title: Stealth surgery: Subcutaneous endoscopic excision of benign lesions of head, neck and trunk in children.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Subcutaneous endoscopic excision of benign lesions of the head, neck and trunk is a new dimension in paediatric minimally invasive surgery. This study is a case series where cases are operated endoscopically with minimal scars.
  
  
  METHODS
  This is a prospective study where in 13 patients who underwent Stealth surgery were enrolled in this study. Factors such as intraoperative time, blood loss, intraoperative complications, postoperative recovery and appearance and placing of minimal scars at inconspicuous sites were taken into consideration.
  
  
  RESULTS
  All patients underwent successful surgery without converting to open surgery. Out of 13 patients, five were torticollis, four were suprasternal dermoid, one had chest wall swelling, one had swelling of arm, one had back lipoma and one had forehead lipoma. The mean operation time was 50 min (range 32-70). All patients were followed up regularly postoperatively. All patients were operated as daycare, less postoperative pain, no evident scars, lower complications related to scars.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Subcutaneous endoscopic surgery addresses concerns related to scarring by replacing large visible incisions with smaller incisions placed in inconspicuous locations. This is a safe and effective procedure of early recovery.
authors.affiliation: Department of General Surgery, Sri Ramachandra Medical College, Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India.
authors.forename: Veeramaneni Shravan
authors.initials: VS
authors.lastname: Teja
authors.affiliation: Department of Paediatric Surgery, Sri Ramachandra Medical College, Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India.
authors.forename: Prakash
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Agarwal
authors.affiliation: Consultant Pediatric Surgeon, Apollo Hospitals, Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India.
authors.forename: Raj Kishore
authors.initials: RK
authors.lastname: Bagdi