Paediatric surgery involves surgical procedures carried out on foetuses, infants, children and adolescents. Subspecialisation within paediatric surgery includes cardiothoracic surgery (heart and lungs), neurology (brain), urology (urinary tract and reproductive organs), nephrology (kidney), foetal surgery (performed on a foetus in the womb) and neonatal surgery (performed on newborns).
Paediatric surgeons use minimally invasive laparoscopic (keyhole) procedures to treat conditions that require surgical intervention. Paediatric general surgery requires multidisciplinary participation from paediatric gastroenterologists, paediatric respiratory physicians, paediatric endocrinologists, dietitians and speech therapists. Common paediatric diseases that may require surgery include:
- Congenital malformations, such as heart defects, lung defects, abdominal wall defects and chest wall deformities
- Surgical oncology, such as thoracic surgery
- Separation of conjoined twins