Children's Surgeon

A doctor who deals with the surgical treatment of children from birth to the age of 14 is called a pediatric surgeon. His responsibilities include conducting consultations, diagnosing, prescribing and conducting an operative intervention, and subsequently monitoring the rehabilitation of the operated child.

Who is a child surgeon?

This is, first and foremost, the highest expert in the business, after all, to apply surgical intervention to the child should be very cautious, taking into account the immaturity of the body and its potential growth and constant change. A pediatric surgeon deals not only with the treatment of surgical diseases of children, but also eliminates defects and developmental defects, congenital anomalies.

When should I contact a pediatric surgeon?

What symptoms and signs should be the reason for contacting a pediatric surgeon?

• acute pain in the tummy;
• injuries of a different nature;
• violations or limitations in the movements of handles or legs;
• ingrown nail;
• inflammatory processes in soft tissues;
• in boys: the presence of an empty scrotum, or a difference in size;
• appearance of neoplasms;
• symptoms of inguinal or umbilical hernia;
• signs of dropsy, when one or two halves of the scrotum increase in size;
• signs of balanoposthitis - inflammation of the prepuce due to synechia (adhesions);
• signs of phimosis - the inability to open the glans penis;
• the phenomenon of cryptorchidism (undescended testicle in the scrotum);
• torsion of the testis or hydatidae (fatty testicle suspension);
• inflammatory processes in the testicle and epididymis;
• sudden attacks of nausea and vomiting;
• Presence of chronic constipation in a child, accompanied by pain.

If there are any suspicious symptoms, do not delay the child with a visit to the doctor. Sometimes timely advice can help cure the disease without resorting to surgery.

What tests should I take when I contact a pediatric surgeon?

In the event that you are leading your child to a consultation, you do not need to take any tests beforehand. If necessary, the doctor himself will appoint a series of studies and write out the directions.

If your baby is prepared for surgery, there is a standard list of necessary tests, which can be supplemented by the treating pediatric surgeon, depending on the reason for the surgery. The standard list of studies includes:

• conducting a general analysis of blood and urine;
• delivery of blood for HIV infection;
• blood on Wasserman's reaction;
• blood for hepatitis B and C;
• electrocardiography;
• consultation of a cardiologist and pediatrician.

A full list of required tests must be obtained from a doctor.

What diagnostic methods does the child's surgeon use?

Modern diagnostic measures, which are used by a pediatric surgeon, are based, as a rule, on various methods of visual inspection of internal organs. Such activities include:

• procedures of echoscanning (ultrasound diagnostics), which allow to obtain the image of the necessary internal organ. Ultrasound effects do not do any harm to the human body, which is especially important when performing the procedure in children. During the study, the baby can lie on the couch or stand, the doctor at this time conducts the sensor on the surface of the skin, fixing the findings in the form of a conclusion and printout;
• Dopplerometry (most often used for the study of renal vessels in autonomic dystonia);
• method of radiography (sometimes used along with the introduction of contrast medium);
• method of angiography (can be used more often from the age of 3 years to clarify the localization of the process, for the diagnosis of cerebral vascular lesions - anomalies, angiomas, aneurysms);
• procedure endoscopy - used to extract foreign bodies, with the development of internal bleeding, with inflammatory processes in the nasopharynx, organs of the digestive tract;
• computer and magnetic resonance tomography.

What does the child surgeon do?

First and foremost, the child surgeon's competence includes defective processes that appear during the growth and development of the child's body and can not be corrected with the help of conservative methods.

A pediatric surgeon conducts an examination of the child, establishes a preliminary diagnosis, prescribes a referral for a number of additional studies to confirm the diagnosis, prescribes certain treatment measures, including the method and plan for the operation.

Immediately after the birth of a baby, the doctor examines the neonatologist. Such a doctor can detect newborns visible defects in organ formation and other defects, and then directs the baby to a pediatric surgeon, who decides on the need for an operation. A regular examination of the child by a pediatric surgeon should be carried out at three and six months of age, and also when the child turns a year old. Such planned visits are needed in order to find in time such defects as umbilical and inguinal hernia, balanoposthitis, cryptorchidism, testicular dropsy, hypoplasia of the hip joint.

What diseases are treated by a child surgeon?

A pediatric surgeon can provide emergency assistance in the treatment of diseases and traumatic complications that threaten the health and life of the child. In such situations urgent surgical interventions are carried out:

• for dissecting abscesses;
• about infringement of a hernia;
• on the elimination of complications after injuries;
• with acute appendicitis, spikes in the intestines, development of peritonitis;
• on the removal of a foreign object;
• with significant bleeding;
• in the presence of a purulent inflammatory process, etc.

