Treatment results for pediatric surgery
We are Finland’s leading pediatric surgery unit and a developer in the field. Our treatment results have been proven to be of the highest international standard.
We are responsible for demanding surgical treatment of neonatal developmental disorders, colorectal surgery for children of different ages, as well as liver, biliary and pancreatic surgery, and esophageal surgery, lung and airway surgery. Surgical treatment of severe bowel failure, soft tissue tumors and trauma, as well as the treatment of vascular abnormalities in children are also our areas of expertise.
Multi-professional treatment and monitoring of congenital developmental disorders often begins even before the birth of a child at the Fetomaternal Medical Center. Treatment continues at New Children’s Hospital until adulthood and, if necessary, even after that. We take into account the individual needs of the child and the family. The treatment and monitoring of your child will be carried out by familiar professionals throughout its duration.
We use new, less invasive surgical techniques and treatment methods, such as robot-assisted surgery. We treat patients from all over Finland. We also treat foreign patients and our surgeons visit foreign hospitals to support local treatment chains.
We work closely together with international partners and are part of the European reference network for rare diseases (ERNICA, VASCERN and EUROGEN). Through active research, we work to develop treatment to be even better. We are responsible for general pediatric surgery training at the University of Helsinki.
Our treatment results
We are responsible for pediatric liver, bile duct, and pancreatic surgery in Finland. We have all modern diagnostic, interventional radiological and surgical therapies at our disposal for selecting the treatment that best suits each patient.
Our treatment results for biliary atresia are at a high level by international comparison. We have been performing mesoportal (Rex shunt) bypass surgeries that cure portal vein thrombosis for almost 20 years. We were among the first in the world to start liver transplants for children in 1987.
We treat complex and complicated esophageal atresia patients from all around Finland and abroad. In addition to open surgeries, we perform modern and versatile diagnostic and endoscopic procedures. If necessary, we can build a completely new esophagus, for example, from the intestine or stomach. The treatment outcomes for patients with esophageal atresia are at the highest international level.
Together with pediatric cardiac surgeons, we treat the most severe diseases of children’s airways and, if necessary, use a heart-lung machine to help with the treatment. In the treatment of congenital developmental disorders of the lungs, we use endoscopic surgery. Various types of upper respiratory tract stenoses have become more common as treatments for small premature babies have evolved. With the help of reconstruction surgeries performed for laryngeal stenosis, nearly all of our patients are able to wean themselves from the tracheostomy and respiratory support treatments.
Severe intestinal failure is also treated surgically. We are able to enhance the functioning of the remaining intestine with bowel extension surgeries, which increase the chances of weaning from parenteral nutrition. In severe cases, the selected treatment form can be intestinal transplantation which we started conducting in 2009. Treatment outcomes for severe intestinal failure are top-notch in global comparisons.
We treat all vascular abnormalities and related vascular anomaly syndromes in children and adolescents. We handle more than 1,900 vascular anomaly appointments every year. Medicinal treatments, surgery and percutaneous injections, or combinations thereof, as well as patient follow-up, are planned individually for each patient.
In 2002, we established a network of experts for the treatment and diagnostics of vascular anomalies, the Expert Team for Vascular Anomalies, based on a model of international reference hospitals. Since then, we have seen determined advances in special expertise, especially in the treatment of severe and rare vascular anomalies. Evidence-based treatment has also been developed through our own research. Our vascular anomaly unit has improved the treatment and diagnostics of vascular anomalies to be more equal throughout Finland.
The aim of the expert team has been to harmonize treatment and to produce high-quality research data for the diagnosis and treatment of vascular anomalies. We have developed into a national consultation center that has improved the treatment of vascular anomalies throughout Finland.
Our vascular anomaly unit operates virtually. The team includes experts in pediatric surgery, plastic surgery, oral, maxillofacial and vascular surgery, as well as in ear, eye, blood, cancer and skin diseases, imaging, genetics, and pathology. Our research group now consists of 21 researchers. Research has refined the diagnostics and long-term results of the treatment of vascular anomalies.
Research has focused on the development of evidence-based treatment. Achievements include the refinement of diagnostics and treatment methods with the help of tissue samples, good results in vascular sclerotherapy in congenital venous and lymph vessel malformations, the selection of a sclerosing agent that causes few adverse reactions in venous malformations, and consideration of the diversity and importance of coagulation disorders in treatment.
There is plenty of research topics to focus on in order to increase our knowledge on the genesis of vascular anomalies and to develop their treatment methods. In the future, the aim is to intensify cooperation in vascular research with both the University of Helsinki and the A.I. Virtanen Institute for Molecular Sciences at the University of Eastern Finland.
From the beginning of 2016, vein anomalies was one of HUS’s first rare disease programs. It has been a member of the European Reference Network on Rare Multisystemic Vascular Diseases (www.vascern.eu) since it was established. The aim of the European Reference Network is to harmonize the early diagnostics, access to treatment and treatment practices of rare diseases and to produce information for professionals and patients in cooperation with patient organizations.