David E. Skarda
Rating: 4.9 of 5
( out of 16 reviews )

David E. Skarda, MD, MBA

Languages spoken: Spanish, English

Clinical Locations

Primary Location

Primary Children's Hospital

Pediatric Surgery
100 N Mario Capecchi Drive
Salt Lake City , UT 84113
801-662-2950
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St. Vincent Healthcare

SCL Health Medical Group - Fortin Pediatric Specialty Clinic
1232 N 30th St
Billings , MT 59101
406-237-5300
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Primary Children's Hospital - Lehi

Pediatric Surgery
2250 N Miller Campus Dr
Lehi , UT 84043
801-662-2950
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  • David E. Skarda, M.D., M.B.A., is a leader in pediatric surgical care, dedicated to ensuring the best possible outcomes for your child (baby, toddler, school-age, or teen). His unique qualifications include specialized training in minimally invasive surgical techniques and being the sole DaVinci robot-certified and credentialed pediatric surgeon in the Intermountain West.

    Dr. Skarda specializes in the following elective conditions through the clinic:

    • Inguinal hernia
    • Umbilical hernia
    • Cholecystectomy (removal of the gallbladder)
    • G Tube (both placement and removal of a stomach tube)
    • Reflux (Nissan fundoplication and redo fundoplications for recurrent reflux, robotic)
    • Median Arcuate Ligament Syndrome (MALS, robotic)
    • Superior Mesenteric Artery Syndrome (SMA, robotic)
    • Gastroparesis
    • Paraesophageal hernia (robotic)
    • Hiatal Hernia (robotic)
    • Vascular access
    • Chest wall deformities (pectus excavatum and pectus carinatum)
    • Pneumothorax
    • Urachal and omphalomesenteric remnants

    Dr. Skarda specializes in the following emergent and urgent:

    • Appendectomy (removal of the appendix)
    • Intestinal obstructions
    • Intestinal atresias
    • Esophageal atresia
    • Congenital diaphragmatic hernia
    • Volvulus
    • Malrotation

    As a board-certified pediatric surgeon in the Division of Pediatric Surgery at Primary Children’s Hospitals, Dr. Skarda is committed to providing leading-edge compassionate surgical care promptly. He places a strong emphasis on patient education, ensuring that you fully understand the procedures, options, risks, and benefits. He is available for new patient consultations at his clinics at Primary Children’s Hospitals (Salt Lake City and Lehi, Utah) and St. Vincent Hospital in Billings, Montana.

    Dr. Skarda has specific clinical experience and expertise in surgically managing chronic nausea and abdominal pain syndromes in children and teenagers, including median arcuate ligament syndrome (MALS), superior mesenteric artery syndrome (SMA), gastroparesis, biliary dyskinesia (pain from a gallbladder that does not work well), and symptomatic cholelithiasis (pain from gallstones). Notably, Dr. Skarda works as part of an organized multidisciplinary team to correctly diagnose and treat these conditions.

    He is happy to see patients via telemedicine technology (such as Zoom) for most conditions.

    An in-person visit may be necessary for some conditions where direct examination is critical. Our clinic nurses can help you know if a face-to-face visit is needed or helpful.

    He speaks Spanish.

    He will talk to you and/or your child’s doctor.

    In his free time, Dr. Skarda likes spending time with his wife Paula, their adult children, and their grandchild at home, traveling and outdoors. Additionally, Dr. Skarda is a pilot and enjoys learning new skills.

    Specialties

    Patient Rating

    Rating: 4.9 out of 5
    4.9 /5
    ( out of 16 reviews )

    The patient rating score is an average of all responses on our patient experience survey. The rating averages scores for all questions about care from our providers.

    The scale on which responses are measured is 1 to 5 with 5 being the best score.

    Patient Comments

    Patient comments are gathered from our patient experience survey and displayed in their entirety. For the convenience of our visitors, some patient comments have been translated from their original language into English while preserving their original meaning as accurately as possible. Patients are de-identified for confidentiality and patient privacy.

