In this article Paediatric Surgeon, Mr Joe Curry, explains how the technique of laparoscopic surgery can be applied to infants and children and what procedures can routinely be performed in this way. Keyhole, also known as laparoscopic, surgery involves making small openings on the abdominal wall, usually no more than a few millimetres long. Through these openings special devices called ports are inserted, which allow cameras and long instruments to be inserted into the abdominal cavity to enable the surgeon to perform the operation.

Gastro-oesophageal reflux occurs when contents from the stomach travel back into the gullet (oesophagus). This is a very common and harmless thing in newborn babies and infants but as the child grows and matures it usually improves. Many parents will have experienced “positing” in the early life of their baby, which then resolves as they grow. Sometimes the stomach content comes out of the mouth and be seen as vomiting but not all vomiting is abnormal or the result of gastro-oesophageal reflux. It is a naturally occurring event in all people but when it leads to complications it is called gastro-oesophageal reflux disease (GORD).