Minimal Access Surgery

Ranked among the top 10 children's hospitals in the nation and #1 in New York by U.S.News & World Report

Pediatric Surgery

Minimal access surgery involves several small incisions, each 1/4 to 1/2 inch in length instead of one larger incision. These little incisions are usually much less uncomfortable, so the period necessary for healing is shorter and the child's activity is not restricted.

Advances in video technology have enabled surgeons to perform complex procedures without the traditional unsightly and painful incisions of the past. The use of minimal access techniques in infants and children requires surgical and anesthetic expertise, as well as instruments specifically made for conditions common in infants and children. The Division of Pediatric Surgery at NewYork-Presbyterian Morgan Stanley Children's Hospital launched the first video-assisted surgical program in the tri-state area dedicated exclusively for children. In recent years, minimal access surgical procedures on infants and children has been a major focus of our program.

Our surgeons use minimal access techniques for both diagnostic and therapeutic procedures, including correction of acute appendicitis, pyloric stenosis, evaluation for a contralateral hernia, colon pull-through procedures, removal of the spleen and gall bladder, undescended testis and varicocele, ovarian cysts, abdominal and chest tumor biopsy and staging, drainage of serious chest infection after pneumonia, insertion of dialysis and shunt tubes, anti-reflux procedures, repair of pectus excavatum, and treatment of children with chronic lower abdominal pain. Minimal access surgery, which includes laparoscopy and thoracoscopy, is a group of techniques that allow surgeons to perform operations through very small incisions. A tiny video camera is placed through one incision, and working instruments are passed through others; the surgeon can then perform an operation by watching a video screen while manipulating the instruments.

Minimal access techniques are not right for every child, however, and not suitable for every surgical procedure. Please consult with us if you have questions about your own child's surgical needs.