Pediatric Surgery

What Does Pediatric Surgery Do?

Pediatric surgery is a separate field of surgery specializing in the treatment and surgical procedures for children of all ages. The areas treated include the abdominal and thoracic regions of general pediatric surgery and pediatric urology, pediatric trauma surgery, neonatal surgery, and oncologic surgery for cancer. The general treatment spectrum includes all necessary steps beginning with the child's patient and family medical history with the parents, the clinical and physical examination, blood sampling, ultrasound examinations, and endoscopic examinations of the various organs. After the admission has been completed, the surgical intervention can take place.

Pediatric surgery is not only a surgical branch of adult surgery since the treatment of children requires a different approach medically and in dealing with small patients, which is aligned explicitly to children.

In addition, the surgical context aims to choose a minor possible approach, i.e., to make small incisions and operate in a minimally invasive way. The so-called SILS technique, also known as single incision laparoscopic surgery, was developed specifically for pediatrics and describes the performance of the minimally invasive procedure using only one incision used to insert all small instruments and the camera. This supports the faster mobilization of children and wound healing after surgery and helps achieve a better cosmetic result with smaller scars.

Pediatric surgeons work closely with other specialties in an interdisciplinary manner.

Why Does Pediatric Surgery Exist?

Because children are not small adults, they bring different surgical challenges and should be treated as a separate patient population. The child's skeleton and anatomy and child development have some unique characteristics, especially concerning sonographic examinations and surgical procedures. The administration of medications also requires different drug concentrations. For this reason, pediatric surgery is a distinct field of surgery that requires separate training for the surgeon.

How Does One Become a Pediatric Surgeon?

The pediatric surgery residency must be completed after graduating from medical school to become a pediatric surgeon. This includes a total training period of six years, of which two years must be completed as a common trunk in standard surgery and four years of training in pediatric surgery. During this time, a certain number of surgical interventions and further examinations must have been performed, which are listed in a logbook. At the end of the specialist training as a pediatric surgeon, the specialist exam is taken so that the physician is subsequently qualified to work as a pediatric surgeon.

Which Surgeries Are Carried Out by Pediatric Surgeons?

In pediatric surgery, the entire spectrum of childhood diseases is operated on. The most common of these are acute appendicitis, inguinal and umbilical hernias, and childhood fractures such as broken arms.

However, pediatric surgeons also perform more complex procedures for congenital malformations such as cysts in the lungs, congenital obstruction of the esophagus, or strictures of the gastric portal. After accidents, various fractures may be treated by pediatric trauma surgeons, while splenic ruptures, for example, after bicycle accidents, are surgically treated by general pediatric surgeons. Two other major areas are burn surgery after burn accidents in children and plastic surgery for malformations of extremities or the face in collaboration with oral and maxillofacial surgeons. On the other hand, oncology pediatric surgery deals with the treatment of childhood tumors, such as lymphoma or tumors of the kidney. Brain tumors and neural tube defects, colloquially known as open backs, on the other hand, are usually treated by neurosurgeons who specialize in the treatment of children.

In the field of pediatric urology, diseases of the kidneys and sex organs are treated, including, for example, cystic kidneys, undescended testicles, and circumcision for narrowing of the foreskin of the penis.

Pediatric surgeons also perform gastroscopies, colonoscopies, and endoscopy of the lungs to detect potential disease.

Where Can I Find an Experienced Pediatric Surgeon?

We can help you find an expert for your condition. All listed physicians and clinics have been reviewed by us for their outstanding specialization in pediatric surgery and are awaiting your inquiry or treatment request.

Sources:

• www.dgkch.de/menu-kinderchirurgie-in-deutschland/spektrum-der-kinderchirurgie
• www.klinikum.uni-heidelberg.de/chirurgische-klinik-zentrum/kinderchirurgie
• www.unimedizin-mainz.de/kinderchirurgie/start/behandlungsspektrum.html
• Checkliste Neonatologie. Genzel-Boroviczény O, Roos R, Hrsg. 6., aktualisierte Auflage. Stuttgart: Thieme; 2018. doi:10.1055/b-006-162305
• approbatio.de/facharztausbildung/facharzt-kinderchirurgie-ausbildung/