What is paediatric surgery?
The specialty itself, the sub-specialities within it, and the other surgical specialties that also operate on children.
Paediatric surgery and its sub-specialities
Paediatric Surgery
The surgical specialty dedicated to the management of surgical conditions in children, from the fetal period through to the teenage years. It is the only one of the ten surgical specialties recognised by the Royal College of Surgeons of England that is defined by the patient's age rather than by a particular condition or body system.
Sub-specialities within paediatric surgery
These are the areas the British Association of Paediatric Surgeons organises itself around. A paediatric surgeon may develop a special interest in one or more of them.
- Neonatal surgery
- Gastrointestinal
- Hepatobiliary
- Urology
- Oncology
- Thoracic
- Trauma
- Fetal medicine
- Minimal access
- General surgery of childhood
Other specialties that treat children
Paediatric surgery is not the only route to operating on children. Most surgical specialties have clinicians who work with children, either as their whole practice or as part of it.
- Neurosurgery
- ENT (otolaryngology)
- Plastic surgery
- Cardiothoracic surgery
- Trauma and orthopaedic surgery
- Oral and maxillofacial surgery
- Urology
- Ophthalmology
Sub-specialities are as listed by the British Association of Paediatric Surgeons. The surgical specialties are those recognised by the Royal College of Surgeons of England, plus ophthalmology.
