Technological innovations have helped facilitate better understanding of the anatomy of a child from the foetal stage itself and opened up a variety of medical solutions for any deformities. The doctors were now able to advance paediatric surgery from neonatal period to the foetal stage, according to Dr Raghavendra Prasad, consultant paediatric surgeon, DDH, Andhra Mahila Sabha.

Delivering a lecture on Changing Concepts in Paediatric Surgery at the Indian Medical Association, Dr Prasad said technologies like ultrasound scanning and laproscopic surgery had totally changed the role of the paediatrician.

Outlining the emergence of an exclusive branch of paediatrics, Dr Prasad said the fear of small size in paediatric care had now gone and most of the disorders like cleft-lip, gastrochisis, diaphragmatic hernia and hydronephrosis could be cured in the newborn babies. Stressing the efficacy of early surgery in most of the cases, Dr Prasad said, Younger the child, less the scar -- physical and psychological.

The focus of paediatricians had now moved from correction to prevention, thanks to ultrasound scanning and laproscopic surgery. The impact of the technological advances was more felt in the area of tumour treatment, he said.

The future of paediatric care would be decided by the biologist as the strides to be made in gene therapy would be highly beneficial to the paediatric care, Dr Prasad said.

IMA Hyderabad City president Dr R S Satwalekar, secretary Dr Mohan Gupta, former president Dr Dulip Bhanushali also spoke.