Pediatric Surgery

Pediatric Surgery

Excellence in Pediatric Surgery Services

Our specially trained pediatric surgical team has the expertise to diagnose and assess whether your child may need surgery, therapy or just more time. When you work with our team of specialists you can be assured, we will help you make the right choice for your child’s specific needs.

If surgery is determined to be the best option, our specialized pediatric surgeons, anesthesiologists, and nurses are here to provide a comfortable, compassionate and secure environment pre-surgery, during surgery and in recovery for your child and your family.

Clinical Area of Expertise

The Elliot is a destination center for maternal and child care. Elliot Hospital is the only birthing center in southern New Hampshire with an onsite level III NICU. We have a robust neonatal transport team supporting increasing volume and complexity in the NICU. We provide exceptional, complex prenatal care and consultation by collaboration between maternal fetal medicine, surgery and neonatology. We also offer prenatal consultation, NICU management of congenital problems and neonatal surgery.

Our pediatric emergency medicine department receives 27,000 visits annually, and it is the only dedicated pediatric ED in southern New Hampshire. Pediatric surgery works closely with the ED to provide on-call services and rapid follow-up appointments. For example, The Elliot has an expert team of ultrasound technicians who are specially trained in the evaluation of appendicitis by ultrasound, expediting the diagnosis and avoiding the radiation from CT scan. Not uncommonly, kids are in the hospital for less than six hours from entrance to the ED, to discharge home, after appendectomy. Kids do well and families are thrilled. Pediatric surgery provides same-day consultation in the office for children with urgent problems, seen in the ED or pediatrician’s office.

As the only inpatient care provider in southern New Hampshire, we offer collaborative inpatient and outpatient care to complex GI patients, including consultations, long-term follow-up care, endoscopy, surgical procedures, with pediatric radiology, anesthesiology and hospitalist support. We offer local care, ease of access, quality outcomes and referral relationships to Boston Children’s Hospital for extended specialized care.

We provide expert pediatric anesthesia and surgery care for children of all age ranges and complexities with dedicated pediatric anesthesiologists and nurse anesthetists. We offer local/regional anesthesia (i.e. spinal anesthesia) to provide major surgery without general anesthesia in infants, and minimally invasive surgery for ease of recovery and cosmesis. We have a fully-equipped operating room available for our patients 24/7 with dedicated perioperative nurses and support staff who love and enjoy caring for our patients and their families as we help guide them through a stressful time of their lives.

For certain conditions, we offer procedures that are done in the office as an outpatient, such as neonatal circumcisions (up to six weeks of age), tongue tie, excisional procedures, and more.

We offer circumcision and revisions, orchiopexy for undescended testes, inguinal hernia, hydroceles, varicocele. More complex urologic surgeries are provided by onsite pediatric urologists and nurse practitioners.

As a Level III pediatric trauma center, we have immediate availability to pediatric emergency medicine specialists, trauma surgeons, and orthopedic and neurosurgical specialists with expertise in the care of our young injured patients.

We work closely with a local dermatologist to help biopsy and remove suspicious moles and lesions from the skin. This can be done either in the office under local anesthesia, or in the operating room with sedation or general anesthesia, depending on the child’s and family’s needs and wishes.

Conditions We Treat 

  • Anal/Rectal Abscess
  • Appendicitis
  • Atresia or other congenital anomalies of the small intestine
  • Choledochal cyst
  • Crohn's Disease (Regional Enteritis)
  • Benign breast disease
  • Diaphragmatic hernia, congenital
  • Esophageal atresia
  • Gallbladder diseases
  • Gastroschisis
  • Hiatal hernia
  • Hirschsprung's Disease
  • Hydrocele
  • Inflammatory Bowel Disease
  • Inguinal hernia
  • Intussusception
  • Lumps and cysts
  • Lung mass (including CPAM or CCAM)
  • Malrotation
  • Meckel's Diverticulum
  • Omphalocele
  • Imperforate anus
  • Pectus excavatum
  • Pediatric Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease (GERD)
  • Pediatric trauma
  • Pilonidal cyst
  • Prenatal consultation for congenital anomalies
  • Pyloric stenosis
  • Spontaneous pneumothorax
  • Torsion of ovary or testicle
  • Ulcerative colitis
  • Umbilical hernia
  • Undescended testicles
  • And more

Types of surgery available

  • Inguinal hernia and hydrocele repair
  • Umbilical hernia repair
  • Orchiopexy
  • Circumcision
  • Laparoscopic appendectomy
  • Advanced laparoscopic surgery
  • Decortication and Pleurectomy
  • Duodenal surgery
  • Enterostomy (Laparoscopic or open)
  • Anal Fistulectomy or Fistulotomy
  • Laparoscopic gallbladder removal (cholecystectomy)
  • Laparoscopic gastric tube (G-tube) Insertion
  • Laparoscopic pyloromyotomy
  • Gastroscopy
  • Laparoscopic anti-reflux procedures (Nissen Fundoplication)
  • Laparoscopic and open colon surgery
  • Laparoscopic splenectomy
  • Lymph node biopsy or excision
  • Port or central line placements
  • Pilonidal cyst removal
  • Sigmoidoscopy
  • Upper endoscopy
  • Pediatric trauma surgery
  • Lung and chest surgery
  • Video-Assisted Thoracic Surgery (VATS) or Thoracotomy
  • Repair of esophageal atresia/trachoesophageal fistula
  • Repair of Hirschsprung disease
  • Repair of duodenal atresia
  • Repair of anal and rectal defects (Anoplasty, Repair of Imperforate Anus, PSARP)
  • Laparoscopic splenectomy (spleen removal)
  • Pectus repair (open or Nuss repair)
  • Repair of diaphragmatic hernia or hiatal hernia
  • Abdominal wall closure (gastroschisis and omphalocele)
  • Abdominal surgery in NICU patients
  • Among many other procedures

When Sedation is Needed, Trust Our Trained Experts

Our pediatric anesthesia service is led by two pediatric anesthesiologists, who are extensively trained in this highly specialized skill. They, along with a team of nurse anesthetists (CRNAs), who have a special interest in pediatric anesthesia, are at your child's side throughout their surgery. This service also provides care throughout the hospital during procedures that require more than a moderate level of sedation, such as MRIs.

With specially trained board-certified pediatric emergency physicians on staff, procedural sedation is also available for children who need to undergo anxiety-producing procedures.

Conditions We Offer Pediatric Sedation for:

  • Emergency procedures
  • Medical procedures
  • MRIs and radiologic procedures
  • Pediatric surgeries

Ask the Pediatric Surgeon

Dr. Elizabeth Soukup is a pediatric surgeon at Elliot Hospital who has an interest in educating families about pediatric health and wellness. Her mission is to provide expert specialty care for children of all ages in New Hampshire - newborns through teenagers - striving to keep them close to their families and communities.

Resources for Families