Pediatric Urology

Caring for our children

Pediatric urology, as the name suggests, is the subspecialty field of urology that deals with the various conditions afflicting children. Congenital abnormalities of the genito-urinary tract comprise a large portion of our practices, as do acquired conditions such as infections, dysfunctional voiding, and foreskins issues.  Although malignancies of the urinary system are rare in children, as the only tertiary care pediatric centre in the Maritimes, these cases are typically managed at our facility.  We collaborate with the other pediatric subspecialties at the IWK Health Centre in Halifax and the Saint John Regional Hospital in New Brunswick.

The IWK, which is the only pediatric hospital in the Maritimes, serves the population of all three provinces. It is staffed by two urologists with subspecialty training: Drs. Peter Anderson and Dawn MacLellan, as well as a pediatric general surgeon with additional training in urology, Dr. Rodrigo Romao.


Dr. Daniel Keefe

Dr. Keefe joined the IWK Division of Pediatric Urology and Dalhousie Department of Urology in August 2021 after completing fellowship training at University of Toronto’s Hospital for Sick Children. Prior to this, he finished Urology training at the University of Ottawa, and medical school at Dalhousie University. He is in the process of completing a MSc in System Leadership and Innovation at the University of Toronto.

Dr. Keefe was born and raised in Prince Edward Island and is looking forward to providing care for patients from across Atlantic Canada. He has a clinical interest in caring for the entire spectrum of conditions in pediatric urology with a focus on kidney stone management, urinary tract obstruction, and pediatric renal transplantation. His academic interests include medical education, applications of artificial intelligence in urology, and urinary tract obstruction.
 

Dr. Dawn MacLellan

Dr. MacLellan is from Truro, NS. She completed a Bachelor of Science degree, medical school and Urology residency training at Dalhousie University. She spent three years as a Fellow at the Boston Children's Hospital performing clinical and basic science research in pediatric urology. Dr. MacLellan was appointed as Assistant Professor in 2014. Dr. MacLellan's current interests are the clinical care of children with urologic diseases and clinical and basic science research in the pathophysiology of kidney obstruction and other congenital anomalies. She has served as teh Secretary/Treasurer and President of the Pediatric Urologists of Canada and the President of the Canadian Academy of Urologic Surgeons. Dr. MacLellan has also served on the Board of the North Eastern Section of the American Urological Association.

Dr. Rodrigo Romao

Dr. Romao is from Sao Paulo, Brazil where he went to medical school and completed his initial surgical training at the University of Sao Paulo in General Surgery and Pediatric Surgery. He then moved to Toronto where he broadened his training with fellowships in Neonatal Surgery and Pediatric Urology. Dr. Romao then received a MSc degree in Community Health and Epidemiology while already on faculty from Dalhousie University. He is currently a staff surgeon at the IWK Health Centre and an Associate Professor of Surgery and Urology at Dal. Dr. Romao’s main clinical research areas of interest are the epidemiology and management of complex congenital malformations, such as bladder exstrophy, cloacal anomalies and disorders of sex development as well as pediatric surgical oncology, particularly the treatment of Wilms’ tumor. He has also been the Program Director for the Pediatric General Surgery training program for the past 6 years.


Approximately six regularly scheduled clinics per week cover all aspects of pediatric urology problems, and surgical procedures typically occur on a twice weekly schedule. There are approximately 2,200 patient visits in the clinics annually. Opportunities to participate in clinical research are abundant.
 
We also participate in a multi-disciplinary clinic for children with spina bifida and other neurogenic-related urology issues. There is a specialized clinic for functional urology issues which includes a child psychologist. We have a full urodynamics facility staffed by a subspecialty trained nurse. The pediatric urologist at the Saint John Regional Hospital, Dr. James Ashfield, adds further clinical expertise