Neonatal minimally invasive surgery: state of the art

Minimally invasive surgery has been one of the most important advances in surgery in the last century. This approach ensures the reduction of morbidity, post-operative pain, adhesions and scarring by reducing the incisions to small punctures. Nowadays almost all paediatric operations have an endoscopic surgical variant. Although the use of minimally invasive surgery in older children has expanded steadily over the past decade, it has not been used widely in newborn due to their small size and concern about the impact of carbon dioxide pneumoperitoneum on cardiopulmonary function. In the last ten years, technical innovations and advancement in instrumentation have made endoscopic procedures safer and easier in newborns. Actually minimally invasive surgery is being performed in both the neonatal chest and abdomen. Congenital neonatal deformities including esophageal atresia, congenital diaphragmatic hernia, congenital pulmonary cystic lesions, small bowel atresia, ano-rectal malformations, ovarian cysts, Hirschsprung Disease and malignancies are now being managed with endoscopic surgery.