Laparoscopic and telemedicine components have been built into the new operating rooms, notes pediatric surgeon Fizan Abdullah.

Pediatric surgeon Fizan Abdullah makes no bones about it. The current operating rooms used by Children’s Center surgeons were designed and built for adults and well before the era of minimally invasive procedures increasingly being performed for pediatric patients today. But all that changes, he adds, when The Charlotte R. Bloomberg Children’s Center—featuring 10 dedicated and spacious state-of-the-art pediatric operating suites—opens in May. Features of the new ORs include overhead booms designed to better position audio, video and medical equipment, including minimally invasive instruments, during procedures.

“A lot of laparoscopic and telemedicine components have been built into some of these ORs, what we’re referring to as laparoscopic suites,” says Abdullah. “In the immediate future lap surgery will increasingly be a bread and butter component of our surgical expertise.”

The operating rooms—the first pediatric operating rooms in the state of Maryland—are also customized for the treatment of specific conditions, including cardiac, neurologic, oncology, orthopedic, pulmonary, and urologic disorders. Single occupancy rooms in the new hospital, Abdullah adds, will allow surgery patients to recover without being disturbed by a potential upset neighbor.

For more information, visit the Division of Pediatric Surgery at Hopkins Children's.