General and specialized surgical services for children
The Department of Pediatric Surgery at Boston Children's Hospital provides general and specialized surgical services to infants, children, and adolescents with a wide range of congenital and acquired conditions.
As one of the largest pediatric surgery programs in the country, we care for nearly 10,000 outpatients and perform more than 2,300 surgical procedures each year. Our team works collaboratively with you to design a plan of treatment appropriate to your child's condition and unique circumstances.
The Department of Pediatric Surgery strives to provide premier clinical care to children in both outpatient and inpatient settings. Whether for a common condition or highly complex illness, our goal is to restore the health, function, and well-being of every patient we treat.
Experts in pediatric surgery
Our pediatric surgeons and support teams work in a learning environment in which advocacy for the children we treat is central to everything we do. Together with Boston Children's highly trained pediatric anesthesiologists, our teams approach every procedure with the unique consideration our pediatric patients deserve. We continually seek the least invasive treatment options while prioritizing safety, post-operative pain management, and faster recovery.
From tumors to transplants, hernias to hydroceles, we specialize in the timely evaluation and resolutions of all pediatric surgical concerns. Learn more about the conditions we treat.
A history of surgical firsts
Boston Children's has been at the forefront of child health for more than 130 years. Below are a few of our surgical firsts:
- Successful surgical procedure to correct a congenital heart defect: ligation of a patent ductus arteriosis
- Successful infant lung transplant (first in New England)
- Use of the combination of a peripartum EXIT procedure and ECMO to treat an infant with critical airway obstruction
- Organized training program for trainees in pediatric surgery
- First textbook in pediatric surgery in the Western world: Ladd and Gross, Abdominal Surgery of Childhood
- Successful application of angiogenesis inhibitors to treat a childhood tumor
- Description of tracheal occlusion to facilitate development of the "hypoplastic" lung
- Development and use of the serial transverse enteroplasty procedure (STEP) as treatment for short bowel syndrome
Learn about our patients and providers
When a prenatal ultrasound revealed a large mass, known as a CPAM, in Myles’ chest, his parents traveled to our Fetal Care and Surgery Center.
Surgical research
The Department of Surgery is committed to advancing the understanding and practice of pediatric surgery through research. We are one of the largest research departments at Boston Children’s and host to world-renowned laboratories involved in angiogenesis research and tissue engineering.
Our extensive research initiatives are both laboratory- and clinic-based, providing research training opportunities to a large number of students and fellows.
Current research areas include:
- Fetal regenerative medicine
- Fetal biology and therapy
- Stem cells
- Tissue engineering
- Surgical metabolism and nutrition
- Short bowel syndrome
- Lung development
- Neonatal surgery
- Vascular anomalies
- Angiogenesis
- Oncology
- Transplantation
- Device development
- Trauma
- Clinical outcomes
- Quality improvement
