Dr. Michael Dingeldein, RHS Class of 1995, is a pediatric surgeon and director of pediatric trauma at University Hospital Rainbow Babies and Children’s Hospital, having joined the staff in 2014.
He is an assistant professor in surgery at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine.
Mike has board certifications in general surgery, surgical critical care, and pediatric surgery. His clinical interests include thoracic surgery, neonatal surgery, critical care, oncology, extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (via heart-lung machines), and trauma. He is an active faculty member of the UH general surgery residency and is active on multiple Case, UH, and surgery society committees.
The alumnus earned his bachelor’s degree in biological sciences from the University of Cincinnati and his doctorate in medicine from Ohio State University’s College of Medicine. He then served a residency in general surgery at Rush University, Cook County Hospital, Chicago. Next, he completed a surgical critical care fellowship at Children’s Memorial Hospital, Northwestern University, where he also conducted research at the University of Chicago.
He then completed his fellowship in pediatric surgery at the Children’s Hospital of Oklahoma University Medical Center.
Mike has published scientific papers in peer-reviewed journals and has presented research abstracts and posters at national and international scientific and medical meetings. He is active in the American College of Surgeons, American Academy of Pediatrics, the Pediatric Trauma Society, and the Society of Critical Care Medicine, among others. He serves on the board of Holden Forest & Gardens, the parent organization to the Cleveland Botanic Garden and the Holden Arboretum .
Michael was recently named to the prestigious “University Hospitals Distinguished Physician Class of 2021.”
He traveled to Washington, DC, some years ago to speak of the country’s need for more trauma units for children, especially when disasters happen. He had been on duty during a tornado in Oklahoma City, and 60 Minutes did an interview with the head of emergency medicine in the hospital. So many injured children were coming through that the triage started passing the severely injured directly to Michael.
His Oklahoma experience and his subsequent efforts urging improvements in hospital pediatric facilities are examples of this doctor’s selfless dedication to improving medical care in his area of expertise and therefore in others.
Mike’s years at Riverside were indicative of his intelligence, work ethic, future skill level, and resounding success in his profession. He was a two-year member of National Honor Society, a nominee to attend Model UN, and an aide in the Guidance Department and library. He was an AFS student traveling to Australia. He was a member of the track team and chosen for the coach’s award in cross-country.
RHS faculty members fortunate enough to have had him in class would probably not be amazed by his achievements. His affable nature, kindness and concern for others, patience and incredible ability must be perfectly suited to dealing with “the littlest among us” and serving as a comfort to their parents when they are most in need.
He manages to balance his responsibilities so well that friends speak of his dedication to his family as yet another outstanding trait. The person who nominated him for the Hall of Fame called him “a remarkable husband, father and doctor.”
Mike is married to Dr. Leslie Dingeldein, a pediatric emergency medicine physician at UH Rainbow Babies and Children’s Hospital. The couple lives in Shaker Heights with daughters Sarah and Emily.
