Children and babies need a specialist paediatric surgeon

The types of condition that babies and small children most commonly require surgery for includes the following:

Inguinal herniaWhen part of an organ pushes through the wall of the body cavity that normally holds it. Hernias can develop in many different parts of the body. - Both boys and girls often present with groin swellings known as inguinalRelating to the area around the groin. hernias.

Undescended testicleOne of two male sex organs, also calles testes, that produce sperm and the hormone testosterone. - Again, this is quite a common occurrence in babies.  When the testicle is easily palpated, but is not in the scrotumThe sac that contains the testes., then a routine ‘orchidopexy’ can be performed,

Acute appendicitisInflammation of the appendix, a small tube attached to the large intestine. - This is the most common reason for emergency surgery in children.

Gallbladder stones - These are not as common in children as in adults and tend to be associated with bloodA fluid that transports oxygen and other substances through the body, made up of blood cells suspended in a liquid. disorders such as Sickle Cell disease.

Fundoplication - Children occasionally have very severe vomitingExpusion of the contents of the stomach through the mouth. (gastro-oesophageal refluxBackflow of a bodily fluid in the wrong direction), which causes chest infections and failure to thrive.

Consultant Paediatric Surgeon Niall Jones explains how minimal access surgery, such as the laparoscopicA keyhole surgical procedure. procedures he describes is now accepted as the best and safest way to operate on babies and children.  This special group of patients has their whole lives ahead of them and there is no longer any need for them to have to live with the scars of ‘open’ operations performed in their childhood.