About

Dean M. Anselmo, MD, is a Professor of Clinical Surgery at the Keck School of Medicine of USC. His professional work involves surgical procedures and research related to pediatric surgical conditions, including lymphatic malformations, enterostomy outcomes, infantile hemangiomas, vascular malformations, and congenital anomalies. His contributions include extensive institutional reviews and multi-center retrospective analyses that advance understanding of postoperative complications, management strategies, and minimally invasive surgical techniques in pediatric populations. Dr. Anselmo's research emphasizes improving surgical outcomes and developing multidisciplinary approaches to complex pediatric conditions, reflecting his commitment to advancing pediatric surgical care and outcomes.

Research topics

• Medicine
• Surgery
• Intensive care medicine
• Pediatrics
• Internal medicine
• Radiology
• General surgery
• Pathology

Selected publications

• Pediatric Idiopathic Chylous Leak: A 15-Year Single-Center Experience

  Journal of Vascular Anomalies · 2025-02-05 · 2 citations

  articleOpen accessSenior author

  Objective: Idiopathic chylous leak (ICL) is defined by the accumulation of chyle in the pleural or peritoneal space, for which there is no underlying etiology. Given the low incidence and heterogeneity of presentation, evaluation, and management guidelines lack consensus. The purpose of this study is to provide insights regarding the clinical manifestations and propose a multidisciplinary treatment approach in ICL. Methods: A single-center retrospective chart review was conducted on patients with a diagnosis of idiopathic chylous ascites and/or chylothorax from January 1, 2008 to December 31, 2023. Data pertaining to the evaluation and treatments was abstracted. Results: A total of 18 patients with ICL were identified. Median age at diagnosis was 1 month (interquartile range [IQR]: 0–6.0) with 3 patients diagnosed prenatally. Clinical presentation was chylothorax for 78% and chylous ascites for 22% of patients. Most patients were initially managed conservatively with nil per os (NPO) and total parental nutrition (83%). Octreotide was utilized in 72% of patients. Sirolimus was used in 22% of patients. Seven patients required surgical management due to failure of medical management. All surgical patients underwent a magnetic resonance lymphangiogram before intervention. Nonoperative patients had fewer total NPO days (14.0, IQR: 0.0–45.0) relative to patients who required surgery (44, IQR: 20.0–48.0). However, median NPO days postoperatively were 12 days (IQR: 1.0–34.0). Conclusion: We describe our 15-year experience on the evaluation and management of ICL. We advocate a multidisciplinary management approach to promptly optimize both conservative measures and medical treatment. The use of dedicated lymphatic imaging and surgical intervention should be considered for intractable cases of ICL refractory to medical treatment. Level of Evidence: Level III.

  PublisherDOI

• Short-term Postoperative Complications of Lymphatic Malformation Surgical Excision: A 20-Year Institutional Review

  Journal of Pediatric Surgery · 2025-01-02 · 5 citations

  articleSenior author
  PublisherDOI

• A Decade of Bleomycin

  Journal of Vascular Anomalies · 2025-10-20

  articleOpen accessSenior author

  Objective: Bleomycin’s first indication was as a chemotherapeutic agent. It has been used more recently as a sclerosant in the setting of vascular anomalies; however, there is still concern over its routine use for this indication. We aim to describe our decade-plus experience utilizing bleomycin as a sclerosant in a major vascular anomalies center across multiple lesion types that were deemed unable to be treated by other methods. Methods: We reviewed all radiology procedural reports in a retrospective fashion for the keyword bleomycin. For all procedures where the medication was used to treat a vascular anomaly, the lesion type, dosage, method of administration, and patient’s age and body-surface-area at the time of procedure were recorded. Lesions were also classified for location, focality, and indication for treatment (pain, cosmesis, etc). All subsequent clinical records were reviewed to ascertain for complications, as well as to evaluate for patient-reported improvements in clinical symptoms. Pre- and post-treatment images were compared to evaluate for resolution or lack thereof. Results: Since 2011, a total of 424 therapeutic bleomycin injection procedures were performed across 194 patients and including 210 lesions. Maximum lifetime administration was under 100 units for all patients. Lesions treated included 7 vascular tumors, 9 arteriovenous malformations (AVMs), 85 lymphatic malformations, and 109 venous malformations. Clinical improvement was seen for 89% of glomuvenous malformations, 67% of fibroadipose vascular anomalies, all lesions affecting the airway or orbit, and the subset of AVMs of the head and neck; notably, no improvement was seen in AVMs located elsewhere. For venous malformations and lymphatic malformations, clinical improvement was noted in 81% of cases. There were zero cases of skin ulceration, flagellate erythema, clinically apparent pulmonary injury (acute or chronic), anaphylaxis, respiratory compromise, or compartment syndrome. A total of 4 patients (0.9%) were noted to have significant skin hyperpigmentation after treatment. Conclusion: Bleomycin is a versatile sclerosant that allows for methods and locations of treatment that would likely lead to significant morbidity with other sclerosants, demonstrating a total complication risk under 1% (cutaneous hyperpigmentation). It also presents a novel method for the treatment of glomuvenous malformations and fibro-adipose vascular anomalies, and an adjunct or salvage therapy in AVMs.

