Pediatric neurosurgery: pride and prejudice

Pediatric neurosurgery now exists as a member of the family of neurosurgery with its own training programs, process of accreditation, national and international conferences and scientific journals. The relentless expansion of science relevant to the practice of neurosurgery and the changing patterns of neurosurgical practice have driven and continue to drive the juggernaut of evolutionary process which sometimes necessitates the birth of new specialties of practice. The history and the development of neurosurgery as they relate to children are presented. There is no more reason to think that the established specialty of pediatric neurosurgery or the patients under the care of pediatric neurosurgeons would benefit from the collapsing of pediatric neurosurgery back into the general neurosurgical fold than to think that all of neurosurgery, and hence all patients cared for by neurosurgeons, would benefit from the return of organized neurosurgery to its general surgical parent. Just as mankind benefits from the steady advancement of all aspects of neurosurgery, children benefit from the existence and steady advancement of pediatric neurosurgery.