    PRIMARY CHILDREN'S MEDICAL CENTER
    Rating: 5 out of 5

    Dr. Skarda is a wonderful and very professional surgeon. My 9 year-old son had to have emergency surgery and Dr. Skarda and his team took very good care of him. He explained everything in detail from the beginning to the end and keeps you updated throughout the surgery. He listens to your opinions and cares about what you say when it comes to your child. Dr. Skarda and his team are the best! I would recommend him a million times to any parent who's child needs to have general surgery. I am grateful to have had Dr. Skarda do the surgery on my son and again he is the best!! Thank you, Dr. Skarda

    PRIMARY CHILDREN'S MEDICAL CENTER
    Rating: 5 out of 5

    He is so kind. I really appreciate all of his help.

    PRIMARY CHILDREN'S MEDICAL CENTER
    Rating: 5 out of 5

    Dr. Skarda has been absolutely amazing to work with. He has gone above and beyond to help us navigate an unexpected complication, and I can't give him enough praise. He has personally made me feel like a good mom and reassured me that I'm doing what's best for my child. From giving me his phone number, to checking in on us daily to ensure proper healing, to calling me at almost 9pm after reviewing a photo I sent; his dedication is unmatched. It's clear that Dr. Skarda is truly there for the kids and their families. We are so grateful to have met with him, and I would highly recommend him to anyone in need of a caring and committed doctor.

    PRIMARY CHILDREN'S MEDICAL CENTER
    Rating: 5 out of 5

    Dr. Skarda actively listened to my concerns, was very polite, and showed genuine interest in helping with the issue my daughter was having. He is very helpful, extremely professional, and calm. His demeanor really helped calm me while he was caring for my daughter. He explained the issue in a way that I could easily understand and he provided options for how to treat it.

    EXTERNAL SITE
    Rating: 5 out of 5

    He was very friendly and thorough. We appreciated the time he spent to get to know our son and asked a lot of questions.

    EXTERNAL SITE
    Rating: 5 out of 5

    Great doctor! Trustworthy, honest and informative!

  • David E. Skarda, M.D., M.B.A., is a leader in pediatric surgical care, dedicated to ensuring the best possible outcomes for your child (baby, toddler, school-age, or teen). His unique qualifications include specialized training in minimally invasive surgical techniques and being the sole DaVinci robot-certified and credentialed pediatric surgeon in the Intermountain West.

    Dr. Skarda specializes in the following elective conditions through the clinic:

    • Inguinal hernia
    • Umbilical hernia
    • Cholecystectomy (removal of the gallbladder)
    • G Tube (both placement and removal of a stomach tube)
    • Reflux (Nissan fundoplication and redo fundoplications for recurrent reflux, robotic)
    • Median Arcuate Ligament Syndrome (MALS, robotic)
    • Superior Mesenteric Artery Syndrome (SMA, robotic)
    • Gastroparesis
    • Paraesophageal hernia (robotic)
    • Hiatal Hernia (robotic)
    • Vascular access
    • Chest wall deformities (pectus excavatum and pectus carinatum)
    • Pneumothorax
    • Urachal and omphalomesenteric remnants

    Dr. Skarda specializes in the following emergent and urgent:

    • Appendectomy (removal of the appendix)
    • Intestinal obstructions
    • Intestinal atresias
    • Esophageal atresia
    • Congenital diaphragmatic hernia
    • Volvulus
    • Malrotation

    As a board-certified pediatric surgeon in the Division of Pediatric Surgery at Primary Children’s Hospitals, Dr. Skarda is committed to providing leading-edge compassionate surgical care promptly. He places a strong emphasis on patient education, ensuring that you fully understand the procedures, options, risks, and benefits. He is available for new patient consultations at his clinics at Primary Children’s Hospitals (Salt Lake City and Lehi, Utah) and St. Vincent Hospital in Billings, Montana.

    Dr. Skarda has specific clinical experience and expertise in surgically managing chronic nausea and abdominal pain syndromes in children and teenagers, including median arcuate ligament syndrome (MALS), superior mesenteric artery syndrome (SMA), gastroparesis, biliary dyskinesia (pain from a gallbladder that does not work well), and symptomatic cholelithiasis (pain from gallstones). Notably, Dr. Skarda works as part of an organized multidisciplinary team to correctly diagnose and treat these conditions.

    He is happy to see patients via telemedicine technology (such as Zoom) for most conditions.

