ABSTRACT
The successful outcome of an operation performed on a newborn with congenital anomalies depends not only on the skill of the pediatric surgeon, but also on that of a large team consisting of a pediatrician, anesthetist, radiologist, pathologist, biochemist, nurses, and others necessary for dealing satisfactorily with the newborn subjected to surgery. Advances in neonatal intensive care (NIC) dictate that effective and efficient treatment of the sickest neonates can only be available by concentrating resources such as equipment and skilled staff in a few specialist pediatric centers which have responsibilities to a particular region.1,2 Neonates with congenital malformations will therefore have to be transported safely to these centers, sometimes over considerable distances.
