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Services

Surgical services

video thumb outcomesChildren’s performs over 20,000 surgeries each year on fetuses, newborns, children, adolescents, and young adults from throughout the Upper Midwest.

Children's surgery teams deliver next-generation care in an award-winning environment that is exclusively dedicated to pediatrics. Health professionals of many disciplines work together to provide your child with the best possible surgery experience.

With children, there's no such thing as routine surgery. Children's bodies are different than adult's. For example, they often require specially-sized surgical equipment. They react differently to anesthesia and to pain. Their bodies respond differently to illness and treatment, in part because they are still growing.

That's why children benefit from our highly accomplished, pediatric-specific surgery teams. At Children's, over 20,000 surgeries are performed each year on fetuses, newborns, children, adolescents, and young adults from throughout the Upper Midwest.

Surgical treatment results rank Children's among the top hospitals in the U.S. in pediatric surgical care. Children's has some of the lowest rates in the U.S. of post-surgery complications and some of the highest rates of patient and family satisfaction.

At Children's, our approach is to:

  • Involve parents in all aspects of care. We know that family members play a vital role in a child's ability to recover. For example, whenever safely possible, parents have the option of being present when anesthesia is administered in order to minimize children's anxiety.

  • Prevent pain and anxiety before it occurs. Children's nationally renowned pain management team and child life staff work closely with each child to ensure s/he is physically and mentally prepared before surgery and heals as quickly and comfortably as possible.

  • Constantly generate and apply new knowledge that can help children. At Children's, our priority is research and innovations that makes a difference at the bedside. Children's is a national leader in developing new pain management approaches and conscious sedation practices, and in adopting cutting-edge technologies like robotic surgery,intra-operative MRI, and minimally invasive surgical techniques.

Choose a Pediatric Surgical Specialty

For more information, visit the pediatric specialty site that applies to your child.

Locations

Surgeries and invasive procedures are performed at:

  • Children's – Minneapolis
  • Children's – St. Paul
  • Children's - Minnetonka

Cancer and blood disorders

Program Overview

When a child is diagnosed with cancer or a blood disease, it impacts the entire family. At Children’s Hospitals and Clinics of Minnesota, we not only treat the child, we care for the whole family. It’s this unique treatment philosophy – combined with world-class facilities, clinical expertise, leading technologies and remarkable outcomes – that makes Children’s the best place for pediatric cancer and blood disorder treatment.

  • Children’s is the largest pediatric cancer and blood disorders program in the Upper Midwest.
  • We’re recognized for our aggressive enrollment in clinical trials and as a national leader in pain management.

Our expert team and family-focused services helped rank Children’s as one of the top pediatric hospitals in the nation for cancer care, according to U.S. News & World Report’s “America’s Best Children’s Hospitals” ranking. Why Choose Children's?

 		  video thumb outcomesWe have the largest pediatric cancer program in the Upper Midwest

Cancer

The largest pediatric cancer
program in the uppder midwest.

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Blood Disorders

Care to children and
adolescents of all ages.

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Research

Clinical trials and collaborative
research.

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More about Children's Cancer and Blood Disorder Program

Children's hematology program cares for 2/3 of Minnesota children and teens with blood disorders and includes a full complement of clinical, clinical support, and family support services. Visit the Hematology Services page.

Cardiovascular program

A national leader in pediatric cardiovascular care!

Our commitment to providing the best pediatric cardiac care is enhanced with the opening of our world-class cardiovascular center, the only one of its kind in the Upper Midwest, in April 2010, offering patients and their families the highest level of pediatric cardiac care.

Children's pediatric cardiovascular program is one of the largest in the region with some of the most impressive outcomes in the U.S. Team members care for thousands of the region's sickest children with heart conditions, including fetuses, newborns, infants, children, adolescents, and adult, long-term patients with pediatric cardiovascular conditions.

At Children's families experience coordinated, next-generation care, delivered by a compassionate, multidisciplinary team of leaders in the pediatric cardiology field.

Children's has designated its cardiovascular program as a "cornerstone program." These are major Children's programs which meet rigorous criteria for excellence, including outstanding use of evidence-based practices, clinical research, and advanced technologies. This means you'll find:

  • One of the largest pediatric cardiovascular programs in the region.
    Studies have shown that high volumes are associated with high quality and better outcomes, because experience is a major factor in quality of care. At Children's, more than 10,000 pediatric heart surgeries have been performed since the program's inception.
  • The only dedicated pediatric cardiac catheterization lab in the Upper Midwest.
    Increasingly, heart catheterization is an appropriate, less invasive option that can help children avoid open-heart surgery and prolonged hospital stays.
  • High-quality EKG and echocardiography services.
    Children's echocardiography laboratories are the first in Minnesota to receive national accreditation in pediatric transthoracic echocardiography from the Intersocietal Commission for the Accreditation of Echocardiography Laboratories (ICAEL). Children's sonographers and respiratory care practitioners are solely dedicated to pediatrics and highly experienced in pediatric cardiovascular problems. Working with pediatric cardiologists, they interpret more than 10,000 echocardiograms and 9,000 EKGs each year.

