Total laparoscopic repair of Spigelian hernia with undescended testis.

Spigelian hernia is very rare in the paediatric age group. We present the case of an 11-month-old male child who presented with left Spigelian hernia with the left undescended testis in its sac. Hernia repair with orchidopexy was done using total laparoscopic approach. It is the first reported case of total laparoscopic repair of Spigelian hernia with undescended testis in the paediatric age group.

Neonatal lower extremity gangrene.

Four neonates suffering from bilateral lower limb gangrene were referred to us for further management. Two neonates had no contributory etiology. All four received appropriate treatment thus avoiding mortality but morbidity could not be avoided. All four neonates recovered uneventfully.

Use of composite mesh in gastroschisis: A unique approach.

Gastroschisis is a congenital defect of the abdominal wall involving evisceration of abdominal contents. Initial surgical treatment of this condition depends on the size of the defect, size of the abdominal cavity and amount of bowel exposed. Various techniques described are primary closure, use of the skin flap and silo bag application, followed by fascial closure. Here we present a case wherein even after 7 days of silo bag application, fascial closure was not possible, and a composite mesh was used to cover the bowel until further repair could be attempted.

Multiple tubular and cystic intestinal duplications.

Duodenal and colonic duplication presenting as mass in a neonate is rare. We report a 52-cm-long tubular, total colonic and 5-cm-long cystic duodenal duplication in a two-day-old neonate. Both the duplications could be excised without resection of the normal bowel.

Perforation in a jejunal duplication lined by ectopic gastric mucosa.

We report a 3-year-old child with jejunal duplication with localized perforation and bleeding in the adjacent normal intestine. The entire duplicated jejunum was lined by gastric mucosa. This was successfully treated by mucosal excision of the duplicated intestine and resection of a short segment of normal jejunum.

Disseminated spina ventosa.

Spina Ventosa is a rare condition. A rare case of disseminated tuberculosis of bones and skin without primary foci is presented. Gross sclerosis of the short bones of hand and leg were noted.

Pulmonary gangrene complicating bacterial pneumonia.

Two cases of pulmonary gangrene involving left lower lobe in an 18-month and 4-year-old female children are reported. The patients looked like having empyema following Klebsiella pneumonia. The diagnosis was made following computerized tomography scan and during decortication respectively.

Post meningocele repair urinary ascites in a neonate--a rare presentation.

A full-term female neonate with a large lumbosacral meningocele developed sudden abdominal distension and urinary retention after meningocele repair. An erect abdominal radiograph showed homogeneously opacified areas with a paucity of intestinal gas. Abdominal ultrasound revealed ascites with multiple internal echoes. With a provisional diagnosis of hollow viscus perforation, an emergency laparotomy was performed, which failed to reveal any leak from the urinary tract. However, fluid analysis confirmed the diagnosis of urinary ascites. The patient developed repeated episodes of urinary retention after catheter removal. She was started on clean intermittent catheterization (CIC) to ensure adequate bladder drainage. At 6 months of follow-up, ultrasound of the urinary tract, voiding cystourethrogram, and magnetic resonance imaging of the spine were all within normal limits. The CIC was discontinued, and the patient was observed. At present, she is voiding normally with a good stream. Failure to establish normal micturition after meningocele repair and CIC requirements suggested a neurogenic cause. Bladder rupture, secondary to spinal shock resulting in bladder atonia, could not be ruled out. The perforation (leading to urinary ascites) could be owing to bladder atonia and spinal shock rather than detrusor sphincter dyssynergia.

Single-stage Modified Duhamel procedure for Hirschsprung's disease : our experience.

INTRODUCTION: Primary single-stage pull-through for Hirschsprung's disease (HD) has been reported to give comparable surgical outcomes to staged operations with less morbidity. Herein, we present our experience with single-stage Modified Duhamel procedure for management of HD. PATIENTS AND METHODS: This was a review of 48 cases of HD who underwent single-stage Modified Duhamel procedure without a protective colostomy. RESULTS: The age at surgery ranged from 6 months to 10 years (median - 9 months, mean - 2.3 years). The average weight of the child was 7.2 kg (range, 4.9-22 kg). 38 (79.2%) patients had classical rectosigmoid HD, the rest being long segment HD (the proximal most level being the splenic flexure). The average duration of surgery was 175 minutes (range, 130-245 minutes). The average blood loss was 45 ml. The average hospital stay was 7.2 days (range: 6-10 days). The major postoperative complications (n=3) included postoperative adhesive intestinal obstruction, anastomotic leak and persistent constipation due to residual aganglionosis. Each required a re-exploration. Minor complications included surgical site infection (n=3) and post-operative enterocolitis (n=3), which were managed conservatively. Six patients had constipation for a limited period post-operatively. All patients have a satisfactory functional outcome and normal development and growth. CONCLUSIONS: For HD, we recommend that single-stage Modified Duhamel procedure should be the preferred approach in view of its low morbidity, satisfactory functional outcome and avoidance of stoma, multiple surgeries and economic benefit in view of decreased hospital stay.

