Wasie Neonatal Intensive Care (NICU) nurses caring for Lily, who was born prematurely

Neonatal Surgery

Our neonatal surgeons are here to help when your baby has a serious illness. We treat a wide range of conditions, including neonatal congenital anomalies.

Call Us: 954-265-0072 Our Providers

Explore Our Pediatric Neonatal Surgery Services

To schedule an appointment with one of our pediatric general surgeons, call:

954-265-0072

When your baby has a serious illness, we’re here to help. The neonatal surgeons at Joe DiMaggio Children’s Hospital treat a wide range of health conditions, including neonatal congenital anomalies. We provide compassionate care for the youngest patients with a highly specialized team and advanced technology.

Why Choose Joe DiMaggio Children’s Hospital for Neonatal Surgery?

Our neonatal surgeons are part of an integrated team of specialists at any of our Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) locations. We offer:

High level of care: Our NICU is a Regional Perinatal Intensive Care Center – one of only 11 in the state of Florida. We offer a highly specialized team and advanced technology to care for babies with special health needs, including rare anomalies.
Prenatal consultations: Families are offered the opportunity to meet with our surgeons before their babies are born if a condition is identified in utero or if a mother has a high-risk pregnancy. During our prenatal consultation, you’ll learn what to expect when your baby arrives, and we’ll discuss potential treatment options. We’ll provide as much information as possible to help you prepare for the road ahead. When needed, we also recommend genetic counseling.
Comprehensive care: As a dedicated children’s hospital, we offer a depth and breadth of services that’s hard to match. We’re here for your family, from prenatal care through your baby’s first year of life and beyond.
Collaborative team: Many neonatal cases are complex, involving several health concerns. We care for children using a multidisciplinary approach, and our surgeons meet regularly to discuss each patient’s needs and create effective treatment plans.
Minimally invasive methods: We can use minimally invasive methods for many surgeries. One of these techniques is laparoscopy, which involves using a small camera to see inside your child’s body. With these methods, we use tiny incisions, generally resulting in an easier, faster recovery for your baby than with traditional surgery.
Constant communication: This time in your family’s life can feel challenging and uncertain. We believe in helping your family take “baby steps” toward healing. Our team is committed to keeping you informed and engaged every step of the way.

Types of Neonatal Surgery

Some of the conditions we treat include:

Biliary Anomalies

We treat conditions involving the biliary tract such as biliary atresia, in which the bile ducts become inflamed and blocked soon after a baby is born. This blockage causes digestive fluid to damage the liver. Learn more about how we treat gastrointestinal conditions.

Bowel Obstructions

When the intestines become blocked, a baby can’t digest food properly. Sometimes we can relieve the obstruction with a tube. If the bowel tissue is damaged, we may repair the problem with surgery.

Cystic Lung Disease

We work closely with our pulmonologists to diagnose and repair problems in your baby’s lungs. Learn more about our pediatric pulmonology team.

Intestinal or Small Bowel Atresia

This birth defect obstructs in a baby’s small intestine, which connects the stomach to the large intestine. In duodenal atresia, the first part of the small bowel (the duodenum) has not developed properly. Learn more about how we treat gastrointestinal conditions.

Necrotizing Enterocolitis

This condition happens when bacteria infects a baby’s intestinal wall, causing the tissue to break down. Our surgeons are experienced at removing the damaged part of the intestine while preserving as much of the bowel as possible.

Ovarian Cysts

Sometimes, baby girls develop ovarian cysts believed to be caused by maternal pregnancy hormones. We can often detect these cysts prenatally and remove them, when necessary, when the baby is born.

Pyloric Stenosis

Babies who have a thickened pylorus (valve between the stomach and small intestine) can have trouble digesting food. Our surgeons perform an operation called a pyloromyotomy, which creates a channel for food to pass through to the small intestine.

Congenital Anomalies

Neonatal congenital anomalies are caused by problems during the baby’s development before birth. Neonatal surgeons treat the following anomalies, working closely with specialists across the hospital to provide the most effective treatment:

Congenital Pulmonary Airway Malformation

Babies with this rare condition have extra lung tissue that does not work like normal lung tissue. We can perform surgery to remove this tissue.

Learn more about our pediatric pulmonology team.

Esophageal Atresia

In this condition, the esophagus does not form properly before birth and is split into two segments that don’t connect. We use several methods for treating this condition, depending on the distance between the sections.

Gastroschisis and Omphaloceles

Babies with these conditions have some of their internal organs extending outside their bodies through a hole in their bellies. Surgeons can restore the intestines and any other affected organs to their proper locations.

Hirschsprung Disease

Babies with this condition are missing nerve cells in the muscles of their colons, which prevents them from passing stool. We treat this condition with surgery to bypass or remove the diseased part of the colon.

Tracheoesophageal Fistula

The esophagus connects the throat to the stomach, while the trachea leads from the throat to the windpipe and lungs. Normally, these tubes are separate from one another, but babies with fistulas have unusual connections between the two that we can repair through surgery.