PAEDIATRIC SURGERY

Definition

Pediatric surgery is a specialized field of surgery for the treatment of conditions that can be surgically corrected in a baby, child, or adolescent.

Purpose

The purpose of pediatric surgery varies with the procedure. In general, the purpose is to surgically correct a congenital condition, disease, traumatic injury, or other disorder in the pediatric patient.

What do paediatric surgeons do?

Where other specialties are concerned with a particular technique or area of the body, paediatric surgery is the only surgical speciality that is defined by the patient’s age rather than by a specific condition and deals with the diseases, trauma and malformations from the foetal period to teenage years.

These surgeons cope with wide physiological differences between each of the age groups from newborns through to near-adults, as well as specific set of skills and professional attitudes for dealing with children and their families.

The routine workload is very broad indeed as paediatric surgeons deal with all conditions in this age group, but there are some conditions innate to children. Most consultants develop experience and skills across the breadth of surgery, although there is an increasing trend for consultants to develop further specific expertise in areas of special interest.

The principle sub-specialties of paediatric surgery

Paediatric surgeons perform surgery for a very wide range of conditions including:

• Neonatal surgery – Routine antenatal ultrasound scanning means that patients are getting younger and younger.
• Paediatric urology – certain urological conditions, such as hypospadias, frequently present at birth or in young people.
• Paediatric oncology – childhood cancers are different from those developed by adults. Leukaemia remains the most significant in children.

Main operations:

Common elective procedures:

• Herniotomy for congenital inguinal (groin area) hernia and hydrocoele (collection of fluid around the testes)
• Correction of undescended testis
• Circumcision
• Repair of umbilical (belly-button) hernia