[Perforations of stomach and bowel in the newborn, postoperative problems (author's transl)].

There has been an obvious reduction in mortality in cases of neonatal gastrointestinal perforation in a 21 year period. However, in the past 5 years, even compared with the world literature, no significant improvement has been achieved. The significant complications in the post-operative period are related to the intensive care of these patients and further progress can only be made by increased collaboration between paediatricians and paediatric surgeons to achieve such optimal intensive care.