Surgery
Who we are
The Department of Pediatric Surgery at Children's Hospital Boston provides general and specialized surgical services to infants, children and adolescents suffering from a wide range of congenital and acquired conditions.
- Caring for an average of 8,600 outpatient annually and performing more than 4,000 operative procedures each year, Children's is one of the largest pediatric surgery programs in the world.
- Our team listens to you and your child. We work collaboratively with you to design a plan of treatment appropriate to your child's condition and unique circumstances.
- We're constantly engaged in clinical research designed to come up with new strategies for diagnosis and treatment.
Children's firsts ...
Children's Hospital Boston has been at the forefront of child health for more than 130 years.
Read about just a few of our surgical firsts.
We hope you'll never need to understand what all these procedures mean, but we want you to know that they're available if your child needs them. And our researchers are constantly working on new innovations and better ways of treatment with one goal in mind: helping sick children get better.
Minimally invasive surgery
Wherever possible, we use minimally invasive surgical techniques in an effort to reduce pain and shorten the time your child has to be in the hospital. Since 2001, specially trained surgeons at Children's have used a high-tech robot to perform complex reconstructive procedures utilizing minimally invasive techniques. Children's was the first in the country to introduce this technology for use in pediatric patients, having worked with engineers and medical device manufacturers to develop and refine the equipment for use in children.
Recently, Children's upgraded to the newest version of the robotic system. The new robot is much smaller (making it easier to move around, vastly reducing set-up time) and features enhanced high-definition 3D vision and two consoles so that surgeons can collaborate during a procedure.
Discover: Surgery
Lower your cholesterol, lower your risks
Keeping cholesterol in check not only benefits heart health, it may also delay the progression of prostate cancer, suggests a mouse study from Children's Hospital Boston. When mice with human prostate tumors were given the cholesterol-lowering drug ezetimibe (Zetia) along with a no-cholesterol diet, their tumors were smaller and grew more slowly.
Conditions & Treatments
- ALCAPA
- Achondroplasia
- Advanced Fetal Care Center
- Alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency
- Amniocentesis
- Anencephaly
- Anorectal malformation
- Arachnoid cysts
- Arthrogryposis
- Atrial septal defect (ASD)
- Biliary atresia
- Birth defects and congenital anomalies
- Blood donations and blood banking
- CT scan (CAT scan) with sedation or anesthesia
- Capillary malformation
- Center for Minimally Invasive Surgery
- Chest wall deformities
- Choledochal cysts
- Chronic Lung Disease of Prematurity (Bronchopulmonary Dysplasia)
- Cleft lip and cleft palate
- Cloacal exstrophy
- Cold sores
- Congenital anomalies of the esophagus and trachea
- Congenital diaphragmatic hernia
- Congenital high airway obstruction (CHAOS)
- Congenital rubella syndrome
- Conversion of G to GJ tube and GJ tube exchange
- Craniosynostosis
- Cyanosis
- Cysts and sinuses of the head and neck
- Day Surgery
- Duplex collecting system
- Embolization
- Endovenous laser ablation
- Esophageal Atresia Treatment Program
- Exstrophy of the bladder (bladder exstrophy)
- Facial fractures
- Fetal echocardiography
- Fetus and newborn blood circulation
- Gallstones (cholelithiasis)
- General Surgery Program
- Glomerular Filtration Rate Test (GFR)
- Growth problems
- Head/brain injury
- Hemifacial microsomia
- Hemolytic uremic syndrome
- Hepatoblastoma
- Horseshoe kidney
- Hydrocephalus
- Hydrops fetalis
- Hypospadias
- Infant respiratory distress syndrome (hyaline membrane disease)
