Pediatric Surgery

Pediatric surgery is a surgical specialty that deals with the care of fetuses, infants, children, and adolescents. The upper age limit ranges from age 14 to 18, depending on the country, before the patient would be seen by another physician for any medical problems.

Pediatric surgery has its own sub-specialties branching into other specialties, such as pediatric general surgery, pediatric neurosurgery and pediatric cardiothoracic surgery, as well as two sub-specialties of its own, fetal surgery and neonatal surgery.

Neonatal Surgery
Neonatal surgery is a sub-specialty of pediatric surgery that consists of the surgical care of newborn infants, especially the ill or premature newborn infant. Practicing surgeons exclusively focus on neonates, infants in the first 28 days after birth, and heavily coordinates with a hospital's NICU.

Fetal Surgery
Fetal surgery (sometimes referred to as prenatal surgery) is a sub-specialty of pediatric surgery that includes any of a broad range of surgical techniques that are used to treat birth defects in fetuses who are still in the pregnant uterus. Fetal surgery can also be performed by perinatologists as it is part of the curriculum of maternal-fetal medicine fellowships.

Notable Pediatric surgeons and sub-specialists

 * Dr. Addison Montgomery (Director of Medicine and staff, OB/GYN at Seaside Health and Wellness,OB/GYN and neonatal surgeon at St. Ambrose Hospital, and former Chief of OB/GYN and Neonatal Surgery at Seattle Grace Hospital)
 * Dr. Arizona Robbins (Chief of Pediatric Surgery at Grey Sloan Memorial Hospital)
 * Dr. Robert Stark (Former Chief of Pediatric Surgery at Seattle Grace Mercy West Hospital)
 * Dr. Alex Karev (Pediatric Surgery Fellow at Grey Sloan Memorial Hospital)
 * Dr. Mel Barnett (Attending Pediatric Surgeon at Grey Sloan Memorial Hospital)
 * Dr. Jordan Kenley (Former Chief of Pediatric Surgery at Seattle Grace Hospital)

Notes and Trivia

 * Although her training does include pediatric surgery, Dr. Montgomery has never been referred to as a pediatric surgeon: she has always been referred to as a neonatal surgeon, or, on occasion, a fetal surgeon.
 * There are only 38 pediatric surgery fellowship spots in the country.
 * As a surgical specialty, pediatric surgery is the elite of the elite.