[Is experimental surgery necessary or essential in the training program of a pediatric surgeon?]. / ¿Es necesaria o imprescindible la cirugía experimental en el programa formativo de un cirujano pediátrico?

Many surgical procedures performed in pediatric surgery have a slow learning curve, the volume of patients and the existence of complex diseases that require extensive training and surgical skill, have taken our service to create a global training program of experimental surgery. This program based on the simulation and training invasive procedures in real anatomical models, aims to educate our residents in a global and efficiently way in order to obtain an improvement of technical training, and increased patient safety result of experience and expertise wined in the experimental animal. This paper presents the main features, objectives and results obtained with this training program and seeks to promote the incorporation of simulation programs in live animal as an essential part of the training of pediatric surgery resident.

[Management of choledochal cyst: laparotomy or endoscopic]. / Tratamiento del quiste de colédoco: cirugía abierta o endoscópica?

The most generally accepted therapy of choledochal cyst is cystectomy and biliar derivation by laparotomy. Last years, endoscopic papilotomy by ERCP has been a valuable therapeutic alternative, no only a diagnostic method. In this study, we reviewed five pediatric patients operated in our Deparment in last five years for choledochal cyst. The initial therapy was laparotomy (n=4) and endoscopic papilotomy by ERCP (n=1) This one was made in other Hospital. Follow-up has been between one and five years. All patients are living. Four patients who were operated by laparotomy are asyntomatic. Patient who was treated by ERCP needed a new ERCP in first posoperative month. Five years ago, she had a seriuos acute pancreatitis and we decided laparotomy and biliar derivation. Since laparotomy, she had two new episodes of acute pancreatitis and she has needed a new endoscopic dilatation with ballon by ERCP. She has been asyntomatic for four months. In conclusion, we think laparotomy with biliar derivation is safer than ERCP in management of children with choledochal cyst. ERCP must be reserved to emergency situations before laparotomy or after postoperative complications, never as exclusive therapy.

[Dog bite-related injuries treated in a pediatric surgery department:analysis of 654 cases in 10 years]. / Mordeduras de perro. Análisis de 654 casos en 10 años.

BACKGROUND: Dog bites to children have increasingly come to the forefront of public attention in recent years, especially attacks by certain breeds classified as aggressive. Dog bites account for approximately 1 % of all emergency pediatric department visits and 75 % of these bites occur in children. Although these lesions are rarely serious, 20-45 % of children under the age of 15 years have been bitten. OBJECTIVE: To analyze the reality of this problem in our population in order to determine the ideal prehospital preventive measures that would reduce the incidence of dog bites. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A retrospective study of children with dog bites who received emergency treatment in the Hospital Infantil Teresa Herrera of the Complejo Hospitalario Juan Canalejo in La Coruña, Spain, between 1991 and 2000 was undertaken. A register of patients was created that included data on age and sex of the children, the race of the dog, the relationship between the child and the animal, characteristics of the injuries, circumstances of the attack, probable sequelae, need for hospital admission and complications during treatment. Nonparametric data were analyzed using Pearson's 2 test. The Ox ratio was estimated with a 95 % confidence interval (0.05). RESULTS: In the 10-year period between January 1991 and December 2000, 654 patients under the age of 14 years were treated for dog bite-related injuries. The mean age was 5.09 years. A greater number of boys had been bitten than girls (2.75/1). In 79 % of the cases the dogs were known (family, friends, neighbors). Thirty-eight percent of the attacks were made by German Shepherds and 35 % by crossed breeds. Sixty-five percent of the bites were located on the head, face and neck, especially in patients aged less than 4 years. Five percent of the lesions were severe. Thirteen patients were admitted to the pediatric intensive care unit and 98 patients required hospitalization due to the characteristics of the injuries. The mean hospital stay was 6 days. Infectious complications occurred in 32 patients. CONCLUSIONS: Although dog bite-related injuries to children in our community are rarely serious, they can produce important facial cosmetic sequelae. The high incidence of these lesions indicates the need for preventive measures and public policy strategies.

[Treatment of pyeloureteral duplication associated with ureterocele or ectopic ureter]. / Tratamiento de las duplicidades pieloureterales asociadas a ureterocele o a uréter ectópico.

INTRODUCTION: Pyeloureteral duplication is often associated to ureterocele and ectopic ureter. Therapeutic approach of ureterocele is actually a debated subject because of the differences treatments. There is controversy about the classic heminefrectomy with ureterocele aspiration and the minimal invasive endoscopic approach. MATERIAL AND METHODS: We made a retrospective study about 34 children with pyeloureteral duplication associated with ureterocele (26) or with ectopic ureter (8). The election of treatment was mainly based on renal function, showed on gammagraphy. It was performed heminephrectomy and ureterocele aspiration in patients with hypofunctioning upperpole, and surgery saving the kidney when the renal function was normal. RESULTS: Heminephrectomy was curative in 66.5% of children with ureterocele. In the others was required a correction of the vesicoureteral reflux associated with the lower pole or removal of the ureterocele with ureteral reimplantation due to failure in ureterocele collapse. 88.5% of ureterocele was collapsed. None of the heminefrectomies performed on patients with ectopic ureter needed further surgery. Pathology studies showed a high incidence of renal dysplasia (63%). CONCLUSION: We consider the heminephrectomy the treatment of choice in pyeloureteral duplication associated with ureterocele and ectopic ureter when gammagraphy studies show hypofunctioning upperpole.

