PEADATRIC SURGERY

Pediatrics surgery is a subspecialty of surgery involving the surgery of fetuses, infants, children, adolescents, and young adults. Many pediatric surgeons practice at children's hospitals.

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 have completed a general surgery residency (medicine), then complete two more years of subspecialty fellowship training before they are eligible to take the board examination for official subspecialty certification.

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.