The Miracle League of Southwestern PA

Sylvia S. Choi, MD, FAAP, is an attending physician of Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh of UPMC’s Paul C. Gaffney Diagnostic Referral Service, which consists of pediatric hospitalists for Children's General Medical Service.

Dr. Choi and her colleagues in the Diagnostic Referral Service help families and support primary care physicians by identifying a child’s specialized medical needs while coordinating the best possible advanced treatment. The service is staffed by full-time physicians with special interest in the diagnostic challenges of general pediatrics, who specialize in multisystem diseases, complex single-system problems and basic pediatric problems. Based at Children’s, Dr. Choi’s group serves as a consultative service for physicians whose patients have complex diagnoses because they have years of experience in diagnosing and managing a wide variety of the most complex pediatric medical conditions. That experience complements the referring physician’s knowledge of the patient and provides a fresh perspective on what may be a challenging diagnosis and management.

Dr. Choi also serves as the medical director of Children’s Limited Stay Unit, which provides focused, rapid treatment for those patients with simple diagnoses whose estimated length of stay is six to 48 hours.

Dr. Choi, who is an assistant professor of pediatrics at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, is a member of the American Board of Pediatrics, American Academy of Pediatrics, Alpha Omega Alpha, and the Ambulatory Pediatric Association, to name just a few. She has been a Pediatric Advanced Life Support instructor with the American Heart Association since 1997.

She received her medical degree and her doctorate at Boston University, and completed her pediatrics residency and chief residency at Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh. Dr. Choi is married to Dr. Thomas Chalifoux, Anesthesiology, and together they have 3 children. They reside in Wexford, Pa.