    An in-person visit may be necessary for some conditions where direct examination is critical. Our clinic nurses can help you know if a face-to-face visit is needed or helpful.

    He speaks Spanish.

    He will talk to you and/or your child’s doctor.

    In his free time, Dr. Skarda likes spending time with his wife Paula, their adult children, and their grandchild at home, traveling and outdoors. Additionally, Dr. Skarda is a pilot and enjoys learning new skills.

    Board Certification and Academic Information

    Academic Departments Pediatrics -Adjunct Assistant Professor
    Surgery -Associate Professor (Clinical)
    Academic Divisions Pediatric Surgery

    Education history

    Undergraduate Molecular Biology/Chemistry - Brigham Young University B.S.
    Professional Medical Medicine - Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva M.D.
    Residency General Surgery - University of Minnesota Medical Center Resident
    Research Fellow Surgical Critical Care, basic science and clinical research, Greg Beilman MD, grant from ONR - University of Minnesota Research Fellow
    Fellowship Surgical Infectious Disease - University of Minnesota Fellow
    Fellowship Minimally Invasive Surgery/Bariatric Surgery - University of Minnesota Fellow
    Fellowship Pediatric Surgery - The Ohio State University - Nationwide Children's Hospital Fellow
    Diploma University of Utah MBA
    Other Training University of Utah, Primary Children's Hospital Certification

