Laparoscopic Pediatric Surgery

Park, Jong Hoon

Abstract

Although laparoscopic surgery in children was once considered controversial, it has since been recognized for producing safe, feasible, adequate, and good cosmetic outcomes, compared to open surgery. In addition, like laparoscopic surgery in adults, some pediatric laparoscopic surgery has developed into standard operations for treatment of some diseases. In performance of pediatric laparoscopic surgery, some difficulties in securing sufficient space in a narrow visual field and surmounting the learning curve have been encountered due to a lack of pediatric diseases, resulting in insufficient laparoscopic surgical experience. However, development of pediatric laparoscopic instruments and improved laparoscopic surgical techniques have enabled pediatric surgeons to overcome such difficulties and to perform single port laparoscopic surgery and robot surgery. However, conduct of randomized prospective studies in children is difficult, and few meta-analyses have been conducted; therefore, it is still too early for pediatric surgeons to reach a consensus. In particular, in Korea, only a small number of pediatric surgeons have attempted performance of advanced high-tech pediatric laparoscopic surgery and built up such experiences. The purpose of this review is to explore current trends in laparoscopic surgery performed in domestic and foreign pediatric surgical patients on the basis of recent literature and my personal experiences.