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Laparoscopy in Children

1997; Lippincott Williams & Wilkins; Volume: 40; Issue: 1 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1097/00003081-199703000-00022

1532-5520

Howard T. Sharp,

Minimally Invasive Surgical Techniques

The widespread use of laparoscopic surgery in adults has promoted its use in the treatment of children and adolescents. This form of minimally invasive surgery provides the potential for improved visualization, shorter hospital stay, reduced postoperative pain, and earlier postoperative return to daily activities, sometimes at costs similar to those of laparotomy. Most of the information on laparoscopic techniques and outcomes for children span a period of nearly 2 decades, and are reported by anecdote and case series.1,2 Surgery in children presents subtle but significant challenges because pediatric anatomy and pathophysiology often is different from that of adults. The gynecologic surgeon should be adequately educated in these differences before performing laparoscopic surgery in this age group. This article reviews some of the anatomic, anesthetic, and pathophysiologic issues related to laparoscopic surgery that a gynecologist may encounter in a pediatric patient.