New Surgical Suites at Brenner Children’s Hospital
from Clinical Update, Summer 2004

Abstract: With robotics, laparoscopic surgeries, new surgical suites and highly specialized surgical teams, Brenner Children’s Hospital offers children state-of-the-art treatment options.

Brenner Children’s Hospital recently opened seven new surgical suites. The suites are staffed by nurses, surgeons, anesthesiologists and others trained specifically in the care of children.

As the second-largest pediatric surgical center in North Carolina, Brenner Children’s Hospital has a team of experienced pediatric surgeons trained in a wide range of pediatric surgical procedures. Studies have shown that surgery, procedures and routine care delivered at children’s hospitals are much safer with fewer complications and lower mortality rates than care given in adult hospital settings.

“It just makes sense,” said Charles S. Turner, M.D., head of pediatric surgery at Brenner Children’s Hospital. “When you come to a children’s hospital, every person who sees the patient—from the nurse to the anesthesiologist to the respiratory therapist—is trained in the care of children. We understand medication dosages, have the equipment needed to treat smaller body frames and are familiar with most childhood ailments.”

With two board-certified pediatric general surgeons and new pediatric operating rooms, Brenner Children’s Hospital offers infants and children advanced surgical techniques including minimally invasive laparoscopic surgery. Both general surgeons are fellowship-trained in using minimally invasive surgical techniques.

“Laparoscopic surgery is most commonly used to remove organs such as the gallbladder, spleen and appendix, in anti-reflux operations, to evaluate hernias and to place feeding tubes in infants and children,” said Thomas Pranikoff, M.D., a pediatric general surgeon who uses the technique on patients ranging from newborns to adolescents. “Laparoscopic surgery is much easier on a child than other standard surgical procedures. Parents are relieved that the recovery times are shorter and the hospitalization is most times cut in half when compared to an open procedure.”

Brenner Children’s Hospital offers children highly specialized, minimally invasive procedures for heart defects— procedures often not available elsewhere in the Southeast, such as outpatient heart surgery for patent ductus arteriosus.

 In addition to open and laparoscopic approaches, Brenner Children’s pediatric urologists also use robotic surgical techniques.

“Robotic surgery is the latest tool in the armamentarium of treatment options for pediatric urologic conditions,” said pediatric urologist Joel Hutcheson, M.D.

“The advantages of using advanced robotic techniques include smaller incisions and the ability to treat complex urologic conditions, which can be managed using minimally invasive techniques. The robot allows a much broader range of motion inside the body. The incisions are smaller, the patients recover faster, and they can be discharged earlier from the hospital.”

Part of Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center, Brenner Children’s Hospital is western North Carolina’s only full service pediatric facility. More than 70 pediatric specialists and subspecialists provide expert care for critically ill children from N.C., Tenn., Va. and S.C. In addition, the staff works to make family members comfortable during one of the most stressful times for a parent.