(
out of
16
reviews
)
Specialties
Patient Rating
Patients consistently describe Dr. Skarda as knowledgeable, professional, and approachable. Commenters emphasize his clear explanations, active listening, and thoroughness in discussing diagnosis and treatment options, which helps families feel reassured and involved in decisions. Reviews also note his compassion and dedication, including attentive follow-up and accessibility when families needed extra support.
Generated via Patient Reviews
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 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.
Board Certification and Academic Information
| Academic Departments |
Surgery
-Professor (Clinical) Pediatrics -Adjunct Assistant Professor |
|---|---|
| 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
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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,
- 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.
- 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,
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
Review
- 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.
Dr. Skates was very kind and respectful with my son. He answered our questions and gave my son the opportunity to decide whether or not he wanted to have the surgery without pressuring him.
Dr Skarda treated my daughter with kindness and compassion. He answered all of her questions and made sure she felt comfortable with the plan. We received excellent care with Dr Skarda!
Great guy very knowledgeable, friendly and honest opinion
I was very pleased with our interaction. We weren't sure if another medical condition was causing issues or if it was something unknown still. He wanted to do the necessary steps to be sure without dismissing things as the other chronic illness and letting something be missed. Him and his staff were insanely sweet with my daughter and made her feel at ease through the whole appointment.
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.
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
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.
He is so kind. I really appreciate all of his help.
He was very friendly and thorough. We appreciated the time he spent to get to know our son and asked a lot of questions.
Great doctor! Trustworthy, honest and informative!