Burn Center

Multidisciplinary teams are the cornerstone of patient-focused care at West Penn Burn Center. Every patient admitted to the Burn Center has a team dedicated to meeting that patient’s special needs.

Meet the people who lead and coordinate Burn Center care teams.

Ariel Mariano Aballay, MD, FACS

Surgeon

A native of Cordoba, Argentina, Dr. Aballay completed medical school at the National University of Cordoba before moving to Pittsburgh. In 2001, he joined The Western Pennsylvania Hospital Department of Surgery, where he completed his residency.

Dr. Aballay is especially interested in techniques developed to obtain the best possible cosmetic and functional results after burn injuries. He has shared his expertise on burn trauma treatment in seminars throughout the United States.

He is a board-certified surgeon, a member of the American Burn Association, and a Fellow of the American College of Surgeons. Dr. Aballay is also a certified instructor in Advanced Burn Life Support.

Robert W. Kelly, MD

Surgeon

Dr. Kelly is a graduate of Wake Forest University School of Medicine and completed his residency in Surgery at Tripler Army Medical Center. 

In addition to West Penn Burn Center, Dr. Kelly practices at Allegheny General Hospital (AGH) in the Division of Trauma Surgery, with AGH Shock Trauma.

Dr. Kelly is a board-certified surgeon and an assistant professor of surgery at Temple University School of Medicine.

Christine Perlick, BSN, RN

Outreach Coordinator

Christine is a native Pittsburgher who came to West Penn Burn Center with a background in both clinical nursing and sales and marketing. She earned her Bachelor of Science in Nursing from Edinboro University of Pa. Christine began her career as a Pediatric Medical/Surgical staff nurse at Texas Childrens Hospital in Houston.   She worked as a Pediatric Medical/Surgical staff nurse at Allegheny General Hospital and then as a Clinical Nurse III in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at West Penn Hospital. Christine has several years of marketing and teaching experience from her time spent working with a specialty pharmaceutical company that focused on several therapeutic areas, one of which was Dermatology.