Eric P. Wittkugel MD

Dr. Eric is a pediatric anesthesiologist, he provides pre-anesthesia evaluations and anesthesia for children during their surgeries. He is especially interested in children with airway and aerodigestive issues, as well as those with epidermolysis bullosa. He took an elective in pediatric anesthesiology while he was a pediatric resident at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP). He was fascinated with the role of the pediatric anesthesiologist in the OR — managing the child’s medical problems while also providing safe, effective anesthesia care for simple and complex operations. He became hooked on anesthesiology for children as his life’s work. After his pediatric residency, he completed his anesthesiology residency at the University of Pennsylvania and returned to CHOP for a pediatric anesthesiology fellowship. He finds great joy and passion in his work, seeing each day as a new adventure with challenges and opportunities for excellence, growth, learning, and meaningful connection with people. As an anesthesiologist, he wants each family and child to know that they are receiving expert anesthesia care by a team of professionals who care deeply about patient safety and the best possible outcomes. They strive to make each child’s experience as comfortable as possible.

Outstanding anesthesia care requires thorough pre-anesthesia evaluation. The time he spends before anesthesia discussing a child’s medical history and evaluating all the medical information available helps us develop a safe, effective anesthetic plan. he deeply values the family’s thoughts, suggestions, and questions in this process. In addition to his work as a pediatric anesthesiologist, he is a certified leadership and professional development coach (certified by the Hudson Institute of Coaching). He provides professional coaching and leadership development for physicians and healthcare professionals at Cincinnati Children’s and across the country. He graduated from medical school with Alpha Omega Alpha (AOA) honors. He enjoys spending his free time with his wife, three adult children, and two grandchildren. He loves cycling, hiking in our national parks, traveling, and connecting with people.