Cancer and blood disorders

State-of-the-art imaging can help diagnose your child or teen's condition and define the best possible course for treatment. Pediatric-trained radiologists work in concert with hematologists/oncologists to provide tests recommended for your child.

video thumb outcomesWhen a child is diagnosed with cancer or a blood disease, it impacts the entire family.

A special focus at Children's is helping your child or teen cope with discomfort that can occur with some tests. We are nationally recognized for our efforts to reduce the severity of side effects that may happen during procedures and treatment.

At Children's, we believe that no child should suffer needless pain. We are known for aggressive management of pain and side effects. Our Pain and Palliative Care Program strives to control acute, chronic and complex procedural pain in both the outpatient and inpatient settings. Our program is nationally recognized and led by our world-renowned pediatric pain management specialist.

This may involve safe sedation, for example, through Children's award-winning nitrous oxide program, the use of imagery and pain control techniques taught by child life specialists, or other services provided through the integrative medicine department. If you have questions or ideas about how to help your child cope with medical procedures, we encourage you to talk with your nurse, nurse practitioner or physician.

video thumb outcomesLargest pediatric cancer program in the Upper Midwest

Some common tests performed for concerns about cancer or blood disorder diagnosis include:

Biopsies. A biopsy is a tissue sample that is examined under a microscope to determine whether abnormal cells are present. There are several types of biopsies. A needle biopsy is taken by inserting a hollow needle under the skin. A sample of tissue is drawn into the hollow part of the needle. Other types of biopsies are removed through a small incision in the skin or through a larger incision made during surgery. Sedation or general anesthesia is used when biopsies are taken.

Blood tests. Blood tests are samples of blood used to provide information about the kinds and numbers of cells in the blood. The results help determine diagnosis and treatment.

Bone marrow aspiration and biopsy. In the center of bones is a substance called bone marrow. Blood cells and platelets are manufactured in bone marrow. In a bone marrow aspiration, a needle is inserted in the hip and a syringe is used to withdraw a bone marrow sample. If a biopsy is performed, a small sliver of bone is taken from the same area. A bone marrow sample can reveal problems with the number or quality of blood cells and platelets being made or the presence of cancer cells. Sedation is used when a bone marrow aspiration is performed.

video thumb outcomesTake a look inside the new Hematology/ Oncology Clinic and C.H. Robinson Infusion Center at Children's

Bone scan. A bone scan can detect infections, tumors, weaknesses, and other problems in your child's bones. Your child will receive a small amount of radioactive dye through an intravenous (IV) line before the test begins. In some cases, sedation is used during bone scans to help a child lie still.

CT scans. A computed tomography (CT) scan is an x-ray that produces more detailed images of internal organs, bones, and other tissues than a regular x-ray can.

Genetic tests. There are many types of genetic tests, which typically are performed as part of care provided in conjunction with Children's genetic program. Usually the tests are performed on a sample of blood, hair, skin, saliva, or amniotic fluid (the fluid that surrounds a fetus during pregnancy.) Laboratory professionals use the samples to look for changes in chromosomes, DNA, or proteins.

Lumbar puncture. A lumbar puncture, also known as a spinal tap, involves a needle inserted between the vertebra of the spine in order to collect a sample of cerebrospinal fluid. This fluid surrounds the brain and spinal cord. Cerebrospinal fluid is helpful in determining whether cancer is present and/or how cancer treatment is progressing. Sedation or sometimes anesthesia is used for lumbar punctures.

Magnetoencephalogram (MEG) is a non-invasive test that maps the brain's electrical activity. For people with seizures it can pinpoint where the seizures are coming from and plot the areas onto a picture of your brain from an MRI. This allows neurologists to locate important areas of brain functions including motor, sensory and language. This kind of mapping is especially important when removing brain tumors.

MRIs. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) provides detailed images of the body and more clearly shows the soft tissues of the body. At Children's, hematologists and oncologists work closely with radiologists to provide fast, highly-detailed images, which minimizes the time children must remain still and hold their breath during the MRI exam. Intra-operative MRI and 3 Tesla MRI are also available at Children's. Read a story about Intra-operative MRI at Children's in Children's Practice Magazine.

Functional MRI. This is a type of non-invasive, specialized brain and body scan is used to map cell activity in the brain or spinal cord by imaging changes in blood flow. This is done before tumor removal surgery to pinpoint the location of important brain functions close to the tumor.

PET scans. A positron emission tomography (PET) scan can help determine how well organs and tissues are functioning by highlighting chemical activity in the body in light or dark colors on a PET image. PET scans also can help determine whether cancer has spread to another part of the body. Often, PET and CT scans are performed together.

Video Electroencephalography (Video EEG). During this test used to learn more about seizure activity, an EEG is done while being watched by a video camera. It is a painless, safe way to record the electrical activity in the brain and the child's physical activity at the same time.

X-rays. X-rays play an important role in detecting many types of cancer and can help determine whether cancer has spread to another part of the body.

Contact us

If you are a family member looking for a Children's hematologist/oncologist or wanting to schedule an appointment, call the outpatient clinic at Children's – Minneapolis at (612) 813-5940.

If you are a health professional looking for consultation or referral information, please call Children's Physician Access at 1-866-755-2121 (toll-free).

Services

We care for more kids than any other hospital in Minnesota

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