Bowel resections are linked to increased length of hospital stay and have been estimated to cost US$74,000 to US$186,000 per acute case. Costs for treating infants with surgical NEC have been estimated at US$216,666 per survivor. These costs do not include the potential long-term care associated with the morbidity of the disease or the cost of suspected NEC case when perterm infants are treated for multiple days with antibiotics, serial kidney-urethra-bladder x-rays, and total parenteral nutrition. Of the US$2 billion annual. Medicaid expenditure in 2004 for infant/child Medicaid recipients (age 0-19 years), who were deemed medically fragile, appoximately US$133 million have been spent for special healthcare needs typically required for pre-term infants treated surgically for NEC. With the expention of bronchopulmonary disease, NEC is the most expensive neonatal complication.