Medical leader Dr. Ian Hoppe named Surgeon-in-chief at Children’s of Mississippi

Published on Tuesday, September 7, 2021

By: Annie Oeth, aoeth@umc.edu

From routine procedures to rare ones, early-morning operations to late-night emergencies, surgeons provide the care children need at the state’s only children’s hospital.

Leading those Children’s of Mississippi caregivers is Dr. Ian Hoppe, who became surgeon-in-chief at the children’s hospital Sept. 1.

“Our overarching goal is to provide the highest quality of care and increase access to care for children across the state,” Hoppe said.

Hoppe, who earned his M.D. and was a resident at Rutgers in New Jersey, was a fellow in pediatric craniofacial plastic surgery at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia.

Children’s of Mississippi offers surgical care in pediatric subspecialties including cardiology, urology, dentistry, plastic surgery, otolaryngology, neurosurgery, oral-maxillofacial surgery, gastroenterology, oncology and hematology.

“We offer surgical care that is as good or better than the nation’s largest children’s hospitals, and we now have the newest surgical facility in the southeast region,” Hoppe said.

For surgical care at Children’s of Mississippi, Alli Mellon traveled from Cambodia, where she runs The Hard Places Community, a nonprofit that helps children escape human trafficking and sexual abuse. Her son, Both “Scotty” Virak, was born with a facial cleft as well as a bilateral cleft lip and palate.

“Our experience with Children’s of Mississippi has been incredible,” she said. “Scotty’s had multiple surgeries and now has a beautiful future ahead of him that he was born to embrace. We will forever be grateful.”

Children’s of Mississippi is the pediatric arm of the University of Mississippi Medical Center and includes the children’s hospital as well as specialty clinics around the state.

Opened Nov. 2, 2020, the Kathy and Joe Sanderson Tower at Children’s of Mississippi provided the children’s hospital with a dozen spacious advanced surgical suites. The expansion, a complement to the children’s hospital’s Batson Tower, also includes 32 private pediatric intensive care rooms, 88 private neonatal intensive care rooms, two floors of specialty clinic space and a pediatric imaging center.

Since the opening of the Sanderson Tower and its surgical floor, more than 6,400 surgical procedures have been performed.

“With the advanced surgical suites of the Sanderson Tower and the world-class skills of our surgeons, Children’s of Mississippi is offering the best care to our patients right here in Mississippi,” said Dr. Mary Taylor, Suzan B. Thames Chair, professor and chair of pediatrics. “Dr. Ian Hoppe is an excellent surgeon and medical leader. As surgeon-in-chief, Dr. Hoppe will be an integral part of helping Children’s of Mississippi expand its services.”

Hoppe will continue to lead the pediatric craniofacial plastic surgery team at UMMC, which includes the state’s only Pediatric Craniofacial Center certified by the American Cleft Palate-Craniofacial Association. It is one of more than 10 surgical specialty areas at Children’s of Mississippi.

“Among those specialty areas, nearly 30 surgeons are providing care for Mississippi’s children, sometimes at a moment’s notice,” Hoppe said. “Children and their families do not have to travel out of state to get the best surgical care.”

Hailey Moore, director of Children’s Periop Services, agrees. “Children’s of Mississippi is becoming a destination hospital, where children can come for the best care close to home.”

The larger operating rooms of the Sanderson Tower offer more space for surgical residents and fellows who are training at the Medical Center.

"Education is an essential part of our mission at UMMC,” Hoppe said, “so having this advanced space makes training additional surgeons possible.”