Dr. Erin Rowell is a pediatric surgeon who specializes in the diagnosis and treatment of a wide range of congenital anomalies and acquired diseases in newborns, infants, children and adolescents.
She is a leader in the field of fertility preservation for children and adolescents undergoing treatment or procedures with a high risk of fertility loss. As the Director of the Fertility and Hormone Preservation and Restoration Program at Lurie Children’s, Dr. Rowell leads a multidisciplinary team of clinicians dedicated to fertility preservation in children and adolescents.
She is an investigative leader of the NIH-sponsored study by the National Physicians Cooperative of the Oncofertility Consortium evaluating ovarian tissue cryopreservation in pre- and post-adolescent girls. Dr. Rowell, an expert in minimally invasive surgery for children of all ages, devotes her research time to the study of the surgical techniques of gonad removal in pediatric patients who are undergoing ovarian and testicular cryopreservation procedures.
Dr. Rowell is also committed to the study of ethics in medicine and teaches a course on Surgical Ethics at Northwestern Feinberg School of Medicine.
Dr. Rowell believes that surgical expertise and clinical acumen – while essential in pediatric surgery — are only the foundation. She deems empathy and compassion as two equally vital ingredients in the practice of pediatric medicine. Dr. Rowell believes it is critical to involve the entire family in their child’s care and in the decision-making about treatments—a partnership, she believes not only increases the family’s trust in their physician but also portends better overall outcomes for the patient.
“As a mother, I try to put myself in the place of the parents and understand their questions, concerns and fears, and reassure them that I’ll give their child the same care I would expect for my own children,” Dr. Rowell says. “I think this makes me a more compassionate, more engaged and, ultimately, a better pediatric surgeon.”
Dr. Rowell also believes that the practice of medicine is more than the mere accumulation and application of hard scientific knowledge. Medicine, Dr. Rowell says, is at its core a humanistic discipline. That belief compelled her to study art history and spend time abroad as an art student. Before attending medical school, she earned a degree in art history from Dartmouth College.
Education: Medical University of South Carolina College of Medicine, 2000
Postgraduate Training: Fellowship in pediatric surgery, Children's Memorial Hospital, 2006-2008; Residency in general surgery, Mary Hitchcock Memorial Hospital, Lebanon, NH, 2000-2006
Board Certifications: Pediatric Surgery
Research Interests: Fetal health; minimally invasive surgery; congenital anomalies; prenatal counseling; neoplasms