In addition to emergency cases, the pediatric surgeon also conducts planned treatment of diseases:

• renal agenesis;
• anomalies in the development of the system of bile secretion;
• anomalies of the formation of the liver;
• anorectal defects in children;
• atresia and achalasia of the esophagus;
• destructive phenomena in the lungs;
• bronchiectasis in children;
• varicocele, hydrocele;
• deformities of the chest;
• congenital intestinal obstruction;
• congenital tracheal-esophageal fistula;
• defects in the anterior abdominal wall;
• angiomas and hemangiomas;
• pyloric stenosis;
• hypoplasia of the lungs;
• diaphragmatic hernias;
• intestinal intussusception;
• removal of a foreign body from the esophagus or respiratory system;
• cryptorchidism;
• mastitis of the newborn;
• mediastinitis;
• lymphangiomas;
• nefroblastom;
• obturational intestinal obstruction;
• omphalitis;
• complications of acute appendicitis;
• paraproctitis;
• paraphimosis;
• inguinal hernias;
• umbilical hernias;
• pyelonephritis;
• burns and cicatricial changes in the esophagus;
• pulmonary sequestration;
• teratomas;
• children's injuries;
• children's osteomyelitis;
• dystopia and ectopia of the testis, etc.

Also, pediatric surgery involves performing extracorporeal cleansing of blood with the help of special sorbents, carrying out transplantation of vital organs.

A pediatric surgeon, just like an adult, may have a narrower specialization: an abdominal child surgeon, a cardiovascular, thoracic, traumatologist, a neurosurgeon, a urologist, an orthopedist, and many other specialties.

Advice of a pediatric surgeon's doctor

First of all, the pediatric surgeon recommends that parents observe their child in order to notice changes in his behavior that are associated with poor health, pain, and organ failure.

For example, pain in the tummy can mean the appearance of a disease: appendicitis, intestinal obstruction, etc. If the tummy hurts, but the general condition of the baby corresponds to the norms, make an appointment with a pediatric surgeon. If there is an increase in temperature, the child feels sick, it suddenly turns pale, becomes sluggish - immediately call an ambulance.

Attacks of nausea and vomiting should be especially alarmed if they are not limited to a single case, vomiting does not bring relief to the baby, and vomit contains visible particles of bile, pus or blood. Remember that abdominal pain in combination with vomiting attacks can indicate the development of intestinal obstruction. This situation requires urgent hospitalization of the baby in the nearest department of surgery. Bloody vomiting often indicates a syndrome of vasodilatation of the esophagus and stomach. While you are waiting for the arrival of the ambulance, seat the child, placing a large pillow under your head. Laying a child who suffers from vomiting on his back is absolutely impossible: this can contribute to the ingress of vomit into the respiratory tract. It is also recommended to apply ice wrapped in a towel to the abdomen, above the umbilical area.

Frequent and prolonged absence of act of defecation in the child can also indicate the presence of some pathology. In such a situation, additional consultation is required between a pediatrician, a therapist-gastroenterologist and a pediatric surgeon.

If you notice a swelling in the child, redness of the limbs, related or not related to trauma, in any case go to a pediatric surgeon.

Particular attention is required to themselves children up to 3 years of age: the baby at this age is not yet able to explain what is bothering him. In small children, pain is manifested by irritability, tearfulness, in addition, the baby can get a fever and there are common signs of intoxication of the body.

Almost every newborn child has swelling of the mammary glands during the first days of life. This is due to the penetration of female hormones into the bloodstream of the baby, which may occur during lactation. During this period it is necessary to carefully observe hygiene of children's mammary glands in order to prevent the development of purulent mastitis.

After birth, the child should be examined for the presence of pigment spots on the skin. Considering the fact that such spots are considered dangerous in terms of the possibility of malignancy of the process, it is better to remove them. Sometimes for these purposes, methods of skin grafts are used.

Often, during medical examination, the children ignore the examination for cryptorchidism (when the testicles do not descend into the scrotum). Ask the pediatric surgeon to pay attention to this: this pathology, revealed after the first year of life, may adversely affect the ability of conception in the future.

Do not be afraid to bring the child to a surgeon's consultation. Visiting this specialist does not mean that the baby will have to do any operation. A pediatric surgeon is competent in treating various surgical diseases and conservatively, if there is such a possibility, and the operation is only an extreme and strictly justified measure.

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