The Paediatric Surgery Service, integrated into the Territorial Clinical Directorate of Paediatrics, is responsible for the diagnosis and surgical treatment of congenital malformations and acquired conditions in childhood, from the neonatal period through adolescence.

Organised into subspecialties — digestive, general, thoracic, urological, maxillofacial, plastic, neonatal and vascular anomalies — the service offers comprehensive, highly specialised care. This structure makes it a reference centre in the Barcelonès Nord and Maresme for the treatment of conditions requiring highly complex and innovative diagnostic and therapeutic technques, typical of a tertiary care hospital.

Thanks to close collaboration with the paediatric inpatient, paediatric intensive care and neonatal units, the service can manage the majority of surgical pathology in the region, ensuring continuous, safe care tailored to the needs of children and their families. At the same time, it works to sensitise and humanise the surgical environment, offering a close, patient-centred service focused on their well-being.

With the aim of providing an efficient, competitive and high-quality service, the department works closely with other specialists at Hospital Germans Trias i Pujol, in both paediatric and adult care. This multidisciplinary cooperation allows for the most complex cases to be managed from a holistic and integrative perspective.

The service also maintains a strong commitment to teaching and research. Its professionals teach at the Faculty of Medicine of the UAB (Atonomous Univeristy of Barcelona), train residents from other specialities and participate in clinical, basic and translational research projects, as well as in multicentre studies with other hospitals.

All of this makes the Paediatric Surgery Service a benchmark for its clinical, teaching and research vocation, and for its constant commitment to innovation and continuous improvement in the service of children and their families.

Top news from the Paediatric Surgery Service at Hospital Germans Trias:

• The Paediatric Surgery Service is advancing robotic surgery with emergency procedures and scheduled operations.
• Hospital Germans Trias takes another step to humanise the pre-operative experience for children.

Robotic surgery

The service is a pioneer in the robotic surgical treatment of urgent conditions, such as cholecystectomy and appendicectomy. It has one of the few teams in the country with access to robotic technology for elective procedures in paediatric urological, abdominal and thoracic surgery, allowing it to offer highly precise minimally invasive procedures and a faster recovery for patients.

Surgery for disorders of sexual development (DSD)

The team is a centre of excellence in the multidisciplinary management and surgical treatment of disorders of sex development, attending patients from both Catalonia and other Autonomous Communities. The multidisciplinary unit brings together specialists in paediatric surgery, paediatric and adult endocrinology, gynaecology, urology, plastic surgery, the hormonal and cytogenetics laboratory, psychology, psychiatry and clinical genetics, with the aim of providing comprehensive, personalised and respectful care for each patient.

Thoracic Surgery

The department offers comprehensive care to patients with malformations of the chest wall, through a multidisciplinary team of surgeons, pain clinic professionals, rehabilitation specialists, psychologists and psychiatrists, for the orthopaedic and surgical management of this condition. Likewise, the Hospital is a pioneer in promoting physical activity days for children and young people with chest wall anomalies, organised by the Paediatric Rehabilitation and Paediatric Surgery teams, to promote the physical and emotional well-being of the patients.

Paediatric Urological Surgery

The Department is a pioneer in the treatment of urinary stones in children and in performing paediatric videourodynamics, an advanced technique for the study of functional disorders of the bladder and urethra. To this end, the department has a fully equipped paediatric urology clinic, capable of addressing any type of congenital urological malformation, and is equipped with state-of-the-art urinary endoscopic technology for the diagnosis and treatment of conditions. This combination of clinical expertise and technological resources allows for the precise diagnosis and treatment of complex lower urinary tract disorders, significantly improving the quality of life of our patients.

Vascular malformations

The service offers comprehensive coverage in the management of vascular anomalies, both tumours and malformations, within a multidisciplinary team. Expertise in rare diseases and the integration of paediatric surgeons, interventional radiologists, dermatologists, clinical geneticists and paediatricians ensure an up-to-date approach to diagnosis, monitoring and treatment—whether surgical, sclerotic or pharmacological.

The centre offers genetic and molecular studies as part of an inter-hospital collaboration. Furthermore, we support the patient and their family during the transition to adulthood, ensuring continuity of care, a feature that sets us apart from other centres.

The service's work is carried out in accordance with the protocols of the International Society for the Study of Vascular Anomalies (ISSVA) and the Spanish society SEAV.

The Paediatric Surgery Service actively participates in research and innovation projects aimed at improving the knowledge and treatment of metabolic and surgical diseases in childhood. We are part of the METABESITY research group (Study of Metabolism in Obesity and Associated Diseases), recognised as a consolidated group by the Generalitat de Catalunya (2021 SGR 00367). The group investigates the mechanisms linking childhood obesity to the development of metabolic diseases, with a clear translational focus.

• Notable projects include studies funded by the Instituto de Salud Carlos III, the CIBER of Obesity and Nutrition Physiopathology, and the Sant Joan de Déu Research Institute. This work uses next-generation technologies to analyse paediatric adipose tissue and better understand how metabolic alterations develop.

Parallel to this, the service participates in multicentre clinical studies, such as the project "Evaluation of a therapeutic strategy to shorten the hospital stay in paediatric complicated appendicitis: a randomised, parallel, multicentre, open-label clinical trial", led by the Research Institute of the Hospital of Santa Creu i Sant Pau (IR Sant Pau). Through this research work, the service reaffirms its commitment to innovation, science and the improvement of children's health. 

Furthermore, the team has developed and patented its own surgical device for the treatment of hypospadias, an innovation that improves surgical precision and the recovery of infants.

The Paediatric Surgery service maintains a constant interest in all technological, organisational or clinical innovation initiatives related to its speciality, in line with the Centre's commitment to innovation.

The Paediatric Surgery Service actively participates in the theoretical and practical training of undergraduate students, within the Paediatrics and Paediatric Surgery modules (an optional module). This experience enables students to acquire fundamental knowledge and clinical competencies in paediatric surgical care.

The department also provides postgraduate training to paediatric, urology and general surgery residents, both from our hospital and from the Hospital de Mataró. This teaching includes practical sessions, clinical rounds and specialised workshops that contribute to their comprehensive training and to gaining experience in tertiary-level paediatric surgery.

In addition, the team delivers lectures and practical teaching at minimally invasive paediatric surgery courses at both national and international congresses, sharing experience and innovations with other professionals in the field and establishing the service as a centre of excellence in this discipline.