We are the combination of four hospitals: the General Hospital, the Children’s Hospital, the Women’s Hospital and the Traumatology, Rehabilitation and Burns Hospital. We are part of the Vall d’Hebron Barcelona Hospital Campus: a world-leading health park where healthcare plays a crucial role.
Patients are the centre and the core of our system. We are professionals committed to quality care and our organizational structure breaks down the traditional boundaries between departments and professional groups, with an exclusive model of knowledge areas.
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The commitment of Vall d'Hebron University Hospital to innovation allows us to be at the forefront of medicine, providing first class care adapted to the changing needs of each patient.
Neonatal and Fetal Surgery is the area of Pediatric Surgery dedicated to the treatment of surgical diseases, both congenital and acquired, in newborns and infants up to one month of age.
It has a low incidence and high complexity, and is therefore limited to tertiary pediatric centers. In recent decades, it has undergone significant development thanks to advances in diagnostic techniques, neonatal intensive care, and anesthesia, as well as in surgical techniques and materials, which have radically changed the prognosis of both congenital malformations and acquired surgical conditions in newborns. The Pediatric Surgery Department at Vall d’Hebron is one of the few in Spain with a team specifically dedicated to the treatment of these rare conditions.
Neonatal surgery deals with complex conditions in newborn patients, who present characteristics different from other pediatric age groups, such as prematurity and its associated complications. Our Unit is well established as a reference center at both national and European levels and is part of the European Reference Network ERNICA (Rare Inherited and Congenital Anomalies). In recent years, we have strongly promoted minimally invasive surgical techniques for malformative conditions, achieving excellent results, and we are currently the reference unit in Catalonia for this approach in neonatal surgery. We apply minimally invasive surgery in conditions such as esophageal atresia, congenital diaphragmatic hernia, duodenal atresia, and intestinal malrotation, among others.
We work in close coordination with the Neonatology Department, whose Neonatal Intensive Care Unit is one of the largest in Spain and has some of the best survival outcomes. It also allows us to perform surgical procedures directly in the NICU when transferring the newborn to the operating room could pose a risk due to their clinical condition. We maintain a close relationship with the Fetal Medicine Unit, which includes in its portfolio all currently validated intrauterine surgical techniques, both prenatal and intrapartum (EXIT procedure), offering comprehensive management of these conditions even from the prenatal period.
Our overall survival rates in acquired surgical conditions such as necrotizing enterocolitis, isolated intestinal perforation (in both preterm and extremely low birth weight infants under 750 g), and intestinal volvulus are comparable to those of other leading European centers. This is due to the application of a philosophy based on minimal surgical aggression and conservative management. These principles underpin our high survival rates and preservation of native bowel. This approach is complemented by excellent multidisciplinary care that is maintained over time, supporting the child throughout their development.
Research activities involve the VHIR research group in Bioengineering, Cell Therapy, and Surgery for Congenital Malformations. We also have a strong presence in clinical research, with numerous conference presentations and publications in national and international journals. In addition, we have developed and published our own minimally invasive surgical techniques.
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