Sonographically Determined Fecal Width: An Objective Indicator of Management of Bladder and Bowel Dysfunction in Children.

OBJECTIVE: To test whether sonographically determined fecal width (SDFW) correlates with symptom improvement in a population of children with bladder and bowel dysfunction (BBD) managed with standard urotherapy (SU), even for those patients lacking initial bowel complaints. METHODS: We retrospectively analyzed 200 pediatric BBD patients managed with SU for at least 3 months. Self-reported symptom improvement (complete, partial, no response) following International Children's Continence Society guidelines was tabulated. Patients with complex urologic diagnoses other than vesicoureteral reflux (VUR) were excluded. Pharmacotherapy choice, physical therapy (PT), urinary tract infection (UTI) occurrence, and VUR status were tabulated. SDFW was recorded. Non-parametric analysis of variants (ANOVA) and parametric/non-parametric t testing were used for analysis. RESULTS: Patients had a mean age of 9.5 years (4-12). Forty-eight patients had no gastrointestinal complaints at presentation. Urotherapy yielded complete, partial, and no responses in 14% (n = 27), 33% (n = 67), and 53% (n = 106) of patients, respectively. The average SDFW for those patients with complete response (2.6 cm) was smaller than the SDFW of those with a partial response (3.1 cm) or no response (3.3 cm) (P = .0001). Non-compliance led to greater SDFW compared to compliant patients (3.7 cm and 3.1 cm, respectively, P = .0001). Fecal width was unaffected by VUR, UTI, PT, or pharmacotherapy. CONCLUSION: SDFW correlates well with symptom improvement in pediatric patients managed for BBD, confirming our hypothesis. SDFW is reasonable as single objective parameter to identify successful management in patients with BBD, extending to those without bowel complaints at presentation.

Dermoid Cyst in a Multicystic Dysplastic Kidney: A Case Report and Literature Review.

Most multicystic dysplastic kidneys (MCDKs) are discovered prenatally. There is no consensus regarding initial workup and appropriate follow-up. We present a 9-year-old female who was fetally diagnosed with a MCDK and without follow-up returned with an 18-cm multicystic mass. The patient underwent laparoscopic nephrectomy. Final pathology revealed a dermoid cyst arising in a pediatric kidney, which to our knowledge has not been previously described. Patients with MCDK have hypertension as a possible sequela and possible reflux to their functioning kidney. Voiding cystourethrogram seems reasonable initially, and renal ultrasound is ideally noninvasive. Focused clinical awareness of the solitary kidney is important.

En Bloc Retroperitoneoscopic Removal of Horseshoe Kidney for End-stage Renal Disease.

Horseshoe kidney (HSK) is the most common renal fusion anomaly. There have been reports of an association of HSKs with medical renal disease. We report a case of a child with nephrotic-range proteinuria and a HSK. As the patient was on peritoneal dialysis, the entire HSK was removed en bloc via a retroperitoneoscopic approach with early postoperative reinitiation of peritoneal dialysis.

Outpatient 'mini' percutaneous cystolithotomy following complex lower urinary tract reconstruction.

PURPOSE: To present our initial experience with "mini" percutaneous cystolithotomy performed as an outpatient procedure in patients with neurogenic bladders. MATERIALS & METHODS: Over the last 6 years, patients with neurogenic bladders and bladder calculi were managed with outpatient percutaneous cystolithotomy. All but 1 had previously undergone appendicovesicostomy (APV) creation. The procedure was performed by first passing a pediatric cystoscope per APV. Once the calculi were visualized, and following bladder distention, additional bladder access was obtained by passage of either a 16F Peel-Away introducer using the Seldinger technique or a 5 mm laparoscopic trocar under direct vision. An ultrasonic lithotripter was then advanced through the percutaneous access site and stone fragmentation completed. Following procedure completion, a catheter was placed for 24 h for bladder decompression. All procedures were performed on an outpatient basis. RESULTS: 12 patients underwent 18 successful operations. In 1 patient, percutaneous access was unsuccessful. Mean age at surgery was 12.3 years. Mean operative time was 72 min 8 patients had undergone previous ileocystoplasty. The remainder was rendered stone free at the completion of surgery. One patient had persistent bleeding from the intravesical trocar site necessitating fulguration and an overnight stay for observation. The remainder were sent home the same day. There were no cases of urine extravasation. CONCLUSIONS: "Mini" percutaneous cystolithotomy is a safe, effective technique for the outpatient management of bladder calculi.

Pediatric testicular torsion: demographics of national orchiopexy versus orchiectomy rates.

PURPOSE: While the timely diagnosis and management of pediatric torsion can lead to testicular salvage, limited data exist on rates of orchiopexy vs orchiectomy and associated factors. Thus, we examined the Pediatric Health Information System database for torsion outcomes and demographics at American pediatric hospitals. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Using the Pediatric Health Information System database we performed a 7-year retrospective cohort study in children 1 to 17 years old with a primary ICD-9 diagnosis of torsion, assessing CPT codes for orchiopexy and orchiectomy. Data were analyzed with SPSS®, version 17.0. RESULTS: Of 2,876 patients who underwent surgery for an ICD-9 diagnosis code of testicular torsion 918 (31.9%) underwent orchiectomy at a mean age of 10.7 years and 1,958 (68.1%) underwent orchiopexy at a mean age of 12.6 years (p <0.0001). In the age groups 1 to 9, 10 to 13 and 14 years or greater 274 (49.9%), 311 (29.4%) and 333 patients (26.2%), respectively, underwent orchiectomy. A higher orchiectomy rate was seen at age 1 to 9 vs 10 years or greater. Torsion and orchiectomy rates did not vary by season or geographic region. A higher orchiectomy rate was seen in black vs white children (37.6% vs 28.1%) and in patients without vs with private insurance (36.7% vs 27.0%). Multivariate analysis revealed an association of age (p <0.0001), race (p <0.0001) and insurance status (p <0.001) with orchiectomy. CONCLUSIONS: Nationally an average of 32% of the 411 pediatric torsion cases explored annually result in orchiectomy. Identified factors increasing the orchiectomy risk included age 1 to 9 years, black race and lack of private insurance. Efforts should continue to identify modifiable variables that can increase testicular salvage in patients with testicular torsion.

Nephrectomy for hypertension in pediatric patients with a unilateral poorly functioning kidney: a contemporary cohort.

PURPOSE: A unilateral poorly or non-functioning kidney is a cause of hypertension in children. We report the outcomes of pediatric patients with unilateral renal parenchymal disease who underwent nephrectomy for hypertension. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Consecutive hypertensive children undergoing nephrectomy with a unilateral poorly or non-functioning kidney were retrospectively reviewed; preoperative and postoperative clinical variables were analyzed. RESULTS: From July 2002 to August 2009, 21 patients (8M:13F) with average age 3.5 years and average follow-up 17.8 months were studied. Eleven patients had multicystic dysplastic kidney, 8 had reflux nephropathy, and 2 had ureteropelvic junction obstruction. Fourteen of 21 (67%) had blood pressure normalization after nephrectomy. Seven of 11 with MCDK were normotensive postoperatively compared to 6/8 patients with reflux nephropathy, and 1/2 patients with UPJ obstruction. Of the 14 patients normotensive postoperatively, 7 were on antihypertensives prior to surgery. Four of 7 patients stopped their anti-hypertensive medications postoperatively, 2 decreased from 3 and 4 medications to 1, and 1 remained on an ACE inhibitor. There were 2 patients with contralateral renal scarring, both of which remained hypertensive postoperatively. CONCLUSIONS: Nephrectomy in hypertensive pediatric patients with a unilateral poorly functioning or non-functioning kidney yielded hypertension resolution in 67% (14/21), permitting cessation or diminution of antihypertensives in many patients. Given the alternative of lifelong antihypertensives with the risk of medication non-compliance and side-effects, nephrectomy is a logical option of care which can be offered to patients and families with informed knowledge of the potential for cure.

Wilms tumor: preoperative risk factors identified for intraoperative tumor spill.

