Childhood Cancer

Print

Childhood Cancer

Pediatric surgeons

If your child does not require emergency surgery, you have time to locate a board-certified pediatric surgeon with lots of experience operating on children with solid tumors. Surgeons who devote the majority of their practice to children usually provide the most appropriate surgical approach to try to cure the child. A pediatric surgeon suggests:

The most important advice I would offer to a family is logical but not necessarily widely accepted. Quite simply, be certain that your child is cared for by a surgeon who is experienced in caring for children. Children are not simply “little adults.” There is no rationale in assuming that the surgeon who cares largely for adults is equally qualified to look after a newborn baby or young child. This has nothing to do with intelligence, but is simply a logical extension of the meaning of experience in any facet of life. A carpenter who builds bookshelves will probably do it better than a carpenter that has spent his life building houses. A pilot of a space shuttle is not trained to be an airline pilot.

Surgical treatment is only one aspect of overall care. Therefore, when a major surgical procedure is planned, it is essential that it be carried out in a children’s hospital that uses a team approach. With a team approach, pediatric oncologists, pediatric anesthesiologists, pediatric radiologists, pediatric nurses, child life specialists, and social workers are all part of an integrated group that is devoted to a single goal: the recovery of your child.

Chapter 14: SurgeryTypes of surgery

Table of Contents

All Guides