  PublisherDOI

• 44. UMI-based expanded NGS panel in precision molecular diagnosis of vascular anomalies: Early results

  Cancer Genetics · 2024-08-01

  article
  PublisherDOI

• Evaluation of Postoperative Outcomes After Enterostomy Closure in Low Body Weight Infants: A Multi-Center Retrospective Analysis

  The American Surgeon · 2024-04-22

  article

  Background The minimum weight for enterostomy closure (EC) in infants remains debated with the current acceptable cut-off of >2 kg. As enterostomy-related complications or high enterostomy output (>30cc/kg/d) may prohibit a premature infant from reaching 2 kg, additional data is needed to evaluate the safety of EC in infants <2 kg. The objective of this study was to evaluate postoperative outcomes in low body weight (<2 kg) infants undergoing EC compared to larger infants. Methods We performed a multi-center retrospective analysis from 1/1/2012-12/31/2022 of all infants (age <1 year) who were <4 kg at time of EC. Primary outcomes included postoperative complications and 30-day mortality. Non-parametric analysis was performed using the Kruskal-Wallis one-way analysis of variance and chi-square tests. Univariable logistic regression was performed to identify factors associated with postoperative complications. Results Of 92 infants, 15 infants (16.3%) underwent EC at <2 kg, 16 (17.4%) at 2-2.49 kg, 31 (33.7%) at 2.5-2.99 kg, and 30 (32.6%) at ≥3 kg. Infants <2 kg at time of EC exhibited higher rates of hyperbilirubinemia ( P = .030), neurologic comorbidities ( P = .030), and high enterostomy output ( P = .041). There was no difference in postoperative complications ( P = .460) or 30-day mortality ( P = .460) between the <2 kg group and larger weight groups. Low body weight was not associated with an increased risk for developing a postoperative complication (OR: 1.001, 95% CI: 1.001-1.001; P = .032). Conclusion Our findings suggest that EC in infants <2 kg may be safe with comparable postoperative outcomes to larger weight infants. Thus, the timing of EC should be based on the infant’s physiologic status, in contrast to a predetermined minimum weight cut-off.

  PublisherDOI

• Mediastinal infantile hemangioma with spinal canal extension and extensive gastrointestinal involvement complicated by respiratory failure

  Pediatric Blood & Cancer · 2022-09-12 · 2 citations

  articleOpen access

  Infantile hemangioma is the most common soft tissue tumor of infancy. Extensive organ involvement is rare. This report describes an infant with biopsy confirmed infantile hemangioma with diffuse organ involvement causing anemia and failure to thrive. Treatment was initiated with propranolol and led to initial improvement; however, course was complicated by several episodes of respiratory failure secondary to pulmonary edema. Propranolol therapy was interrupted for several months while patient was maintained on a diuretic regimen and treated with vincristine and high-dose corticosteroids. Patient was transitioned back to propranolol and is clinically thriving with objective improvement on radiographic imaging.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Kaposiform hemangioendothelioma of the bone in children and adolescents

  Pediatric Blood & Cancer · 2021-10-04 · 15 citations

  article

  Kaposiform hemangioendothelioma (KHE) is a rare, locally aggressive vascular tumor that mainly occurs during infancy or early childhood. Approximately 70% of cases are complicated by Kasabach-Merritt phenomenon. Although osseous extension of the primary lesion is relatively common, primary bone involvement by KHE is rare. Given the paucity of literature on primary KHE of the bone, we report a case series of primary KHE of the bone treated at our institution and describe the clinical presentation, radiologic and pathologic findings, management and outcomes.

  PublisherDOI

• Catastrophic congenital hemangioma with severe coagulopathy leading to fatal cardiac failure: Case report and review

  Pediatric Dermatology · 2021 · 14 citations

  • Medicine
  • Surgery
  • Pediatrics

  We present a complex case of a neonate, delivered urgently for hydrops fetalis, with a large vascular mass of the extremity, diagnosed postnatally as a congenital hemangioma. The patient suffered immediate cardiac compromise and severe coagulopathy atypical for the diagnosis and subsequently died from these complications. Treatment was imperative but challenging due to a lack of a standardized treatment approach and few historical reports of equally critically ill patients. In this report, we review potential medical and surgical interventions and discuss treatment considerations in similar, life-threatening cases of congenital hemangiomas.

  PublisherDOI

• Recurrent gastrointestinal bleeding arising from a jejunal arteriovenous malformation in a child with capillary malformation-arteriovenous malformation syndrome

  Journal of Pediatric Surgery Case Reports · 2020-07-02

  articleOpen accessSenior authorCorresponding

  Capillary malformation-arteriovenous malformation (CM-AVM) syndrome is classically a RASA1 mutation with small CMs and either central nervous system or musculoskeletal AVMs. However, CM-AVM2 has recently been discovered, and is characterized by an EPHB4 mutation to the EPHB4-RAS-ERK pathway. The skin findings favor those of hereditary hemorrhagic telangiectasia with Bier spots and telangiectasias, and the presence of central nervous system and musculoskeletal AVMs mirror classic CM-AVM. To our knowledge, this is the first report of a visceral AVM in CM-AVM2 in the literature. The patient presented with recurrent gastrointestinal bleeds, and after an extensive workup culminating in diagnostic visceral angiography, was found to have a CM-AVM2 with a jejunal AVM.

  PublisherDOI

• A multidisciplinary approach to management of abdominal lymphatic malformations

  Journal of Pediatric Surgery · 2020 · 25 citations

  Senior authorCorresponding
  • Medicine
  • General surgery
  • Radiology
  PublisherDOI

Frequent coauthors

• Nam Nguyen

  Penumbra (United States)

  74 shared

• Manuel B. Torres

  Miller Children's & Women's Hospital

  52 shared

• Deiadra Garrett

  Johns Hopkins University

  36 shared

• Joseph M. Miller

  Henry Ford Hospital

  24 shared

• Henri R. Ford

  University of Miami

  23 shared

• Ronald W. Busuttil

  University of California, Los Angeles

  21 shared

• Claudia Emami

  Huntington Hospital

  18 shared

• Donald B. Shaul

  Kaiser Permanente

  17 shared