Early Complications of Minimally Invasive Surgery in Children

Kim, Ki Kyung; Chung, Mi Hwa

Abstract

PURPOSE: To provide for popularization of out-patient surgery, we investigated actual problems occurring after minimally invasive surgery in children.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
We reviewed the medical records of 132 patients(154 operations) who performed minimal invasive surgery from January, 1996 to June 1998. All problems following operation were identified in terms of kinds, degrees, and their correlations, including fever, pain, nausea, vomiting, and wound condition, etc.
RESULTS
The age of the patients were 0.1 to 16 years(mean, 4.5 years). Of 154 operations hydrocelectomy were 84, orchiopexy 41, and they were 81.2% of all. Operation time were 25 minutes to 150minutes(mean, 63minutes). There were 170 postoperative problems including mild ones, among whom 100 patients revealed changes in body temperature over 37.0degrees C and 43 patients high fever over 37.5degrees C and these fevers were resolved spontaneously even with conservative treatment in short duration excluding one patient who took 39.3degrees C sustaining for 3 days and had a mild touch of flu before operation. 5 patients complained severe wound pain to be injected analgesics without actual wound problem such as bleeding or hematoma, etc. One patient couldn`t void urine to need nelaton catherization one time.
CONCLUSIONS
With proper selection and strict preoperative preparation of patients, meticulous anesthesia and operation, careful postoperative check and easy call to doctor, there would be no critical problems following minimally invasive urologic surgery in children.