Diagnostic Laparoscopy for Abdominal Trauma in Infants and Children: How We Do It.

Although once thought to be a point of contention, the use of minimally invasive surgery for the hemodynamically stable pediatric trauma patients has grown dramatically since its conception in the 1970s and becoming a widely acceptable option for select patient populations. An accumulation of literature over the decades has continued to support laparoscopy for both diagnostic and therapeutic purposes in the pediatric trauma patients as laparoscopy is likely to decrease morbidity, hospital cost, and negative laparotomy rates. In this review, we describe what we believe to be the critical aspects of diagnostic laparoscopy in the setting of pediatric trauma.