomedical Engineering from the University of Miami. He earned his medical degree from the Medical College of Virginia. Dr. Pandya completed surgery training at New York Medical College (NYMC) and then performed his pediatric surgery fellowship training at Emory University in Atlanta.
In 2011, he was recruited back to New York to establish a Minimally Invasive Pediatric Surgery (MIPS) program. The team successfully performed several “surgical firsts” in the region as well as some that were later noted to be “firsts” in the literature. While in NY, Dr. Pandya led the team responsible for the successful separation of conjoined twins in 2017. Dr. Pandya said: “Teamwork, collaboration and preparation were key to success”. Both babies are thriving today. In recognition of his unwavering dedication to surgical education, he was also appointed to be the Associate Program director of the General Surgery residency.
Dr. Pandya was successfully recruited to UT Southwestern and Children’s HealthSM in 2017 as Associate Professor of Surgery. He continues to enhance the minimally invasive pediatric surgery program with an emphasis on performing surgery of all levels of complexity with the smallest number and size of incisions as possible. “Surgical incisions hurt just like injuries and scars grow just like babies do. My goal is to treat the child’s condition in a way that the child and family have no recollection of the procedure: physical, emotional or mental.” In 2020, Dr. Pandya was also on the team that performed the separation of conjoined twins at Children’s HealthSM as well as several EXIT procedures.
Dr. Pandya has been named “Top Doctor” by D Magazine since 2020 and received institutional recognition for his clinical work and continues to mentor students, residents, and fellows. In his current role, he is Professor of Surgery, serves as the Director of clinical research and minimally invasive surgery, and associate program director for the pediatric surgery fellowship program.
He is nationally and internationally recognized as one of the key opinion leaders of advanced minimally invasive pediatric general and thoracic surgery and has a clinical focus on all diseases affecting the esophagus, chest wall, lungs, stomach and intestines.
Dr. Pandya lives in Dallas with his family. When he’s not working, he enjoys skiing, target shooting, football and soccer. #YNWA
