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FALL 2005
Letter from the Chair
In recent years, pediatric surgeons have expanded not only how they treat young patients, but who they treat. Fetal surgery, first performed in 1981 at UCSF, offers an opportunity to save the life of a baby still developing in its mother's womb. Over the years, UCSF fetal surgeons, with the support of a stellar team of perinatologists, neonatologists and radiologists, have led the development of this new field.
Michael Harrison, M.D., who directs our Fetal Treatment Center, served as the first president of the International Fetal Medicine and Surgery Society. In June 2006, at the Society's 25th anniversary meeting, he will once again assume the presidency of that group.
Fetal surgery poses complex ethical as well as technical challenges. Not only is the developing fetus a patient, but so is its otherwise healthy mother. The concept of "equipoise," the careful balancing of the health risks and benefits that surgery poses to both fetus and mother, has been a particular focus of Diana Farmer, M.D., a member of the fetal surgery team and head of the Division of Pediatric Surgery.
This issue of Inside Surgery also highlights many other aspects of pediatric surgery, from minimally invasive repair of inguinal hernia to the complex reconstruction of newborns' hearts. I am sure you will be inspired by this vibrant and exciting group of surgeons.
Sincerely,
Nancy L. Ascher, M.D., Ph.D.
Professor and Chair, Department of Surgery
Fall 2005 Table of Contents
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