- Injury prevention
- Intestinal atresia and stenosis
- Intestine and Multivisceral Transplant Program
- Kaposiform hemangioendothelioma
- Kasabach-Merritt phenomenon
- Kidney dialysis
- Klippel-Trenaunay syndrome
- Lacerations with stitches
- Laryngeal cleft
- Liver failure
- Liver tumors
- Lung resection
- Lymphoscintigraphy
- Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) without sedation
- Megaureter
- Microtia
- Multicystic dysplastic kidney
- Necrotizing enterocolitis
- Nephrotic syndrome
- Neurological diagnostic tests
- Newborn growth
- Nose and throat anatomy
- Osteogenesis imperfecta
- Pectus carinatum
- Periventricular leukomalacia
- Pierre Robin sequence
- Polycystic kidney disease (PKD)
- Posterior urethral valves
- Pulmonary hypertension
- Pulmonary vein stenosis
- Radial club hand
- Renal MAG3 Scan
- Robotic Surgery
- Sacrococcygeal teratoma (SCT)
- Septic (Infectious) Arthritis
- Shoulder dislocation
- Small for gestational age
- Spinal cord injury
- Spleen injuries
- Summer Safety
- Syndactyly
- Tethered cord
- Thumb duplication (pre-axial polydactyly)
- Thyroglossal duct cyst
- Transposition of the great arteries
- Treacher Collins Syndrome
- Tufted angioma
- Undescended testicles
- Vascular Anomalies Center
- Vascular malformations, tumors and hemangiomas
- Venography (Venogram)
- Ventricular Septal Defect (VSD)
- Wilms' tumor
- Winter Safety
- Achalasia
- Acute kidney injury
- Alagille syndrome
- Ambiguous genitalia
- Anatomy: fetus in utero
- Anesthesia
- Appendicitis
- Arteriovenous malformations (AVMs)
- Assessments for newborn babies
- Bicycle, in-line skating and skateboarding safety
- Biliary reconstruction
- Birthmarks
- Branchial cleft remnant
- Camptodactyly
- Center for Advanced Intestinal Rehabilitation
- Cervical teratoma
- Chiari malformation
- Cholesteatoma
- Cleft hand
- Cloacal deformities
- Clubfoot
- Congenital Diaphragmatic Hernia Program
- Congenital cystic adenomatoid malformation (CCAM)
- Congenital heart defects
- Congenital limb defects
- Constriction ring syndrome
- Craniofacial anomalies
- Crohn's disease
- Cystic fibrosis
- DMSA renal (kidney) scan
- Down syndrome
- Electrocardiogram (EKG)
- Encephaloceles
- Epithelioid hemangioendothelioma
- Esophageal atresia
- Eye injuries
- Fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS)
- Fetal surgery
- Fractures
- Gastroschisis
- Genetics disorders
- Glomerulonephritis
- Hamartoma
- Hemangioma
- Hemolytic disease of the newborn
- Henoch-Schonlein purpura (HSP)
- Hernia (umbilical or inguinal)
- Hydrocele
- Hydronephrosis
- Hypoplastic left heart syndrome (HLHS)
- In Utero TORCH infections
- Inguinal hernia and hydrocele
- Intestinal / multivisceral transplant
- Intestinal malrotation
- Intussusception
- Karyotype, extended banding, fluorescent in situ hybridization (FISH)
- Kidney Transplant Program
- Kidney failure
- Kyphosis
- Large for gestational age babies
- Liver Transplant Program
- Liver injuries
- Lung Transplant Program
- Lymphatic malformation
- Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) with sedation
- Medical history and genetic testing
- Microcephaly
- Motor vehicle safety
- Multifactorial inheritance
- Neonatal abstinence syndrome (NAS)
- Neuroblastoma
- Neurological examination
- Non-teratogenic agents
- Omphalocele
- Patent ductus arteriosus
- Pectus excavatum
- Pfeiffer syndrome
- Pilonidal sinus
- Polydactyly
- Prenatal ultrasound
- Pulmonary stenosis
- Pulsed dye laser
- Radioulnar synostosis
- Respiratory Distress
- Rubella (German Measles)
- Saethre-Chotzen syndrome
- Short bowel syndrome
- Small cuts and scrapes
- Spina bifida (Myelodysplasia)
- Spinal fracture
- Splenectomy
- Surgery
- Teratoma
- Tetralogy of Fallot
- Thumb hypoplasia/aplasia
- Toxoplasmosis
- Trauma Center
- Truncus Arteriosus
- Ulnar club hand
- Ureterocele
- Vascular Ring
- Vein of Galen
- Venous malformation
- Vesicoureteral reflux (VUR)
- Wilson's disease
- X-Ray

