General & Thoracic Pediatric Surgery is devoted exclusively to the management of surgical problems in infants and children. Members of this department are specially certified by the American Board of Surgery to treat congenital malformations, neoplasms, and inflammatory conditions occurring throughout childhood.
Pediatric surgery is not limited to an anatomic area of the body, such as the thorax or abdomen, but encompasses diseases that are unique to children or require special expertise. These diseases include:
Chest wall deformities, such as pectus excavatum
Malformations and tumors of the lung and mediastinum
Esophageal atresia and congenital anomalies of the intestine
Biliary atresia and hepatobiliary cysts and tumors
Abdominal masses and tumors such as Wilm’s tumor and neuroblastoma
Pediatric colorectal diseases, such as imperforate anus, Hirschsprung’s disease and inflammatory bowel disease
In most cases, a patient is referred to a pediatric surgeon by a pediatrician or family practitioner who discovers a problem that might require surgical treatment. Unborn babies are referred to pediatric surgeons by obstetricians when congenital defects are discovered by prenatal ultrasound.
Newborn babies are referred to pediatric surgeons by neonatologists for surgical problems that arise shortly after birth. Sometimes children are self-referred by their parents for the suspicion of a surgical problem.