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Trends in the use of minimally invasive surgery in children
Preechapon Pleay Tovaranonte1, Spencer W Beasley, Kiki Maoate
1Christchurch School of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Otago.
Insights
Minimally invasive surgery (MIS) for children rapidly increased until 2000, then plateaued. This trend helps predict future operating room needs for pediatric MIS procedures.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Surgery
- Surgical Technology Trends
- Healthcare Operations Management
Background:
- Minimally invasive surgery (MIS) has transformed pediatric surgical care.
- Understanding the evolution of MIS use is crucial for resource allocation.
Purpose of the Study:
- To analyze trends in pediatric minimally invasive surgical procedures.
- To predict future operative workload and operating theatre requirements based on MIS scope.
Main Methods:
- Retrospective review of pediatric patients (<16 years) undergoing MIS.
- Data collected from Christchurch Hospital, New Zealand (1996-2007).
Main Results:
- 1826 MIS procedures performed on 1693 children (1996-2007).
- MIS represented 29% of the unit's overall workload.
- Rapid increase in MIS procedures from 1996-2000, followed by a plateau.
Conclusions:
- Pediatric MIS use saw significant growth until 2000, stabilizing thereafter.
- Recent MIS applications involve rare, complex, low-volume procedures.
- Findings aid in planning pediatric MIS operating theatre allocation.
Aim:
To determine trends in the scope of use of minimally invasive surgical (MIS) techniques in children as a predictor of future operative workload and operating theatre requirements.
Method:
A retrospective review was conducted of all paediatric patients less than 16 years of age who underwent minimally invasive surgical procedures at Christchurch Hospital, New Zealand between 1996 and 2007.
Results:
There were 1693 children who received 1826 MIS procedures during a period in which 11,893 operative procedures were performed. MI case-weights, an indirect measure of the financial burden and technical difficulty of the procedures, represented 29% of the workload of the unit overall. There was a rapid rise of the number of MIS procedures from 1996 to 2000, but since then the scope and volume has changed little.
Conclusion:
Use of MIS in children increased rapidly until 2000 since which time it has remained relatively constant. Recent additional applications have involved a small number of rare low-volume and more complex procedures. These observations may assist in the planning of theatre allocation requirements for MIS in children.