Paediatric surgery - A general hospital experience

Plans to centralise paediatric surgery in Ireland have potentially significant implications for service provision and surgical training. This study assesses the workload of paediatric surgery in a district hospital over a five-year period. Paediatric surgical admissions and procedures at Mayo General Hospital from January 2006 - December 2010 were reviewed. Data was obtained from the Hospital in-patient enquiry (HIPE) systems and theatre logbooks. 4,255 surgical procedures were performed in 3981 paediatric patients, accounting for 7.4% of the total surgical workload. 2,578 (65%) of cases were elective and 1403 (35%) of paediatric surgery was performed in the emergency setting; paediatric appendicectomy was the most commonly performed procedure (n=554) with a complication rate of 2.5%. There were no paediatric surgery related mortalities. Paediatric surgery represents a significant part of the surgical workload. There is a continued need for general paediatric surgical provision in this regional setting, supported by access to specialist centres for complicated paediatric surgery.