    Selected Publications

    Journal Article

    1. Bucher BT, Shi J, Ferraro JP, Skarda DE, Samore MH, Hurdle JF, Gundlapalli AV, Chapman WW, Finlayson SR (2020). Portable Automated Surveillance of Surgical Site Infections Using Natural Language Processing: Development and Validation. Annals of surgery, 272(4), 629-636. (Read full publication)
    2. Pruitt LCC, Swords DS, Russell KW, Rollins MD, Skarda D (2019). Prescription vs. consumption: Opioid overprescription to children after common surgical procedures. Journal of pediatric surgery, 54(11), 2195-2199. (Read full publication)
    3. Skarda DE, Rollins M, Andrews S, McFadden M, Barnhart D, Meyers R, Scaife (2015). One hospital, one appendectomy: The cost effectiveness of a standardized doctor's preference card. Journal of pediatric surgery, 50(6), 919-22. (Read full publication)
    4. Pruitt LCC, Skarda DE, Rollins MD, Bucher B (2020). Hirschsprung-associated enterocolitis in children treated at US children's hospitals. Journal of pediatric surgery, 55(3), 535-540. (Read full publication)
    5. Berman L, Ottosen M, Renaud E, Hsi-Dickie B, Fecteau A, Skarda D, Goldin A, Rangel S, Tsao K, APSA Quality and Safety Committee (2019). Preventing patient harm via adverse event review: An APSA survey regarding the role of morbidity and mortality (M&M) conference. Journal of pediatric surgery, 54(9), 1872-1877. (Read full publication)
    6. Berman L, Rangel S, Goldin A, Skarda D, Ottosen M, Bliss D, Valusek P, Fallat M, Tsao K, APSA Quality and Safety Committee (2018). Safety culture among pediatric surgeons: A national survey of attitudes and perceptions of patient safety. Journal of pediatric surgery, 53(3), 381-395. (Read full publication)
    7. Pruitt LCC, Skarda DE, Barnhart DC, Bucher B (2020). Impact of consolidation of cases on post-operative outcomes for index pediatric surgery cases. Journal of pediatric surgery, 55(6), 1048-1052. (Read full publication)
    8. Pruitt LCC, Swords DS, Vijayakumar S, Ostlund B, Prochazka J, Richards NG, Bucher BT, Skarda D (2020). Implementation of a Quality Improvement Initiative to Decrease Opioid Prescribing in General Surgery. The Journal of surgical research, 247, 514-523. (Read full publication)
    9. Pruitt LCC, Casazza GC, Newberry CI, Cardon R, Ramirez A, Krakovitz PR, Meier JD, Skarda D (2020). Opioid Prescribing and Use in Ambulatory Otolaryngology. The Laryngoscope, 130(8), 1913-1921. (Read full publication)
    10. Shi J, Hurdle JF, Johnson SA, Ferraro JP, Skarda DE, Finlayson SRG, Samore MH, Bucher B (2021). Natural language processing for the surveillance of postoperative venous thromboembolism. Surgery, 170(4), 1175-1182. (Read full publication)
    11. Skarda DE, Mulier KE, George ME, Bellman G (2008). Eight hours of hypotensive versus normotensive resuscitation in a porcine model of controlled hemorrhagic shock. Academic emergency medicine, 15(9), 845-52. (Read full publication)
    12. Skarda D, Henricksen JW, Rollins (2012). Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation promotes survival in children with trauma related respiratory failure. Pediatric surgery international, 28(7), 711-4. (Read full publication)
    13. Swords DS, Skarda DE, Sause WT, Gawlick U, Cannon GM, Lewis MA, Scaife CL, Gygi JA, Tae Kim (2019). Surgeon-Level Variation in Utilization of Local Staging and Neoadjuvant Therapy for Stage II-III Rectal Adenocarcinoma. Journal of gastrointestinal surgery, 23(4), 659-669. (Read full publication)
    14. Mulier KE, Skarda DE, Taylor JH, Myers DE, McGraw MK, Gallea BL, Beilman G (2008). Near-infrared spectroscopy in patients with severe sepsis: correlation with invasive hemodynamic measurements. Surgical infections, 9(5), 515-9. (Read full publication)
    15. George ME, Rueth NM, Skarda DE, Chipman JG, Quickel RR, Beilman G (2009). Hyperbaric oxygen does not improve outcome in patients with necrotizing soft tissue infection. Surgical infections, 10(1), 21-8. (Read full publication)
    16. George ME, Skarda DE, Watts CR, Pham HD, Beilman G (2008). Aggressive red blood cell transfusion: no association with improved outcomes for victims of isolated traumatic brain injury. Neurocritical care, 8(3), 337-43. (Read full publication)
    17. Newberry CI, Casazza GC, Pruitt LC, Meier JD, Skarda DE, Alt J (2020). Prescription patterns and opioid usage in sinonasal surgery. International forum of allergy & rhinology, 10(3), 381-387. (Read full publication)
    18. Roybal J, Tsao K, Rangel S, Ottosen M, Skarda D, Berman (2018). Surgical Safety Checklists in Children's Surgery: Surgeons' Attitudes and Review of the Literature. Pediatric quality & safety, 3(5), e108. (Read full publication)
    19. Glissmeyer EW, Ryan S, Dudley NC, Schunk JE, Nielsen J, Weng C, Skarda D (2020). An Administrative Data-based Surrogate Definition Identifies Children Evaluated Beyond Physical Examination for Suspected Appendicitis. Pediatric quality & safety, 5(6), e343. (Read full publication)