PURPOSE: We identified preoperative parameters associated with increased risk of intraoperative Wilms tumor spill. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We retrospectively reviewed an institutional database of patients diagnosed with Wilms tumor between 2000 and 2008. Inclusion criteria consisted of available abdominal computerized tomogram and pathological stage I to IV disease. Patient characteristics and neoadjuvant chemotherapy use were noted. After blinding, a radiologist reviewed preoperative computerized tomogram parameters, calculating tumor volume and assigning a preoperative radiological stage. RESULTS: Of 67 patients diagnosed with Wilms tumor 41 (22 males, 19 females) met inclusion criteria, while 26 had incomplete imaging for analysis. Comparison of patients with and without intraoperative tumor spill demonstrated no significant differences in age (3.8 vs 3.6 years), sex (3 males and 3 females vs 19 males and 16 females), body weight or tumor capsule thickness. Preoperative radiological staging was unable to predict pathological stage I to III disease. Six intraoperative tumor spills (15%) were identified (left in 4, right in 2), of which 3 were stage III disease and 3 stage IV. Without neoadjuvant chemotherapy, patients with tumors greater than 1,000 cc had an increased risk of spill (2 of 2 [100%] vs 4 of 33 [12%], p = 0.03). Of 9 patients with stage IV disease 0% (0 of 4) receiving neoadjuvant chemotherapy experienced tumor spill, while lack of neoadjuvant chemotherapy was associated with a 60% (3 of 5 patients, 1 male and 2 females) risk of stage IV spill (p = 0.17). CONCLUSIONS: The sole significant tumor spill risk factor identifiable preoperatively was tumor volume greater than 1,000 cc. However, spill occurred at volumes less than 400 cc. Although not statistically significant, neoadjuvant chemotherapy for stage IV disease trended toward diminishing spill risk. Patients with Wilms tumors greater than 1,000 cc may benefit from neoadjuvant chemotherapy with less tumor spill, while stage IV tumors warrant further study in this regard.

Testicular infarction in a 12-year-old boy with Wegener's granulomatosis.

We present the case of a 12-year-old boy with testicular infarction secondary to Wegener's granulomatosis. Scrotal exploration revealed no evidence of testicular torsion. The testis was left in place, and, after systemic therapy, partial reperfusion was present.

Resorbable extracellular matrix grafts in urologic reconstruction.

PURPOSE: There is an increasingly large body of literature concerning tissue-engineering products that may be used in urology. Some of these are quite complex (such as multilayer patient-specific cell-seeded implants) yet the most simple and successful products to date are also the most uncomplicated: resorbable acellular extra-cellular matrices (ECMs) harvested from animals. ECMs have been used in a variety of difficult urologic reconstruction problems, and this review is intended to summarize this complex literature for the practicing urologist. METHODS: Medline search of related terms such as "SIS, small intestinal submucosa, ECM, extracellular matrix, acellular matrix and urologic reconstruction". Manuscripts missed in the initial search were taken from the bibliographies of the primary references. RESULTS: Full review of potential clinical uses of resorbable extra-cellular matrices in urologic reconstruction. CONCLUSIONS: Currently, the "state of the art" in tissue engineering solutions for urologic reconstruction means resorbable acellular xenograft matrices. They show promise when used as a pubovaginal sling or extra bolstering layers in ureteral or urethral repairs, although recent problems with inflammation following 8-ply pubovaginal sling use and failures after 1- and 4-ply SIS repair of Peyronie's disease underscore the need for research before wide adoption. Preliminary data is mixed concerning the potential for ECM urethral patch graft, and more data is needed before extended uses such as bladder augmentation and ureteral replacement are contemplated. The distant future of ECMs in urology likely will include cell-seeded grafts with the eventual hope of producing "off the shelf" replacement materials. Until that day arrives, ECMs only fulfill some of the requirements for the reconstructive urologist.

Resorbable extracellular matrix grafts in urologic reconstruction

PURPOSE: There is an increasingly large body of literature concerning tissue-engineering products that may be used in urology. Some of these are quite complex (such as multilayer patient-specific cell-seeded implants) yet the most simple and successful products to date are also the most uncomplicated: resorbable acellular extra-cellular matrices (ECMs) harvested from animals. ECMs have been used in a variety of difficult urologic reconstruction problems, and this review is intended to summarize this complex literature for the practicing urologist. METHODS: Medline search of related terms such as "SIS, small intestinal submucosa, ECM, extracellular matrix, acellular matrix and urologic reconstruction". Manuscripts missed in the initial search were taken from the bibliographies of the primary references. RESULTS: Full review of potential clinical uses of resorbable extra-cellular matrices in urologic reconstruction. CONCLUSIONS: Currently, the "state of the art" in tissue engineering solutions for urologic reconstruction means resorbable acellular xenograft matrices. They show promise when used as a pubovaginal sling or extra bolstering layers in ureteral or urethral repairs, although recent problems with inflammation following 8-ply pubovaginal sling use and failures after 1- and 4-ply SIS repair of Peyronie's disease underscore the need for research before wide adoption. Preliminary data is mixed concerning the potential for ECM urethral patch graft, and more data is needed before extended uses such as bladder augmentation and ureteral replacement are contemplated. The distant future of ECMs in urology likely will include cell-seeded grafts with the eventual hope of producing "off the shelf" replacement materials. Until that day arrives, ECMs only fulfill some of the requirements for the reconstructive urologist.