General Surgery

anesthesiologist

General surgery usually covers everything but the “brain, bones, and heart.” Whether it’s a more routine outpatient procedure or a highly complex inpatient surgery, our board-certified pediatric surgeons and their specialized teams are prepared to handle all childhood operations for kids of any age, from infants to teens.

Some of the common general surgeries our skilled Nemours surgeons perform involve procedures to treat conditions and problems like:

  • Abnormalities or defects (either congenital – those children are born with – or acquired – ones that develop over time) of the abdominal wall, chest wall, endocrine system (glands), gastrointestinal tract, lungs, head, and neck
  • Abscesses, lesions, and burns on the skin and soft tissue
  • Appendicitis
  • Gastrointestinal conditions (such as gastroesophageal reflux, inflammatory bowel disease, gallbladder disease)
  • Endocrine problems (like thyroid/parathyroid conditions)
  • Hernias
  • Newborn (neonatal) surgical conditions (to repair defects and treat problems like pyloric stenosis, intestinal malrotation, and necrotizing enterocolitis)
  • Trauma
  • Tumors 
  • Obesity (bariatric/lap band surgery)

When it applies, we’re also able to offer minimally invasive procedures (including robotic surgery) at certain Nemours locations to diagnose and treat various conditions. Some general surgery procedures typically done with “open surgery” (which requires larger “open” incisions) can be performed using the patient’s natural openings (like the mouth and throat) or through tiny incisions an inch or smaller. And that means shorter hospital stays, quicker recovery times, less pain and discomfort, reduced chance of infection and bleeding, as well as much smaller scars.

Sharing Our Skills Across the Communities

Various Nemours locations throughout the Delaware Valley and Florida offer inpatient general surgery (when your child would need to stay overnight) and outpatient surgery (when your child would get to come home with you on the day of the procedure).

In addition to the surgical services we provide at our own Nemours/Alfred I. duPont Hospital for Children (AIDHC) we bring that same quality of Nemours care to a wide range of other locations as well. Through special partnerships with certain area hospitals, our Nemours physicians are able to take their expertise to other locations, offering 24-hour surgical services and inpatient care beyond our own hospital’s doors.

Pediatric Surgery Outcomes

Pediatric surgery (also called “general pediatric surgery”) usually involves operating on any area of the body but the brain, bones, and heart. Selected as some of the "Best Doctors in America®," our pediatric surgeons at Nemours/Alfred I. duPont Hospital for Children are specially trained in surgery and pediatric surgical subspecialties to help children of all ages and sizes — from the smallest newborns just entering the world, to teens on the verge of adulthood.

To help us gauge how we’re doing and identify areas where we need to make improvements, we keep track of our surgical outcomes (that is, the results of our care). Then, we compare ourselves to the outcomes at other children’s surgical programs across the country. Our results show that we’re delivering top-quality care and truly treating all of the children we see as if they were our own.

What Does This Graph Mean?

Here’s how our 2010 pediatric surgery results for three key outcomes compare to other top children’s surgical programs nationwide:

  • Unplanned return to the operating room (when kids had to have another surgery within 30 days because of problems following their previous operation): We’re doing much better than the average at other children’s surgical programs, with 5.1% of kids nationwide having to go back to the operating room, versus only 4.2% here.
  • Non-infectious postoperative occurrences (when a child has complications or problems that happen after surgery and may involve the heart, lungs, eating): Nationally, 4.89% of kids have problems after surgery, compared to our lower (better) rate of just 3.46%.
  • Wound occurrences (when a child has complications with the surgical wound, such as infections): At other facilities, an average of 3.83% of children have wound problems, versus our comparable rate of 3.92%.

Our Excellence in General Pediatric Surgery

Our areas of expertise range from gastrointestinal diseases (like inflammatory bowel disease) to tumors (like neuroblastoma), from bariatric surgery (to control obesity) to newborn surgery (to repair defects and treat problems like pyloric stenosis, intestinal malrotation, and necrotizing enterocolitis).

To help keep problems after surgery to a minimum, we’re able to offer minimally invasive procedures (including robotic surgery), when it applies. Some general surgery procedures typically done with “open surgery” (which requires larger “open” incisions) can be performed through tiny incisions an inch or smaller. And that often means:

  • shorter hospital stays
  • quicker recovery times
  • less pain and discomfort
  • reduced chance of infection and bleeding
  • much smaller scars
  • less worried parents

Whatever kind of surgery your child needs, know that we’re dedicated to giving the very best care we can — whatever it takes.

Learn More

Find in-depth information on our:
From Nemours' KidsHealth.org:

Learn about some common pediatric general surgery procedures from Nemours' experts at KidsHealth.org, the most-visited children's health website in the world:

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Your child. Our promise.

Find out more about our quality surgical care and how we're leading a national effort to get children's hospitals to report their outcomes — to help with preventing complications and saving lives.

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