Ethics of Transition of Care of Pediatric Surgical Patients to Adult Providers

jpedsurg.org

Pediatric surgeons have significantly improved survival rates for children with complex conditions, transforming many previously terminal cases into long-term survivorship. What was once a few years of follow-up has now become decades, leading to patients living well into adulthood, facing new challenges that often fall outside the traditional pediatric care zone. This creates an ethical dilemma: balancing beneficence and non-maleficence while ensuring equity in caring for new patients who require our expertise.

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Article · Jan 2025 · 1 min read

In brief

This article examines the ethical challenges pediatric surgeons face when transitioning long-term survivors of complex childhood conditions to adult care providers. As improved survival rates extend follow-up from years to decades, surgeons must balance ongoing care for aging patients against accepting new pediatric cases requiring specialized expertise.

Improved pediatric surgical outcomes mean many complex patients now survive into adulthood, requiring decades of follow-up.
Transition of care creates ethical tension between continuing care for aging patients vs. accepting new pediatric cases.
Pediatric surgeons must balance beneficence, non-maleficence, and equity when managing adult survivors of childhood conditions.
Long-term survivorship shifts care needs beyond traditional pediatric scope, necessitating structured transition planning.

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