A pediatric surgeon is specially trained to operate on infants, children and young adults.

At Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital, our pediatric general surgeons care for infants, children and young adults and are specially trained to operate on patients with common and complex surgical needs. There are many advantages of having a pediatric surgeon care for your child. Pediatric surgeons have special qualifications and training for pediatric general surgery, including:

• Nine years of training after medical school. Becoming a pediatric surgeon requires completing of one of the longest training pathways in the U.S. medical system. Physicians train for nine years after medical school, which includes a residency program in general surgery followed by a pediatric surgery fellowship.
• Certified  in  general surgery  and  pediatric surgery. Pediatric surgeons must pass two certifications before they can practice, one in general surgery and one in pediatric surgery.
• Specially trained to operate from the neck to the pelvis.  While adult surgeons usually focus on a specific organ or region of the body, pediatric surgeons are trained to operate on a defined age group from the neck to the pelvic region.  

The American College of Surgeons recognizes the advantages of having children with surgical conditions under the care of specially-trained pediatric surgeons.