    20. Blakely ML, Tyson JE, Lally KP, Hintz SR, Eggleston B, Stevenson DK, Besner GE, Das A, Ohls RK, Truog WE, Nelin LD, Poindexter BB, Pedroza C, Walsh MC, Stoll BJ, Geller R, Kennedy KA, Dimmitt RA, Carlo WA, Cotten CM, Laptook AR, Van Meurs KP, Calkins KL, Sokol GM, Sanchez PJ, Wyckoff MH, Patel RM, Frantz ID 3rd, Shankaran S, D'Angio CT, Yoder BA, Bell EF, Watterberg KL, Martin CA, Harmon CM, Rice H, Kurkchubasche AG, Sylvester K, Dunn JCY, Markel TA, Diesen DL, Bhatia AM, Flake A, Chwals WJ, Brown R, Bass KD, St Peter SD, Shanti CM, Pegoli W Jr, Skarda D, Shilyansky J, Lemon DG, Mosquera RA, Peralta-Carcelen M, Goldstein RF, Vohr BR, Purdy IB, Hines AC, Maitre NL, Heyne RJ, DeMauro SB, McGowan EC, Yolton K, Kilbride HW, Natarajan G, Yost K, Winter S, Colaizy TT, Laughon MM, Lakshminrusimha S, Higgins RD, Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health, Human Development Neonatal Research Network (2021). Initial Laparotomy Versus Peritoneal Drainage in Extremely Low Birthweight Infants With Surgical Necrotizing Enterocolitis or Isolated Intestinal Perforation: A Multicenter Randomized Clinical Trial. Annals of surgery, 274(4), e370-e380. (Read full publication)
    21. Skarda DE, Danko ME, Glick RD, Guner YS, Le HD, Rich BS, Robertson DJ, Short SS, Weiss RG, Van Arendonk KJ, Raval MV, Delivery of Surgical Care Committee of the American Academy of Pediatrics Section on Surger (2023). Dollars and Sense: The Business of Pediatric Surgery. The Journal of surgical research, 285, 220-228. (Read full publication)
    22. Iantorno SE, Skarda DE, Bucher B (2023). Concurrent SARS-COV-19 and acute appendicitis: Management and outcomes across United States children's hospitals. Surgery, 173(4), 936-943. (Read full publication)
    23. Ryan S, Dudley NC, Schunk JE, Weng C, Skarda DE, Glissmeyer E (2023). Reduced Computed Tomography for Appendicitis in Children after Implementation of Next-day Surgery Clinic Follow-up. Pediatric quality & safety, 8(2), e641. (Read full publication)
    24. Iantorno SE, Short SS, Skarda DE, Rollins MD, Bucher B (2023). Decreased incidence of Hirschsprung-associated enterocolitis during COVID-19 across United States Children's hospitals. Journal of pediatric surgery, (Read full publication)
    25. Iantorno SE, Ulugia JG, Kastenberg ZJ, Skarda DE, Bucher B (2023). Postdischarge Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Pediatric Appendicitis: A Mediation Analysis. The Journal of surgical research, 282, 174-182. (Read full publication)
    26. Kiser AC, Eilbeck K, Ferraro JP, Skarda DE, Samore MH, Bucher (2022). Standard Vocabularies to Improve Machine Learning Model Transferability With Electronic Health Record Data: Retrospective Cohort Study Using Health Care-Associated Infection. JMIR medical informatics, 10(8), e39057. (Read full publication)
    27. Sullivan GA, Reiter AJ, Smith C, Glick RD, Skarda DE, Le HD, Gow KW, Rich BS, Raval MV, American Academy of Pediatrics Section on Surgery Delivery of Surgical Care Committe (2023). Pediatric Surgeon Perceptions on Operating Room Environmental Stewardship and Current Institutional Climate-Smart Actions. Journal of pediatric surgery, (Read full publication)
    28. Scaife JH, Hewes HA, Iantorno SE, Clinker CE, Fenton SJ, Skarda DE, Kastenberg ZJ, Swendiman RA, Russell K (2024). Optimizing patient selection for ECMO after pediatric hypothermic cardiac arrest. Injury, 111731. (Read full publication)
    29. Russell KW, Skarda DE, Jones TW, Barnhart DC, Short S (2024). Cessation of Antibiotics for Complicated Appendicitis at Discharge Does Not Increase Risk of Post-operative Infection. Journal of pediatric surgery, 59(1), 91-95. (Read full publication)
    30. Wolf LL, Skarda DE, Fisher JC, Short SS, Ignacio RC, Le HD, Van Arendonk KJ, Gow KW, Glick RD, Guner YS, Ahmad H, Danko ME, Downard C, Raval MV, Robertson DJ, Weiss RG, Rich BS, American Association of Pediatrics Section on Surgery Delivery of Surgical Care Committe (2025). Impact of Locum Tenens Providers on Delivery of Pediatric Surgical Care. The Journal of surgical research, 306, 137-143. (Read full publication)

    Review

    1. Acker SN, Sulkowski J, Chang HL, Cyrus J, Christison-Lagay E, Mansfield SA, Diesen DL, Gulack BC, Russell K, Beres AL, Rentea RM, Yousef Y, Alemayehu H, Danko ME, Kabagambe SK, Kulaylat AN, Levene TL, Pennell C, Polites SF, Ramjist JK, Rich BS, Scholz S, Skarda DE, Tashiro J, Hey MT, Ignacio R, Baird R, Kelley-Quon LI, Ricca R, American Pediatric Surgical Association Outcomes and Evidence-Based Practice Committe (2025). Management of perianal abscesses in infants: A systematic review from the APSA outcomes and evidence-based practice committee. Journal of pediatric surgery, 60(12), 162691. (Read full publication)

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