Pediatric Surgical Care of Newborns

Advances in prenatal care allow providers to diagnose many health conditions while your baby is still in utero. This allows your team to begin treatment planning before birth. If pediatric surgical care of newborns is part of the plan, Weill Cornell Medicine surgeons are ready to serve.

Why Choose Weill Cornell Medicine

At Weill Cornell Medicine, care for your baby begins in the womb. Surgeons at Weill Cornell Medicine and NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital partner with you, counseling you along your pregnancy and birth journey.

As your pregnancy advances, an expert multidisciplinary team helps you understand the unique needs of your soon-to-be-born child. You also learn how those needs will be addressed after birth.

When neonatal surgery is necessary, your child receives pre- and post-surgical care inside the 60-bed neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) at the Alexandra Cohen Hospital for Women and Newborns. There, you stay with your newborn in a private, single-bed room. This keeps you close to your baby, reducing stress and offering maximum bonding time.

Conditions We Treat

Pediatric surgery helps address many issues faced by newborns. 

Breathing and Swallowing Conditions

When an issue makes it difficult for a newborn to breathe or swallow, surgery may be necessary. 

Breathing and swallowing conditions that may benefit from surgery include:

• Abnormally developed esophagus or trachea
• Airway obstruction that overinflates the lungs' lobes
• Hernia inside the diaphragm
• Non-functioning lung tissue
• Solid or liquid cysts or masses on or near the lung

Gastrointestinal Conditions

Gastrointestinal (GI) abnormalities can make it difficult to pass stool and cause unwanted complications. 

A few GI conditions newborns experience requiring surgery include:

• Blocked intestine or intestines that don't develop properly
• Cut off intestinal blood supply
• Fused organs, such as the rectum and vagina or bladder
• Missing or misplaced anal opening
• Nerve cell missing in the lungs or small intestine
• Twisted intestine

Abdominal Wall Conditions

Newborns with abdominal wall conditions may have internal organs poking out. Surgery closes the opening and returns organs to their proper places.

These conditions include:

• Gastroschisis. Intestines and other organs push through a hole near the belly button.
• Omphalocele. Intestines and the liver stick out of the newborn’s belly button.

Biliary Anomalies

The liver, bile ducts and gallbladder aid in digestion and help get waste out of the body. Issues with these organs can require immediate surgical intervention. 

Two biliary anomalies treated at Weill Cornell Medicine are:

• Biliary atresia. Blockage stops bile from traveling from the liver to the intestine, causing yellowed skin (jaundice) and other complications.
• Choledochal cysts. The bile duct develops an abnormal opening, and cysts form in the bile ducts.

Neonatal Tumors

Whether tumors are cancerous or noncancerous (benign), removing them helps protect your newborn’s health and quality of life. 

Tumors affecting newborns treated by pediatric surgeons include:

• Hepatoblastoma. Liver tumor that typically affects toddlers but can be present in newborns.
• Mesoblastic nephroma. Kidney tumor that is typically benign.
• Neuroblastoma. Cancer that grows in nerve tissue when in utero.
• Sacrococcygeal teratoma. Develops on baby’s tailbone in utero and can push internal organs where they don’t belong.

What to Expect

Each newborn pediatric surgery experience is unique. However, you can expect your child’s journey to have these parts.

Before Surgery

Prior to surgery, members of our renowned newborn surgical team discuss the procedure with you. A surgeon or other professional answers your questions, ensuring you understand the purpose, method and expected outcome of your child’s procedure. An anesthesiologist explains methods used to keep your newborn comfortable during surgery.

Immediately before surgery, your child’s team will do the following:

• Answer any lingering questions you may have
• Check your child's vital signs
• Measure your child's length and weight
• Take blood samples if laboratory tests are needed

During Surgery

Surgery takes place in an operating room. During the procedure, you remain in a waiting room or in your child’s NICU room. 

Throughout the procedure, your child remains sedated and carefully monitored. For long surgeries, a member of the surgical team may update you occasionally on the surgery’s progress.

After Surgery

Your child’s recovery from surgery comes in stages.

• Stage 1. Immediately after surgery, the surgical team transfers your child to a recovery room or back to the NICU. While there, your child is constantly monitored. Your newborn may rest in an incubator to stay warm. A surgeon may use an IV to deliver medication or fluid to your newborn. If needed, special technology supports your infant’s heart and lung function.
• Stage 2. When your child gains strength and health, the team may transfer your child to an inpatient room. There, the team continues monitoring your child, providing care to help your child improve.
• Stage 3. Once your newborn makes sufficient progress, you and your child are discharged. Your surgical team provides instructions for ongoing care at home. You will need to follow these to ensure your child’s good health. Follow-up appointments allow your care team to monitor your child’s progress, ensuring ongoing healing.

Make an Appointment

To request an appointment with a pediatric surgeon, please fill out this form. A member of our team will then connect you with a surgeon.

At Weill Cornell Medicine, our team of pediatric surgery experts provides advanced, compassionate care to newborns every day.

Pediatric surgeons ready to serve you include: