Paediatric

Thyroid surgery in children is uncommon, but may be required for several conditions including thyroid cancer, thyroid nodules, overactive thyroid (hyperthyroidism) and thyroid enlargement (goitre).

Neuroblastoma is a cancer that develops from immature nerve cells and is one of the more common solid tumours of early childhood. It most often begins in the adrenal gland above the kidney or in nerve tissue along the spine, chest, neck or pelvis.

Wilms tumour (nephroblastoma) is the most common kidney cancer in children and usually affects children under the age of five. Other, rarer kidney tumours also occur in childhood, and all are managed by a specialist children's cancer team.

Rhabdomyosarcoma is the most common soft tissue sarcoma of childhood and arises from cells that would normally develop into skeletal muscle. It can occur almost anywhere in the body and is treated with a combination of chemotherapy, surgery and radiotherapy.

Non-rhabdomyosarcoma soft tissue sarcomas (NRSTS) are a diverse group of cancers arising from connective tissues such as fat, fibrous tissue, blood vessels and nerve sheaths. They are uncommon in children and adolescents, and surgery is the cornerstone of treatment for most of them.

Germ cell tumours arise from the cells that normally develop into eggs or sperm, and in children they can occur in the ovaries or testes or in midline sites such as the tailbone, abdomen or chest. Many are benign, and even malignant germ cell tumours usually respond well to treatment.