Memorial Sloan Kettering pediatric surgeon J. Ted Gerstle

J. Ted Gerstle, MD

Pediatric Surgeon

Areas of Expertise

Conditions I Treat

  • Pediatric cancers
  • Wilms' tumor (nephroblastoma)
  • Neuroblastoma

My Specialties

  • Laparoscopy
  • High-intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU)
  • Thoracoscopy
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Dr. Gerstle's Office Information
Languages: English
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Get to Know Me

I am a pediatric surgeon and Chief of the Pediatric Surgical Service at Memorial Sloan Kettering. I have dedicated my life to caring for children, particularly those with cancer. I take care of children and teens with many types of tumors and cancers, performing about 200 surgeries each year as part of the MSK Kids team.

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I have been a pediatric surgeon for nearly two decades. In those years, I have refined new surgical methods for various cancers. I prefer a team approach in the operating room. Working with a group of highly skilled surgeons, anesthesiologists, nurses, and other experts enables us to achieve the best possible outcomes. The pediatric surgery team at MSK is developing new surgical approaches to patient care and patient safety. These include procedures that involve smaller incisions, less pain, higher precision, and less risk of potential complications. Our goal and focus is to make these changes in surgical procedures without compromising outcomes and overall survival.

I am very excited to continue my research on a treatment called high-intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU). This noninvasive procedure uses finely focused sound waves to pinpoint a tumor and destroy it. My lab is currently exploring ways to combine HIFU with other therapies to enhance its ability to kill tumor cells. HIFU has the potential to be a treatment option for children with tumors that cannot be removed through surgery. My hope is that in time, fewer children will need surgery. HIFU could reduce the incidence of surgical complications and improve overall survival, especially for children with cancer that has returned.

When I meet a child with cancer, I explain the situation as clearly as possible and talk about how we are going to handle it. Families deserve a considerable amount of time to digest all the new information coming their way. I am happy to speak with them as much as needed so everyone understands the plan and feels confident about it. When a child is old enough to understand what is going on, it is important to involve them in the decision-making as much as possible.

I recognize the tremendous level of trust that families place in us. It is very important to me that everyone feels comfortable and that they know they are in the best of hands.

What I Do at MSK

I'm a pediatric surgeon, which is a doctor with special training in surgery on fetuses, infants, children, and adolescents.

  • Chief, Pediatric Surgical Service
Areas of Expertise

Conditions I Treat

  • Pediatric cancers
  • Wilms' tumor (nephroblastoma)
  • Neuroblastoma
  • Pediatric rhabdomyosarcomas
  • Germ cell tumors
  • Pediatric sarcomas
  • Adrenocortical carcinoma
  • Pheochromocytoma
  • Melanoma

My Specialties

  • Laparoscopy
  • High-intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU)
  • Thoracoscopy
Education & Honors

Education

  • MD, Dartmouth Medical School

Residencies

  • General Surgery – Pennsylvania State University

Fellowships

  • Pediatric General Surgery – University of Toronto, The Hospital for Sick Children

Board Certifications

  • Surgery (USA and Canada)
  • Pediatric Surgery

Awards and Honors

  • Chief Surgical Residents’ Award for the Best Teacher, Division of General and Thoracic Surgery, Department of Surgery, Faculty of Medicine, The Hospital for Sick Children, University of Toronto, Canada (2018)

Insurance Information

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Don't see your carrier or plan? We can help you understand your coverage.

If you don't have health insurance or are worried that your care may not be fully covered, our financial assistance programs may be able to help.

If you have questions about insurance, call us at 646-497-9176.

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Contact and Location

Dr. Gerstle sees patients at one location.

Office Phone
Location
New York, NY
Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center
1275 York Avenue New York NY 10065
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Colleagues

Doctors at Memorial Sloan Kettering work as teams, with specialists from all different areas. This allows us to consider all your needs together, and to give you the best possible care.

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See all Pediatric Surgical Service doctors

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Clinical Trials

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Find a Clinical Trial for You

Memorial Sloan Kettering's doctors and scientists are constantly developing new treatments for cancer. MSK is typically running hundreds of clinical trials at a given time.

You may be able to participate in a clinical trial even if you are new to MSK. Search our online directory to find trial information and see more about who can participate.

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Research and Publications

Fahy A, Roberts A, Nasr A, Irwin M, Gerstle JT. Long term outcomes after concurrent ipsilateral nephrectomy versus kidney-sparing surgery for high-risk, intraabdominal neuroblastoma. Accepted for publication in the Journal of Pediatric Surgery. 2018.

Dziegielewski C, Contreras R, Weitzman S, Gerstle JT. Pediatric gastrointestinal post-transplant lymphoproliferative disorder: incidence, clinical features, and impact of surgical intervention on overall survival. Accepted for publication in the Journal of Pediatric Hematology and Oncology. 2018.

Fonseca A, Shaikh F, Ramphal R, Ng V, McGilvray I, Gerstle JT. Extreme hepatic resections for the treatment of advanced hepatoblastoma: are planned close margins an acceptable approach? Pediatr Blood Cancer. 2018 Feb; 65(2).

Kkolin D, Duan K, Ngan B, Gerstle JT, Kryzkanoska M, Somers G, Mete O. Expanding the spectrum of colonic manifestations in tuberous sclerosis: L-cell neuroendocrine tumor arising in the background of rectal pecoma. Endocrine Pathology. 2017 Jul 21.

Romao RL, Weber B, Gerstle JT, Grant R, Pippi Salle JL, Bägli DJ, Figueroa VH, Braga LH, Farhat WA, Koyle MA, Lorenzo AJ. Comparison between laparoscopic and open radical nephrectomy for the treatment of primary renal tumors in children: single-center experience over a 5-year period. J Pediatr Urol. 2014 Jun 1;10(3):488-94.

Rogers EM, Casadiego Cubides G, Lacy J, Gerstle JT, Kives S, Allen L. Preoperative risk stratification of adnexal masses: can we predict the optimal surgical management? J Pediatr Adolesc Gynecol. 2014 Jun 1;27(3):125-8.

Publications on PubMed

Visit PubMed for a full listing of Dr. Gerstle’s journal articles. Pubmed is an online index of research papers and other articles from the US National Library of Medicine and the National Institutes of Health.

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Disclosures

Doctors and faculty members often work with pharmaceutical, device, biotechnology, and life sciences companies, and other organizations outside of MSK, to find safe and effective cancer treatments, to improve patient care, and to educate the health care community.

MSK requires doctors and faculty members to report (“disclose”) the relationships and financial interests they have with external entities. As a commitment to transparency with our community, we make that information available to the public.

J. Ted Gerstle discloses the following relationships and financial interests:

  • Amgen
    Equity
  • Bristol-Myers Squibb
    Equity
  • Merck & Co Inc.
    Equity
  • Pfizer, Inc.
    Equity
  • Stryker
    Equity

If you’re a patient at MSK and would like more information about your doctor’s external relationships, please talk with your doctor.

The information published here is a complement to other publicly reported data and is for a specific annual disclosure period. There may be differences between information on this and other public sites as a result of different reporting periods and/or the various ways relationships and financial interests are categorized by organizations that publish such data.

This page and data include information for a specific MSK annual disclosure period (January 1, 2023 through disclosure submission in spring 2024). This data reflects interests that may or may not still exist. This data is updated annually.

Learn more about MSK’s COI policies here. For questions regarding MSK’s COI-related policies and procedures, email MSK’s Compliance Office at [email protected].


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