Dr. Michel Mikhael, Neonatology

- Michel Mikhael MD
- Office: 714-509-4373
- Specialty: Neonatology
- Board Certified: Pediatrics, Neonatal-Perinatal Medicine
Dr. Michel Mikhael joined CHOC Hospital in 2012 and currently serves as an assistant professor of clinical pediatrics at UC Irvine. His philosophy of care is to provide family centered care and apply evidence-based practices. He has special interest in perinatology, extremely low birth weight neonates and bronchopulmonary dysplasia. He is board certified in pediatrics and neonatal-perinatal medicine by the American board of Pediatrics.
Dr. Mikhael attended medical school at Cairo University School of Medicine in Egypt, completed his pediatrics residency at Maimonides Infants and Children’s Hospital, Brooklyn, NY, then fellowship training in neonatal perinatal medicine at University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX.
Michel Mikhael MD is on staff at CHOC Hospital in Orange .
Locations
CHOC Hospital
1201 W. La Veta Ave.
Orange, CA 92868
CHOC at Mission Hospital
27700 Medical Center Rd. 5th Floor
Mission Viejo, CA 92691
Hoag Memorial Presbyterian Hospital
One Hoag Dr.
Newport Beach, CA 92663
Pomona Valley Hospital
1798 N. Garey Ave.
Pomona, CA 91767
Education
- Fellowship – Neonatal-Perinatal Medicine
University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, Texas - Internship
Cairo University Teaching Hospitals, Cairo, Egypt - Medical School
Cairo University School of Medicine, Cairo, Egypt - Residency – Pediatrics
Maimonides Infants and Children’s Hospital, Brooklyn, New York
Administrative Appointments
- Medical Director, CHOC Small Baby Unit
- Associate Program Director and CHOC Site Director, UCI Neonatal-Perinatal Fellowship Program
Honors and Awards
- Children’s Clinical Research Advisory Committee (CCRAC) Award
Children’s Medical Center of Dallas - The Sassine Rahi award for Excellence in Neonatology
Maimonides Infants and Children’s Hospital of Brooklyn - Pediatric Subspecialty Faculty Research Fund Award, Children’s Hospital of Orange County
- Orange County Medical Association Physicians of Excellence Award
Professional Organizations
- American Academy of Pediatrics
- Egyptian Medical Syndicate
- Children’s Hospitals Neonatal Consortium (CHNC)
- American Association for Physician Leadership (AAPL)
Publications
Pham B, Denslow A, Mikhael M, Lim J. A Case of an Extremely Low Birth Weight Infant with Morganella morganii Bacteremia and Peritonitis. AJP Rep. Aug 2021.
Cuna A, Lagatta J, Savani R, Vyas S, Engle W, Rose R, DiGeronimo R, Logan J, Mikhael M, Girija Natarajan G, Truog W, Kielt M, Murthy K, Zaniletti I, Lewis T. Association of Time of First Corticosteroid Treatment with Bronchopulmonary Dysplasia in Preterm Infants. Pediatr Pulmonol. Aug 2021.
Vyas S, Logan J, Cuna A, Machry J, Leeman K, Rose R, Mikhael M, Wymore E, Ibrahim J, R DiGeronimo, Yallapragada S, Haberman B, Padula M, Porta N, Murthy K, Nelin L, Coghill C, Zaniletti I, Savani R, Truog W, Engle W, Lagatta J. A Comparison of Newer Classifications of Bronchopulmonary Dysplasia: Findings from the Children’s Hospitals Neonatal Consortium Severe BPD Group. J Perinatol. Aug 2021.
Kurihara C, Zhang L, Mikhael M. Newer Bronchopulmonary Dysplasia Definitions and Prediction of Health Economics Impacts in Very Preterm Infants. Pediatr Pulmonol. Nov 2020.
Lim J, Sun W, Zhang L, Mikhael M. Birth Tourism is Associated with Fewer Neonatal Intensive Care Unit Admissions: a Healthy Migrant Effect? Am J Perinatol. Nov 2020.
Curran M, Mikhael M, et al. Perinatal Management of Bart’s Hemoglobinopathy: Paradoxical Effects of Intrauterine, Transplacental, and Partial Exchange Transfusions. AJP Rep. Jan 2020.
Lack of Evidence for Time or Dose Relationship between Antenatal Magnesium Sulfate and Intestinal Injury in Extremely Preterm Neonates. Mikhael M, Bronson C, Zhang L, Curran M, Rodriguez H, Bhakta KY. Neonatology. 2019 Apr 9;115(4):371-378. doi: 10.1159/000497412. [Epub ahead of print] PMID: 30965340
Adrenal insufficiency in neonates undergoing cardiopulmonary bypass and postoperative hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal function after prophylactic glucocorticoids. Tang A, Rosenfeld CR, Mikhael M, McPhaul MJ, Koch JD. J Perinatol. 2019 May;39(5):640-647. doi: 10.1038/s41372-019-0344-7. Epub 2019 Mar 12. PMID: 30867544
Three-hourly feeding intervals are associated with faster advancement in very preterm infants. Chu E, Freck S, Zhang L, Bhakta KY, Mikhael M. Early Hum Dev. 2019 Apr;131:1-5. doi: 10.1016/j.earlhumdev.2019.01.021. Epub 2019 Feb 2. PMID: 30721843
Carmi Syndrome in a Preterm Neonate: A Multidisciplinary Approach and Ethical Challenge. Hicks TD, Singh H, Mikhael M, Shah AR. Case Rep Pediatr. 2018 Dec 20;2018:4548194. doi: 10.1155/2018/4548194. eCollection 2018. PMID: 30671273
Birth Tourism and Neonatal Intensive Care: A Children’s Hospital Experience. Mikhael M, Cleary JP, Dhar V, Chen Y, Nguyen DV, Chang AC. Am J Perinatol. 2016 Dec;33(14):1415-1419. Epub 2016 May 16. PMID: 27183000
Mikhael M, Brown LS, Rosenfeld CR. Serial Neutrophil Values Facilitate Predicting the Absence of Neonatal Early-Onset Sepsis. J Pediatr March 2014.
Rastogi S, Mikhael M, Filipov P, Rastogi D. Effects of Ventilation on Hearing Loss in Preterm Neonates: Nasal Continuous Positive Pressure Does Not Increase the Risk of Hearing Loss in Ventilated Neonates. Int J Pediatr Otorhinolaryngol March 2013.
Our neonatologists commonly treat the following conditions in newborns and babies:
- Apnea
- Bradycardia
- Bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD)
- Coarctation of the aorta
- Gastroschisis
- Heart valve abnormalities
- Hypoglycemia
- Intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR)
- Intraventricular hemorrhage (IVH)
- Jaundice
- Macrosomia
- Necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC)
- Patent ductus arteriosus (PDA)
- Persistent pulmonary hypertension of the newborn (PPHN)
- Pneumonia
- Respiratory distress syndrome (RDS)
- Retinopathy of prematurity (ROP)
- Sepsis
- Septal defects
- Tetralogy of Fallot
- Transposition of the great arteries
- Trouble keeping warm
Health Topics

Every family looks forward to a healthy pregnancy and to the birth of a healthy newborn. For some, there may be unexpected challenges along the way because an expectant mother has a high-risk pregnancy.