Ethical issues in the management of neonatal surgical anomalies.

This article provides a framework for thinking about three areas in neonatal surgery that contain potential moral and ethical concerns for pediatric surgeons and the parents of a newborn and/or fetus with a surgical anomaly. The utilization of life-sustaining therapy for neonates has made survival possible for many infants with serious birth defects. Sometimes the use of these treatments is problematic in terms of their actual benefit to the infant and the potential for enhancing their future quality of life. Second, the prenatal diagnosis of congential anomalies has made counseling of the prospective parents a routine part of pediatric surgical practice and raises the issue of how best to advise and support a couple whose fetus has a significant birth defect. Finally, pediatric surgeons have a responsibility to their patients and society to provide the highest quality of care. This may involve participation in multi-institutional clinical trials, so that the optimal care of a surgical neonate with a congenital or acquired condition is ascertained by rigorous prospective research evaluation.