Neonatal Surgery

By: Megan Aldworth

Neonatal Surgery is a branch of pediatric surgery that focuses on performing surgery directly to the fetus. Fetal surgery is a very complicated and high-risk form of surgery that requires a well educated and highly trained surgeon to perform. More and more fetal surgeries are taking place in the United States because they have been proven to be more successful in many cases than surgery after birth.

There are a number of birth defects that can be treated through neonatal surgery, including Spina bifida, Amniotic band syndrome, congenital diaphragmatic hernia, airway obstruction syndrome, twin-twin transfusion syndrome, and many more conditions. Many of the conditions that neonatal surgeons treat require a great amount of preparation for surgery and a critical amount of post-surgery care.

Due to the great amount of precisions, dedication, and hard-work neonatal surgeons must commit to, they receive a much higher commission than most other general surgeons. The annual salary for neonatal surgeons is $280,000-$310,000. Neonatal surgeons may have a high salary, but they must work long and tiring hours and in many cases their job can be quite emotionally straining.

 

Becoming a neonatal surgeon can take up to nineteen years. One must complete four years of undergraduate school, acquire a Doctor of Medicine from medical school, complete general surgery residency, participate in a pediatric surgery training program and may also have to do a year of research. It is easy to tell that becoming a fetal surgeon is not an easy trek and requires a great amount of knowledge and dedication. However, the work they do can be very rewarding to both the surgeon and the patient.


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Photo 2: "Dr. Chitneni Maruthi ( M.S., M.Ch. ) Consultant Pediatric, Neonatal & Laparoscopic Surgeon." Top Pediatric Surgeon in Hyderabad. Web. 26 Mar. 2016. <http://www.paediatricsurgeonhyderabad.com/aboutus.html#>. 
Photo 3: "Little Human." Pinterest. Web. 26 Mar. 2016. <https://www.pinterest.com/warcraftmama/little-human/>. 
"Neonatal Surgeon: Job Description and Education Requirements." Web. 26 Apr. 2016. <http://study.com/articles/Neonatal_Surgeon_Job_Description_and_Education_Requirements.html>. 
"About Fetal Surgery." The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. Web. 26 Mar. 2016. <http://www.chop.edu/treatments/fetal-surgery/about#.VwVvl8clet9>.