Robert Vandewalle, MD

Robert Vandewalle, M.D., is a board-certified pediatric surgeon, specializing in pediatric general surgery and surgical critical care, and surgical director of the Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation (ECMO) program at Arkansas Children's Hospital (ACH) in Little Rock and assistant professor of pediatric general surgery and critical care in general surgery at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences.

Dr. Vandewalle earned his Bachelor of Science in chemistry from Purdue University in West Lafayette, Ind., and his Doctor of Medicine and Master of Business Administration jointly from Indiana University School of Medicine and the Kelley School of Business in Indianapolis, Indiana. He completed his general surgery residency at the University of Tennessee College of Medicine in Memphis, Tenn., followed by research fellowships at Indiana University in Indianapolis and Emory University in Atlanta. He then completed a pediatric surgical critical care fellowship at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center and a pediatric general surgery fellowship at Emory University.

Dr. Vandewalle’s clinical interests span general pediatric surgery, congenital anomalies and the management of critically ill surgical patients — including those requiring advanced life support through ECMO. He is an active member of the American Pediatric Surgical Association's Critical Care Committee and serves on its Critical Care Fellows Curriculum Sub-Committee, contributing to the national training standards for the next generation of pediatric surgical critical care specialists. Dr. Vandewalle has authored peer-reviewed publications in leading journals, including the Journal of Pediatric Surgery, and has contributed chapters to foundational surgical texts including “Ashcraft's Pediatric Surgery” and “Operative Pediatric Surgery.” He has presented his research at national meetings and is an invited speaker on topics including pediatric ECMO, trauma and surgical critical care.

Medical Degree

• Indiana University School of Medicine - 2010

Residency

• University of Tennessee College of Medicine - 2016

Fellowship

• Emory University - 2022
• LeBonheur Children's Hospital - 2020
• Riley Hospital for Children at Indiana University Health - 2018