Diana Leigh Diesen, MD $$

Pediatric Surgeon

Associate Professor at UT Southwestern Medical Center

Languages Spoken:
English

Locations

Virtual Visit Available

UT Southwestern Pediatric Group

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Biography

Diana Diesen, M.D., is board certified in pediatric general and thoracic surgery at Children’s Health℠. She is an Associate Professor in the Department of Surgery at UT Southwestern and a pediatric surgery fellowship program director.

I feel honored and privileged to have families entrust me with the care of the most precious thing they have – their children – and I take that trust very seriously.
Dr. Diesen

Dr. Diesen’s clinical interests include surgical education, clinical outcomes in general and thoracic pediatric surgical conditions and pediatric surgical endocrine disorders, such as pediatric thyroid nodules, thyroid cancer and multiple endocrine neoplasia (MENS). She treats children of all ages – from newborns to young adults – who suffer from a vast array of operable conditions, both congenital and acquired. 

“I feel honored and privileged to have families entrust me with the care of the most precious thing they have – their children – and I take that trust very seriously,” Dr. Diesen says. “It’s very gratifying to be able to treat conditions and allow children to grow up and live normal lives with normal life expectancies.”

After receiving her medical degree at The University of Virginia, she completed her general surgical training at Duke University and her pediatric surgery fellowship training at UT Southwestern Medical Center.

Dr. Diesen has been named a Top Doctor by D Magazine. She is a fellow of the American College of Surgeons and a member of the American Pediatric Surgical Association, the Society of American Gastrointestinal and Endoscopic Surgeons and the Association for Academic Surgery.  

Dr. Diesen lives in Dallas with her two shelter dogs. When she’s not working, she enjoys hiking, open-water scuba diving and traveling. She holds a private pilot’s license.

Education and Training

Medical School
University of Virginia School of Medicine (2004)
Residency
Duke University School of Medicine (2011), General Surgery
Fellowship
UT Southwestern - Children's Medical Center (2013), Pediatric Surgery
Board Certification
American Board of Surgery/Pediatric Surgery
  • Research Interests

    • Resident and medical student education
    • Pediatric solid tumors
    • Pediatric Endocrine and thyroid conditions
    • Neonatal surgery
    • Clinical outcomes research
  • Publications

    • Diesen DL, Skinner MA. Thyroid cancer in children. World Journal of Pediatrics, 2005, 2, 94-97.
    • Diesen DL, Skinner MA. Pediatric Thyroid Cancer. Seminars in Pediatric Surgery. 2012 Feb; 21(1):44-50
    • Lairmore T, Diesen DL, Goldfarb M, Milas M, Ying A, Sharma J, McIver B, Wong RJ,  Randolph G. AACE Endocrine Surgery Scientific Committee. AACE and American College of Endocrinology Disease State Clinical Review: Timing of  MEN Thyroidectomy and Extent of Central Neck Lymphadenectomy. Endocr Pract. 2015 Jul;21(7):839-47.
    • Diesen DL. “Thyroid nodules”, multimedia module for the American Board of Surgery Pediatric SCORE curriculum, 2015.
    • Diesen DL. “Endocrine disease”, multimedia module for the American Board of Surgery Pediatric SCORE curriculum, 2015.
    • Diesen DL, Skinner MA. Endocrine Disorders and Tumors. In Holcomb & Murphy (Eds.) Ashcraft’s Pediatric Surgery. (6th ed.) Elsevier, March 2014.
    • Diesen DL, Skinner MA. Head and neck tumors. In Carachi & Grosfeld (Eds.) The Surgery of Childhood tumors. (3rd ed.) Springer, in press 2015.
    • Spendlove N, Rialon K, Burkhalter LS, Rong H, Skinner MA, Diesen DL.  Contemporary review of Pediatric Thyroid Surgery.   AAP 2015.
    • Diesen DL Thyroid Nodules in Children. Pediatric Surgery Grand Rounds, Dallas, Tx. January 2015.
    • Gardner A. Diesen DL. Scott DJ, Hogg D, Heurta S. The impact of goal setting and goal orientation on performance during a clearship surgical skills training program. Accepted American Journal of Surgery 2015.
    • Diesen DL, Erhunmwunsee L, Bennett K, Ben-David K, Yurcisin B, Ceppa EP, Omotosho PA, Perez A, Pryor A. Effectiveness of laparoscopic computer simulator versus usage of box trainer for endoscopic surgery training of novices. Surg Educ. 2011 Jul-Aug;68(4):282-9. Epub 2011 May 4.
    •  Wadi H, Diesen D, Majewicz A. Training Wheels for Laparoscopic Surgery: Kinematic and Dynamic Constraints for Project Tool Handling.  Poster Presentation SAGES. April 2015. Nashville, Tn. Pediatric Surgery Clinical Outcomes
  • Professional Activities

    • Association for Academic Surgery (2018), Member
    • American Pediatric Surgical Association (2010), Member; Member Education Committee
    • American College of Surgeons (2006), Fellow (FACS)
    • Society of American Gastrointestinal and Endoscopic Surgeons (2012), Member; Co-chair Pediatric Committee; Member of Quality Outcomes Committee
  • Awards and Honors

    • D Magazine Best Pediatric Specialist (2020-2021)
    • The R. Randal Bollinger Award for Outstanding Master Educator (2010)
    • APSA Clinical Poster of Distinction Award (2010)
    • The Bollinger Outstanding Research Resident Award (2007)

Virtual Visit

This provider may offer virtual appointments. Please review our Virtual Visit Specialty Clinics page for instructions on setting up a visit.

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