title: Advances in minimally invasive surgery in pediatric patients.
abstract: Surgery has changed dramatically over the last several decades. The emergence of MIS has allowed pediatric surgeons to manage critically ill neonates, children, and adolescents with improved outcomes in pain, postoperative course, cosmesis, and return to normal activity. Procedures that were once thought to be too difficult to attempt or even contraindicated in pediatric patients in many instances are now the standard of care. New and emerging techniques, such as single-incision laparoscopy, endoscopy-assisted surgery, robotic surgery, and techniques yet to be developed, all hold and reveal the potential for even further advancement in the management of these patients. The future of MIS in pediatrics is exciting; as long as our primary focus remains centered on developing techniques that limit morbidity and maximize positive outcomes for young patients and their families, the possibilities are both promising and infinite.
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, The George Washington University School of Medicine & Health Sciences, Washington, DC, USA.
authors.forename: Hope T
authors.initials: HT
authors.lastname: Jackson
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, The George Washington University School of Medicine & Health Sciences, Washington, DC, USA; Surgical Residency Training Program, Division of Pediatric Surgery, Department of Surgery, Sheikh Zayed Institute for Pediatric Surgical Innovation, Children's National Medical Center, 111 Michigan Avenue, Northwest, Washington, DC 20010-2970, USA. Electronic address: tkane@cnmc.org.
authors.forename: Timothy D
authors.initials: TD
authors.lastname: Kane
mesh_terms: D002648:Child; D004066:Digestive System Diseases / Q000601:surgery*; D013505:Digestive System Surgical Procedures / Q000379:methods* / Q000639:trends; D006801:Humans; D019060:Minimally Invasive Surgical Procedures / Q000639:trends*
keywords: Minimally invasive surgery; Pediatrics; Technology