Pediatric Surgical Procedures

The Department of Pediatric Surgery at Nicklaus Children's Hospital has been involved in numerous regional medical breakthroughs.

The surgeons participated in the separation of conjoined twins in 2000, the first procedure of this type at Nicklaus Children's Hospital and the only successful separation in the state of Florida. Our pediatric surgical team pioneered an innovative surgical treatment for pectus excavatum (sunken chest), becoming the lead team for this procedure in South Florida.

The surgeons have also been instrumental in new surgical procedures for the treatment of appendicitis which leaves no visible scar. The practice was recently ranked number one in the nation by Children’s Health Corporation of America (CHCA) in the care of appendicitis (the most common childhood emergency) among 40 participating children’s hospitals. The results from the study included both patient outcomes and hospital length of stay.

The department offers the most up-to-date techniques for all types of surgery on newborns, children and adolescents.

Anorectal malformation is a birth defect that adversely impacts the development of the anus and rectum. This can negatively affect or even prevent a baby from passing stools through the anus and rectum. Anorectal malformation repair is a surgical procedure to fix the problem.

When the appendix becomes blocked with stool or inflammation, an illness called appendicitis, most doctors recommend removal by a procedure known as appendectomy.

Bariatric surgery is a medical procedure that helps people achieve their weight loss goals. It accomplishes this by limiting the amount of food that the stomach can hold.

The bile ducts are a part of the body the delivers bile from the liver to the small intestines. If the bile ducts are missing or damaged, biliary reconstruction can repair the damage.

Bladder augmentation is a surgical procedure used to enlarge the bladder and to improve its ability to stretch.

The gallbladder is a pear-shaped organ attached to the liver that stores bile. When the it needs to be removed, the procedure is known as a cholecystectomy.

Many male children undergo a procedure known as circumcision shortly after birth. This surgery involves the removal of the foreskin covering the tip of the penis.

Cleft lip and palate are common facial birth defects that are often seen together. They involve a gap in the lip and palate of the newborn baby. Cleft lip and palate repair refers to the surgical procedures that are used to repair these problems.

Colectomy is a surgical procedure that involves the removal of all or part of the colon. This may be necessary to prevent or treat severe diseases of the colon.

Diaphragm plication is a surgical procedure to lower and repair the diaphragm.

Elective surgery is surgery that can be scheduled and therefore planned and prepared for. Most elective surgery is performed on a same day basis so your child can come into the hospital, undergo the operation and return home all in the same day.

Any particle or item that is lodged somewhere in the body and is not easy to remove is known as a foreign object. Foreign object removal is the medical procedure used to actually remove them.

Fundoplication is a surgical procedure used to treat gastroesophageal reflux disease.

The pelvis is comprised of several bones that form the hips, the tailbone and connect the legs to the rest of your body. The pelvis contains the gynecologic organs of the female, including the vagina, the uterus, the fallopian tubes and the ovaries. Pelvic surgery may be required for several reasons, such as ovarian cysts and tumors, congenital malformations of the uterus and vagina or absence of these organs.

Laparoscopy refers to the use of a thin camera and instruments inserted through small incisions in the abdomen to perform operations that had been done with large incisions in the past.

A lung resection is a surgery that removes a part of the lung.

Minimally invasive surgery is a broad term that applies to a wide range of medical procedures. It refers to any surgery where small incisions are made and telescopes and operating instruments are passed into the body, allowing the operation being performed with the surgeon viewing the procedure on a nearby television screen.

The Nuss Procedure provides excellent long-term functional and cosmetic results for pectus excavatum, making it easier for the child to breathe, while restoring normal chest expansion and proper lung and heart growth.

A PICC line or peripherally inserted central catheter (a long, thin flexible tube) is a long thin tube which is inserted into a vein in your child’s arm, leg or neck, threaded towards a large vein near the heart through which medications, nutrients, blood or other fluids can be given or from which blood can be withdrawn.

If help is needed in healing the body, such as after plastic surgery, or to heal a wound, then a treatment known as platelet rich plasma injections can be used.

Posterior sagittal anorectoplasty is a surgical procedure used to repair birth defects related to the passing of stool through the rectum and anus. Anorectal malformations, cloacal malformation and Hirschsprung’s disease are just a few of the conditions treated by the procedure.

Proctectomy is a surgical procedure that involves the removal of all or part of the rectum, which is the lower portion of the large intestine. This may be necessary to prevent or treat severe diseases of the rectum, such as rectal cancer.

Hirschsprung's disease is genetic disorder in which newborns lack nerve cells in their intestines. As a result, they have trouble passing stools and become constipated. Pull-through procedures for Hirschsprung's are procedures used to treat Hirschsprung’s disease and remedy the problem.

The Ravitch procedure is a surgery that can correct chest wall deformities. During the surgery, excess cartilage is removed and the sternum is repositioned to allow correct growth.

A temporary central line is a short-term catheter that is placed in a vein in the neck or the groin for a number of uses which include fluid, nutritional, medication, blood product delivery or for procedures like blood dialysis.

Thoracic surgery is a general term used to define any surgical procedure that’s performed in or on the chest. It can be used to treat conditions such as esophageal problems, gastroesophageal reflux, lung malformations, tumors in the chest and rib reconstruction after a major injury.

Sweat glands are stimulated to produce sweat by nerves that come from the spinal cord and run along each side of the spine in a chain called the sympathetic nerves. While there are a number of non-surgical treatments available, children may be offered a minimally invasive surgical procedure called thoracoscopic sympathectomy. It involves cutting the sympathetic nerves that control sweating.

A tunneled central venous catheter is one that is placed in a large central vein most frequently in the neck, groin, chest or back, while the other end is tunneled under the skin to come out on the side of the chest.