The Paediatric Surgery Service at Hospital Germans Trias i Pujol was founded in 1987. Thirty years later, it is still the reference service for paediatric surgical pathology in the Barcelonès Nord and Maresme zone.

Since its foundation, the service has carried out more than 20,000 operations and it handles an average of five thousand visits each year. We work closely with staff from the Paediatrics, Anaesthesiology, Neonatal Intensive Care, Microbiology, Pharmacy and Intensive Care Medicine departments, among others. This allows us to offer our patients comprehensive care.

We strive to keep improving in terms of quality, safety and efficiency, to allow us to offer a good service and earn the trust of both the public and health professionals.

Mission and vision of the Pediatric Surgery team

Mission

To offer comprehensive and quality healthcare for pediatric surgical pathology in the territory of Barcelonès Nord and Maresme. Develop teaching and research activities aimed at improving clinical practice.

Vision

To be a reference and high-tech hospital for pediatric surgical pathology in terms of health care, research and teaching; with the commitment of an integrated professional team and with the recognition of society.

Chest wall deformities are common. The paediatric surgery team, together with a multidisciplinary team, assess patients with chest wall malformations and perform cardiological, respiratory, radiological and psychological studies on an individual basis. Patients who do not suffer from respiratory, cardiac or physical complaints do not require treatment. Conversely, for those patients who do need treatment, an individualised care plan is designed for each person. 

The most common forms of chest wall deformities are:

• Pectus excavatum: This involves a sternal depression that is usually identified by the patient and their family. It mainly affects the appearance of the chest and may cause problems with the patient's self-image. It can also lead to compression of the heart and large blood vessels, and stiffness of the chest, which can make strenuous exercise difficult. About 40% of patients get worse during puberty. The various treatments available include:

- Vacuum Bell: a suction cup that corrects the deformity by using a vacuum mechanism. This is recommended for pre-adolescents with severe pectus excavatum, or mild pectus excavatum with image worries.

- Nuss thoracoplasty: the deformity is corrected by fitting a hypoallergenic metal rod. It is used in adolescents with severe pectus excavatum and aesthetic, respiratory and cardiac impairment.

Pectus carinatum This is a protrusion of the central part of the chest, as a consequence of the excessive growth of the rib cartilages, and is often corrected due to the psychological impact of the deformity it causes. It tends to worsen during adolescence. It is treated during puberty by dynamic compression of the sternum with a specially designed brace (FMF).

The Paediatric Surgery Department has research areas related to:

• Disorders of Sex Development, DSD. With a wealth of experience in research and treating patients with DSD and a landmark publication in this field [Martínez-Mora J. (1994) Intersexual States , Barcelona, Spain: Ed. Doyma] we currently have a multidisciplinary functional unit for studying and treating each patient individually and generating knowledge related to this heterogeneous group of diseases.
• Childhood obesity: This is a well-known pathology that is becoming increasingly common in the paediatric population and will require units of clinical excellence devoted to treating it. Our centre has a multidisciplinary team that studies and treats patients and conducts specific research into childhood obesity.
• Study of inflammation and immune response: In collaboration with other biomedical research institutions we study inflammatory phenomena, which will allow us to better understand how inflammation works in humans.
• Antibiotic treatment of complicated intra-abdominal infections: in collaboration with the paediatric service we have been involved in this area and are currently initiating a new collaboration in two clinical trials to study novel antimicrobial therapies.

Undergraduate teaching

Undergraduate teaching at the Germans Trias i Pujol teaching unit of the Autonomous University of Barcelona, including theoretical and practical lessons in Paediatric Surgery, Paediatrics and Perinatology, and practical teaching for the Surgical Clinical Practicals 1 and 2 courses and practicals in our hospital departments and services.

Postgraduate teaching

Postgraduate training for residents in the specialities of Paediatrics, General Surgery and Urology.

Ongoing training sessions in conjunction with the Paediatrics and Radiodiagnosis services.

The service participates in specialised courses and conferences on paediatric pathology.