Minimally invasive surgery in the diagnosis and treatment of abdominal pain in children

Purpose of review Children with abdominal pain sometimes require surgical intervention, and laparascopy is increasingly the preferred approach for the diagnosis and treatment of both acute and chronic abdominal pain in children. This review describes the current state of the art and recent developments in the application of minimally invasive surgical technique for the treatment of children with various abdominal pain syndromes. Recent findings Laparoscopy provides distinct advantages over-traditional open surgery, including less pain, shorter recovery and improved cosmesis. Cumulative experience and onging outcomes research continue to substantiate the safety and efficacy of the approach when applied thoughtfully and by experienced practitioners. In fact, as minimally invasive surgery is being applied to treat more wide-ranging disorders, it is becoming apparent that for for many conditions laparoscopy should be adopted aas the standard of care. Summary Recent advances in minimally invasive surgery have clearly benefited children with abdominal pain who need surgery, and as techniques improve and instruments get smaller we can expect this trend to continue inot the future.