ABSTRACT
In caring for the extremely premature neonate with surgical
disease or the infant with multiple, life-threatening congeni-
tal anomalies, pediatric surgeons often encounter difficult
ethical decisions about the use of advanced, life-sustaining
treatments and operative interventions. The imperative to
utilize new technology is tempered with concerns about
quality of life, informed parental decision making, and access
to scarce medical resources. Pediatric surgeons, families, and
communities ask the difficult ethical question: ‘We can do
this particular intervention, but, should we?’ This chapter
provides the pediatric surgeon with ethical guidelines to
utilize in clinical situations in which therapeutic decisions
contain uncertainty or conflict and the next steps in the
management of an infant that pose challenges for the parents
and physicians.
