Neonatal surgery at Waikato Hospital 1978-87

A ten year (1 January 1978 to 31 December 1987) review of neonatal surgery at Waikato Hospital is reported. There were 367 operations performed on 296 infants aged 0-28 days, with 144 of the operations being classified as a major. Of the 31 deaths, three occurred preoperatively and 28 postoperatively, with diaphragmatic hernia (n = 8) and necrotising enterocolitis (n = 7) being the commonest causes. A significant increase in the number of operations (% major operations), infants with birthweights less than 1500 g, preoperative ventilation and the proportion of operations performed by paediatric surgeons and anaesthetists was seen in the five year period 1983-7, when compared with 1978-82. It is recommended that neonatal surgery only be undertaken at hospitals with level III neonatal intensive care facilities and only by paediatric surgeons and anaesthetists.