Pediatric surgery
Pediatric surgery is the branch of medicine that uses surgical techniques specifically tailored to children, because the constant development of children’s bodies and the rapid growth of their bodies mean that surgical procedures require a different approach to those for adults. It also treats congenital abnormalities in many cases.
Pediatric surgery includes, among others, urology, abdominal surgery, and dermatology.
Outpatient care is available for children aged 0-18 years.
We can also examine children with special needs or somatically impaired children.
For what complaints should you go to a pediatric surgery clinic?
If you have the following symptoms and complaints, you should visit a pediatric surgical consultant:
- Inguinal hernia, hydrocele, umbilical hernia, abdominal hernia and weakness
- Undescended testicles (cryptorchidism), hidden testicles
- Tight foreskin (phimosis) and penile adhesion, labial adhesion
- Central and lateral cervical fistula or cyst, pilonidal sinus
- Removal of ingrown nails, skin and soft tissue lesions, scars, ganglion on the back of the hand, supernumerary digits and toes for functional complaints, aesthetic reasons or for diagnostic purposes
- Clarification of surgical pathologies causing chronic constipation, chronic abdominal pain, and bloody stools
- Urological pathologies and abnormal urethral opening (hypospadias) requiring surgical intervention
- Urological pathologies requiring surgical intervention and abnormal urethral opening (hypospadiasis)
- Inflammatory or mucous lesions above the sacrum
- Tongue tie or short lingual frenulum
What pediatric surgical procedures are available at Medicover Hospital?
- Circumcision (circumcisio): Circumcision is the surgical removal of the foreskin. It is most commonly performed for medical reasons because of a complaint of foreskin stenosis (e.g. recurrent foreskin inflammation).
- Surgical retrieval of undescended testicles into the scrotum: During fetal life, the testicles develop in the abdominal cavity. If the testicles are not deposited in the scrotum by birth, spontaneous deposition is rare. The tissue of the undescended testicle can then be more easily damaged, the risk of developing tumors is higher, and sperm production is reduced. Surgical treatment of undescended testicles is therefore always necessary.
- Abdominal hernia surgery (hernia epigastrica): An abdominal hernia occurs when the abdominal muscles become weak, and the abdominal tissue protrudes through the muscle.
- Umbilical hernia surgery (hernia umbilica): A hernia that occurs in or around the navel (umbilicus). The navel is an inherently weaker area of the abdominal wall, probably because the umbilical cord originated there in the uterus. The lining of the abdominal wall can thin, leading to the formation of a hernia in the abdominal wall.
- Testicular varicocele surgery: A varicocele is an abnormal dilatation of the network of veins surrounding the testicles, usually on the left side (the side with more blood flow to the testicles). The disease is a consequence of poor functioning of the veins.
- Excision of a mole (nevus): The excision of a mole is justified if it is aesthetically problematic, if it can easily get stuck in anything because of its location and surface, or if cancer (melanoma) is suspected.
- Removal of ingrown nails: Treatment of an inflamed, ingrown nail often requires surgery to remove the nail tip that is under pressure.
- PIRS (laparoscopic inguinal hernia surgery): PIRS (percutaneous internal ring suturing) is a laparoscopic inguinal hernia surgery performed using a curved needle inserted into the groin, which allows the hernia to be passed through and closed in both directions without tearing the peritoneum.
What happens during a pediatric surgical consultation?
At Medicover, consultations take place in a well-equipped outpatient clinic. You should bring your previous medical records and test results to the examination.
It is important to gain the trust of both the parent and the child in all cases. Therefore, we try to provide the right conditions and time to ensure that the child does not have a bad experience during the necessary physical examination after hearing the complaints. It is important to know that most of the time these examinations are painless and often only require a visit. We place great emphasis on the modesty of children, especially adolescents. The parent and the child are informed about the treatment or the possibilities of treatment with up-to-date professional knowledge.
Depending on the age of the child and the size of the lesion, the following procedures can be performed under local anesthesia, without general anesthesia, even during the first examination:
- lingual frenectomy
- fixing of cellular adhesions of the foreskin or labial adhesion
- ingrown nail surgery
- removal of atheroma, lipoma, pigmented skin legions, fibroma, warts, skin tags, scars
- opening abscesses
These small operations are performed with the help of a trained assistant. The tissue removed is histologically examined according to the rules of the trade.