Splenic artery embolisation for portal hypertension in children.

BACKGROUND: Bleeding from esophageal varices is one of the most common causes of serious gastrointestinal haemorrhage in children. We analysed our experience with the use of splenic artery embolisation and variceal sclerotherapy for bleeding oesophageal varices. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Records of all patients treated for bleeding oesophageal varices caused by portal hypertension from 1998 to 2004 were retrospectively analysed. Patients were followed up for five years. RESULTS: Out of 25 patients treated, ten belonged to sclerotherapy (group A), eight to combined sclerotherapy and embolisation (group B), and seven to only embolisation (group C). The patients were selected randomly, only two patients who had active bleed recently were directly sclerosed. The splenic artery was embolised at the hilum using steel coils in 15 patients with portal hypertension and hypersplenism. Follow-up findings showed decrease in splenic mass, varices, and hyperdynamic flow. CONCLUSION: In spite of few patients and a short period of follow-up, our results pointed out that a serious consideration should be given to this procedure, as it slowed the sequel of portal hypertension and the complications associated with it. Patients who were embolised and followed up for five years had lesser rebleeds and complications than sclerotherapy patients.

Tubularized incised plate urethroplasty with de-epithelialized flap.

AIM: To improve the results of tubularized plate urethroplasty by adding de-epithelized flap. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Twenty-five cases of hypospadias who underwent Snodgrass urethroplasty using de-epithelialized flap were studied. The minimum period of follow-up in this series was 1 year. RESULTS: The resultant neo-meatus was vertically oriented and slit like. Glans was conical which is cosmetically well accepted. Penile raphe was in the midline. None of the patient had residual chordee, penile torsion, or glans dehiscence. Excellent cosmetic results were observed in all cases. The complication rate in our series was 8% (two cases). Two patients developed fistula. CONCLUSION: De-epithelialized flap is a simple method to provide additional covering to the constructed neourethra after Snodgrass urethroplasty. It achieves our goal of noncrossing suture lines and providing maximum vascularity.

Congenital paraesophageal hernia presenting with severe gastroesophageal reflux.

Paraesophageal hernia in children is relatively rare entity. These children usually present with recurrent respiratory tract infection or vague GI symptoms. An 11 year female presented with episodic vomiting, heartburn and features of hypocalcemic tetany. Investigations revealed right paraesophageal hernia. Reduction of the contents and repair of the defect with fundoplication was done. Patient is asymptomatic on follow-up.

Unusual features of gall bladder duplication cyst with review of the literature.

A 1-month-old female infant presented with a lump in the right hypochondrium extending into the right iliac fossa. Ultrasonography and computed tomography suggested an intestinal duplication cyst or a gall bladder cyst. Exploratory laparotomy revealed it to be a congenital gall bladder duplication cyst without associated complications. It was removed after confirming the presence of a normal gall bladder. The infant's postoperative course was uneventful. This unusual presentation of congenital gall bladder duplication cyst prompted us to report this case.

True tail in a neonate.

Distinction between true and pseudo trail in lumbo-sacral region is important since treatment and prognosis are different. Fewer than 40 cases have been reported in literature. The authors report a case of true tail in a neonate, a rare event.

Traumatic urethral fistula.

An 11-year-old male was passing urine from an opening on the undersurface of the penis as well as from the normal meatal opening. He had passed a calculus per urethra 1.5 years previously. Operative intervention revealed it to be a distal urethral fistula 1 cm proximal to the original meatus. A double-layered repair using local tissue was done, achieving good results.

An unusual cause of stridor: retropharyngeal cold abscess.

A 15-month-old female presented with a large swelling on the left lateral aspect of the neck and respiratory distress, and stridor due to incomplete obstruction of the upper airway. A lateral X-ray film and computerized tomography scan of the cervical spine showed a retropharyngeal abscess without vertebral involvement. Aspiration and contrast revealed it to be a bilobed tubercular abscess. Planned external drainage was done after 10 days under anti-tubercular drugs.