He was also the founding editor-in-chief of the Journal of Pediatric Surgery, Dartmouth said.

CNN: Former Surgeon General C. Everett Koop dies at age 96

After graduating from Cornell Medical College in 1941, Dr. Koop opted for the then-unusual specialty of pediatric surgery.

WSJ: Former Surgeon General Koop Dies

He received his medical degree at Cornell Medical College, choosing pediatric surgery because so few surgeons practiced it.

WSJ: C. Everett Koop, ex-surgeon general, dies in NH

Koop received his medical degree at Cornell Medical College, choosing pediatric surgery because so few surgeons practiced it.

WSJ: Koop, who transformed surgeon general post, dies

Prior to his appointment, Koop was surgeon-in-chief at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, where he was a pioneer in the field of pediatric surgery.

CNN: Former Surgeon General C. Everett Koop dies at age 96

"This is not a cure, " said Dr. Scott Adzick, lead author of the study and the chief of pediatric surgery at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia.

CNN: Study: Major benefits for spina bifida surgery in the womb

"They say, 'Well, we'll tell her it's just a cold, or it's just a virus, or we'll tell her she'll have surgery and then everything will be fine, '" said Dr. Lawrence Wolfe, a pediatric hematologist-oncologist at Long Island Jewish Medical Center in New York.

CNN: 'Honey, you're really sick'