What is a pediatric surgeon?

When your child needs medical treatment, you want him or her to have the very best care available. So it stands to reason that if your child needs an operation, you will want to consult with a surgeon who is qualified and experienced in operating on children. Surgeons who specialize in general surgery often provide surgical care for children, and they are fully qualified to perform many operations on children. In more urbanized areas of the country, another kind of surgeon the pediatric surgeon is also available to provide comprehensive surgical care for children. Pediatric surgeons operate on children whose development ranges from the newborn stage through the teenage years. In addition to completing training and achieving board certification in general surgery, pediatric surgeons complete two additional years of training exclusively in children's surgery. They then receive special certification in the subspecialty of pediatric surgery. What Is the Pediatric Surgeon's Role in ...  more

When your child needs medical treatment, you want him or her to have the very best care available. So it stands to reason that if your child needs an operation, you will want to consult with a surgeon who is qualified and experienced in operating on children. Surgeons who specialize in general surgery often provide surgical care for children, and they are fully qualified to perform many operations on children. In more urbanized areas of the country, another kind of surgeon -- the pediatric surgeon -- is also available to provide comprehensive surgical care for children. Pediatric surgeons operate on children whose development ranges from the newborn stage through the teenage years. What is the pediatric surgeon's role in treating the child? Pediatric surgeons are primarily concerned with the diagnosis, preoperative, operative, and postoperative management of surgical problems in children. Some medical conditions in newborns are not compatible with a good quality of life unless these ...  more

A pediatric surgeon usually devotes of his or her practice to the surgical care of children. He or she must have graduated from medical school, and completed five years of postgraduate General Surgery training in an accredited training program. Pediatric surgeons must then complete an additional accredited two-year fellowship program in Pediatric Surgery. Pediatric surgeons concentrate on the special surgical problems of children. We care for infants, children, and adolescents, and also help to counsel parents expecting a baby who may have been diagnosed before birth with a surgical problem. Pediatric surgeons are experienced in caring for the wide variety of problems children may have, ranging from hernias or appendicitis to cancer or serious congenital anomalies.  more