General Surgery Clinic

The General Surgery Clinic at Arkansas Children's is where your child's surgical care begins and where your family will return throughout their care journey. Located in the main hospital in Little Rock and at Arkansas Children's Northwest in Springdale, the clinic is where our pediatric surgery team meets with families for initial consultations, pre-operative evaluations, and post-operative follow-up visits.

The General Surgery Clinic supports children who need both outpatient and inpatient surgical care. Whether your child's procedure is a same-day outpatient surgery or a more complex operation that requires a hospital stay, the clinic visit is the first step. Your child's surgeon will evaluate their condition, explain the recommended procedure, answer your family's questions, and walk you through what to expect before, during, and after surgery.

What to Expect at a Clinic Visit

A visit to the General Surgery Clinic is not surgery day. It's an office visit where your child will be seen by a pediatric surgeon or a member of the surgical care team. Depending on why your child has been referred, the visit may include a physical examination, a review of your child's medical history and any imaging or test results, a conversation about diagnosis and treatment options, and if surgery is recommended, a discussion of timing, preparation, and recovery.

If your child needs a surgical procedure, it will be scheduled separately. In Little Rock, same-day outpatient surgeries are performed at Champions Pavilion, a dedicated outpatient care facility on the Arkansas Children's Golisano campus. Procedures that require an overnight stay take place at the main hospital. At Arkansas Children's Northwest in Springdale, both outpatient and inpatient surgeries are performed on-site.

After surgery, your child will return to the General Surgery Clinic for follow-up care, so your family will continue to see the same team throughout the process.

Choose a Pediatric Surgeon for Your Child's Care

Every surgeon on the pediatric general surgery team at Arkansas Children's is certified in both general and pediatric surgery. Pediatric surgical training is one of the longest programs in medicine, requiring an additional seven years beyond medical school. That training means our surgeons have the specialized expertise to care for children's unique anatomy and developmental needs, from premature newborns to adolescents.

In addition to the pediatric surgeon, your child's care team includes dedicated professionals with special training in pediatrics, including radiologists, anesthesiologists, nurses and nurse practitioners.