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.