BOARDMAN, Ohio - A new pediatric surgeon has joined the team at Akron Children's Hospital in the Mahoning Valley. 

Akron Children's announced that Pediatric Surgeon Douglas Potoka, M.D., will treat patients at the Beeghly Campus.

Dr. Potoka earned his medical degree from Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in Baltimore. He completed his residency in general surgery at the University Health Center of Pittsburgh and a fellowship in pediatric surgery at UPMC Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh. He also has a bachelor's degree in biological sciences from Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh.

Before joining Akron Children's, Dr. Potoka was an attending surgeon at UPMC Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh. He has also been an associate professor of surgery at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine.

With more than 16,000 surgeries a year, Akron Children's says it prides itself on having the most experienced pediatric general surgeons in Northeast Ohio. They add the hospital's surgeons are specially trained to diagnose and treat children of all ages and developmental stages.