A TWO-YEAR-OLD boy from North Somerset who had an obstruction in his kidney has become the 300th patient to receive the surgery from the same consultant who first introduced it to paediatrics at University Hospitals Bristol and Weston NHS Foundation Trust.

Parker Green, who lives with his parents and older brother in West Wick, was brought to Bristol Royal Hospital for Children following scans which showed a swelling in his kidney was increasing.

An obstruction in Parker’s kidney, where his renal pelvis met his ureter, was stopping urine draining from the kidney and into the bladder as quickly as it should.

Known as a pelvi-uretic junction (PUJ) it became clear the obstruction was not going to get better without surgery.

If left untreated, Parker’s kidney would have lost function and may have had to be removed.

Fortunately for Parker the consultant who would be performing the surgery, paediatric urology consultant Mark Woodward, has performed laparoscopic kidney surgery hundreds of times since joining University Hospitals Bristol and Weston NHS Foundation Trust.

Dr Woodward first introduced laparoscopic kidney surgery to Bristol Royal Hospital for Children 19 years ago.

Dr Woodward was also the doctor responsible for introducing laparoscopic kidney surgery to Bristol Royal Hospital for Children when it was still a relatively new surgery in paediatrics.

Parker’s operation marked the 300th time Mr Woodward has performed the surgery as a University Hospitals Bristol and Weston clinician.

Sophie Green, Parker’s mother, said: “It was a really emotional time, but Mark was really reassuring.

“Parker had never even been under anaesthetic before, but Mark made us feel okay with the surgery.

“And then when Parker got ill shortly after [with a winter bug] he came straight to see us as soon as he arrived at the hospital to let us know Parker was fine and we could go home.”

Laparoscopic kidney surgery is keyhole surgery, which involves making three small incisions on the patient’s back.

The surgeon then, in the case of Parker, is able to remove a small section of the tube which is blocked and then sew it back together. It is incredibly intricate work.

Dr Woodward said: “When we first started doing the surgery, back in 2005, it took four hours and 20 minutes.

“Parker’s operation took two hours and 10 minutes.

"Also, as our experience has increased the age threshold for performing the surgery has lowered.

“It is incredibly intricate work. When we first started, we would only admit patients of school age, but it has now steadily dropped, and we can now do the same surgery on children who are under one-year of age.”

The surgery has a high success rate, with most patients going home the following day and 97 per cent of all children going home two days after surgery.

The 300 surgeries performed by Mark Woodward include partial and full kidney removal as well as removing obstructions.

Dr Woodward added: “Perhaps surprisingly, removing the whole kidney is the simplest laparoscopic kidney operation, whereas the surgery Parker needed is the trickiest.

“Removing an obstruction involves quite fiddly sewing but you do get quicker with experience.”

Since 2005, the department has expanded and now includes three more paediatric urologists.

Between them, more than 500 laparoscopic kidney surgeries have been performed at Bristol Royal Hospital for Children.

Following on from his surgery earlier this month, Parker is recovering well.

Sophie added: “He is getting back to normal and doing all the things a two-year-old should be doing, and he’s well in himself. We’re looking forward to getting back to normal as a family too.”