To view the live webcast on June 27 at 3:00 p.m. CDT of a Pediatric Laparoscopic Splenectomy, from Kansas City Mercy Children’s Hospital just click here to sign up now. You will receive an email reminder a few days before the program.

The patient is a 13-year-old with idiopathic thrombocytopenia purpura (ITP). Initially, the thrombocytopenia was responsive to Win-Rho therapy, but he has not had a sustained increase in the platelet count for the past year despite monthly Win-Rho treatments. The reduced platelet count has been significantly affecting his routine activities.

Tulman, Holcomb, et al, described the first report of pediatric laparoscopic splenectomy in 1993 (J Pediatr Surg 28:689-692, 1993). Over the past ten years, the laparoscopic approach for splenectomy has become the preferred technique in most pediatric centers. This operation will be the first web cast by Karl Storz involving pediatric surgical operations performed at a pediatric surgery resident training center. Dr. Shawn St. Peter, Chief Surgical Resident at the Children’s Mercy Hospital, will be performing the operation with Dr. George W. Holcomb, III, Surgeon-In-Chief at Children’s Mercy Hospital and Director of the Pediatric Surgery Residency Training Program. The operation is expected to last between 75 and 90 minutes.

This web cast is primarily for the educational benefit of doctors and nurses who are interested in this operation and disease process. It will be possible to ask questions by clicking the “MDirctAccess” button on the webcast screen during the operation.

Karl Storz Endoscopy is making this interactive Internet webcast available as part of their ongoing efforts to provide education and training in pediatric minimally invasive surgery.