Dr. Iljana M. Gaffar, MD FAAP is double board-certified in adult general surgery and pediatric general & thoracic surgery by the American Board of Surgery. As a teen, she underwent multiple surgeries which ultimately inspired her to pursue pediatric surgery.
Following fellowship, Dr. Gaffar was recruited to Inova Children’s Hospital in Virginia. There she enjoyed doing prenatal counseling as a surgeon at the Fetal Care Center serving a 108-bed level IV NICU, working with the tumor team as a pediatric surgical oncologist, operating with trainees at Inova Fairfax as core teaching faculty & educating medical students as Assistant Professor at Virginia Commonwealth University. She worked at Saint Alphonsus Regional Medical Center in Boise, Idaho, before being recruited to join Northwell Health in collaboration with Kings County Hospital at Health& Hospitals Center to expand the pediatric surgery services.
As a pediatric surgeon, Dr. Gaffar enjoys making an immediate & lasting impact on the lives of her patients & their families. Her professional interests include congenital malformations & prenatal counseling, pediatric surgical oncology, ergonomics and the pursuit of surgical techniques that speed recovery times & shorten hospital stays. She is enthusiastic about educating patients, parents & providers about pediatric surgical conditions. The most rewarding aspect of her career is helping children heal & watching them as they get back to being kids.
Dr. Gaffar is an active member of the American Pediatric Surgical Association (APSA) & served on the APSA Wellness Committee, Education Committee, Informatics & Telemedicine Committee, Benjy Brooks Committee (Supporting women in pediatric surgery). She is an attending coach as part of the APSA Pediatric Surgery Fellows Coaching Project & is an APSA trained peer supporter.
Outside of surgery she enjoys dancing, embodiment facilitation, meeting people, acro yoga, trapeze, spending time in nature & being a curious life explorer with her husband & their Siberian huskies, Erza & Zenzero.
She is passionate about expanding career (& life) longevity through ergonomic fitness - mental/cognitive & mechanical/physical, community building, and enhancing personal development through coaching, wellbeing & embodiment. Supporting people through their journey by amplifying their voices, sharing their stories & highlighting their achievements.
Her mission is saving the world starting with surgeons (...starting with me) c the goal of helping pediatric surgeons live a life with even more comfort, ease, relaxation & fun.
Selected publications from PubMed
Peer Support to Promote Surgeon Well-being: The APSA Program Experience.
Fall F, Hu YY, Walker S, Baertschiger R, Gaffar I, Saltzman D, Stylianos S, Shapiro J, Wieck M, Buchmiller T, Brandt ML, Tracy T, Heiss K, Berman L
J Pediatr Surg. 2024 Sep;59(9):1665-1671 doi: 10.1016/j.jpedsurg.2023.12.022.
Transient Suppression of TGFβ Receptor Signaling Facilitates Human Islet Transplantation.
Xiao X, Fischbach S, Song Z, Gaffar I, Zimmerman R, Wiersch J, Prasadan K, Shiota C, Guo P, Ramachandran S, Witkowski P, Gittes GK
Endocrinology. 2016 Apr;157(4):1348-56 doi: 10.1210/en.2015-1986.
Pancreatic cell tracing, lineage tagging and targeted genetic manipulations in multiple cell types using pancreatic ductal infusion of adeno-associated viral vectors and/or cell-tagging dyes.
Xiao X, Guo P, Prasadan K, Shiota C, Peirish L, Fischbach S, Song Z, Gaffar I, Wiersch J, El-Gohary Y, Husain SZ, Gittes GK
Nat Protoc. 2014 Dec;9(12):2719-24 doi: 10.1038/nprot.2014.183.
Barrier function of the coelomic epithelium in the developing pancreas.
Guo P, Preuett B, Krishna P, Xiao X, Shiota C, Wiersch J, Gaffar I, Tulachan S, El-Gohary Y, Song Z, Gittes G
Mech Dev. 2014 Nov;134:67-79 doi: 10.1016/j.mod.2014.09.004.
Pancreatic duct cells as a source of VEGF in mice.
Xiao X, Prasadan K, Guo P, El-Gohary Y, Fischbach S, Wiersch J, Gaffar I, Shiota C, Gittes GK
Diabetologia. 2014 May;57(5):991-1000 doi: 10.1007/s00125-014-3179-y.
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