What is the
job of a
neonatal
surgeon?
Neonatal
Surgeons
An in depth guide
[Company Name]
Block 4
November 23, 2015
Neonatal surgeons are a
subspecialty of pediatric
surgeons with extensive
training to perform
surgery on fetuses,
infants, and very young
children. The majority of
surgeries performed by
neonatal surgeons are
corrective surgeries
involving the chest,
stomach, and urological
areas.
“I love my job.”
- Every Neonatal Surgeon
the mother? ”Because most prenatal surgeries
fall under the term clinical trials the surgeons
become researchers and under the 2009
Department of Health and Human Services Code
of Federal Regulations Part 46 Protection of
Human Subjects section 46.204 when a
researcher has the consent is trying to repair a
malformation or attempting to extend the life of
the fetus he/she can only perform the surgery if
and only if it… “Could benefit the pregnant
woman, benefit the pregnant woman and the
fetus; or if there is no potential to benefit either
the fetus or the pregnant woman but the surgery
could offer important biomedical knowledge that
cannot be obtained by any other means, with no
greater than minimal risk to the fetus,”
(O'Connor, 2015).
Statistics
How to Become a Neonatal
Surgeon
All prenatal surgeons start by attending a
four year university or college. The majority of
them will major in biology or life sciences. After
four years of undergraduate school, prenatal
surgeons will then spend four more years in
medical school. The first 2 years of medical school
are laboratory and classroom work with the second
half being more concentrated on hands on patient
care. With the completion of medical school,
students will earn their M.D.
Following medical school, an aspiring
prenatal surgeon would then be expected to apply
for a general surgical residency program. During
their five to eight year residency they will learn the
broad concepts and ideas of medicine by rotating
through the different departments in the hospital.
After residency they will apply to the
American Board of Surgery to get their
certification. Certification is not mandatory but it
gives them credibility as a surgeon and must
hospitals require doctors to be board certified to be
able to work in the hospital or require that they
become board certified within a certain period of
time.
 Average Salary: $400,000 per year (about
$190 an hour).
After certification and/or residency future
prenatal surgeons will apply for a neonatal/prenatal
pediatric fellowship. Fellowships last two years and
are meant to teach them the specifics they need to
know for their specialty. Finally, they will have to take
the U.S. Medical Licensing Examination to become a
licensed neonatal surgeon.
Becoming a Board Certified, licensed neonatal
surgeon is an extraordinary amount of work over a
very long period of time. However, if a prenatal
surgeon is truly interested and dedicated to his/her
work the effort and time will be worth it.
Ethics of the Job
Most bioethical prenatal issues stem from, until
gestation has reached 24 weeks, the fetus is
completely dependent on the mother. This has raised
questions such as, “Whose life takes priority: the
mother or the fetus? Does the father have a say in the
choice of whether or not to pursue neonatal surgery?
Can a doctor force a mother to have surgery that will
benefit the fetus, but could potentially be harmful to
 Projection for Surgical Field: The surgical field
is expected to increase 18% from 2012 to
2022.
 Average Amount of Schooling: 19 years.
Common Questions
 What do I wear to work? In the operation
room surgeons wear scrubs; however, for
other parts of the day you will wear
professional clothes.
 Will I have to interact with patients? Yes,
just because you are usually tucked away in
the operating room does not mean that you
will not have to interact with patients and their
families.
 Who are the majority of my patients? The
majority of neonatal surgeon’s patients are
children and infants.