[Testicular microlithiasis. Clinical significance and therapeutic implications]. / Microlitiasis testicular. Significado clínico e implicaciones terapéuticas.

Testicular microlithiasis is a rare condition usually diagnosed by scrotal ultrasound and associated with pathology of the testis. We report two pediatric cases presented with acute scrotum. Testicular sonography revealed significant bilateral testicular microlithiasis. One case was diagnosed as having torsion of the right testis and the other case as orchiepididymitis. A careful review of the literature is made and a periodic follow-up of this disease is advocated.

[Paratesticular rhabdomyosarcoma]. / Rabdomiosarcoma paratesticular.

We report a case of paratesticular rhabdomyosarcoma in a six-year-old boy. The clinical presentation was subacute. The patient underwent a radical right inguinal orchidectomy. It was classified in IRS-III stage IA (based in the Third Intergroup Rhabdomyosarcoma Study). Subsequently, the child received 3 chemotherapy courses (9 weeks) with vincristine and actinomycin D. The patient is found to be asymptomatic 1 year after the treatment.

[Retrocaval ureter in children: surgical approach based on the obstructive pattern in the diuretic renogram with 99mTc DTPA]. / Uréter retrocavo en edad pediátrica: actitud quirúrgica en base al patrón obstructivo en el renograma diuretico 99mTc DTPA.

Retrocaval ureter is a rare disease in childhood which is due to a abnormal development of the inferior cava vein. We report a new case of retrocaval ureter in a 9 year-old girl who had consulted for macrohematuria and right flank pain. Preoperative intravenous urography and DTPA diuretic renogram suggested this entity. CT scan was no necessary for the diagnosis. We consider the diuretic renogram the best diagnostic method in the surgical decision of this disease.

[Ureteral hydronephrosis secondary to appendicular abscess]. / Ureterohidronefrosis secundaria a absceso apendicular.

OBJECTIVE: To report a case of ureterohydronephrosis secondary to an undiagnosed appendiceal abscess. METHODS/RESULTS: Herein we describe a case of a 4-year-old girl with right ureterohydronephrosis arising from extrinsic compression of the right ureter due to an undiagnosed appendiceal abscess. The patient was treated with intravenous antibiotics and the abscess was drained. Regular isotope and US assessments showed both the residual retroperitoneal fibrosis and renoureteral dilation had decreased. CONCLUSIONS: Acute appendicitis is still the most common cause of emergency abdominal operations in children. Although the symptoms are easily recognizable and generally lead to the correct diagnosis in most cases, the peculiarities of childhood can lead to errors in the diagnosis resulting in the complications reported herein. We emphasize the usefulness of ultrasound in the diagnosis and conservative treatment is advocated.

[Benign gingival granular cell tumor in the newborn: congenital epulis]. / Tumor gingival benigno de células granulares en el recién nacido: epulis congénito.

Gingival granular cell tumor, or congenital epulis, was first described by Neumman in 1871 and subsequently 201 cases have been published in 173 patients. It is an uncommon benign tumor that is present like a pedunculated, smooth surfaced, isolated lesion on the alveolar mucosa of the maxillar of the newborn child. Its firm consistency and variable size can occasionally cause problems in the child's breathing or feeding. This tumor is easily diagnosed clinically and, although spontaneous regression of the tumor mass has occasionally been reported, the current treatment is surgical removal. Two new cases of congenital epulis are reported and a literature review is included.

[Necrotizing enterocolitis: a 10-year survey]. / Enterocolitis necrotizante: revisión de 10 años.

We reviewed the records of all infants with necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC) who had been diagnosed in "Teresa Herrera" Hospital in La Coruña between 1984 and 1994. We tried to determine the risk factors that could influence at the beginning of the disease, the clinic presentation, and the basic aspects of treatment. All cases of ECN with clinic-radiologic confirmation were examined (Bell stages II and III). With this approach, a general questionnaire containing records, clinical presentation, and treatment, was applied to all cases. In our revision, we found that neonate most at risk is that one with an average gestational age of 35 weeks, a mean weight of 2500 gr., with a laborious delivery and who was admitted in the neonatal intensive care unit for an important disease. The onset of NEC was more frequent in the first 15 days of life, and clinical and radiological features were used to confirm the disease. In 86% of the cases, oral feeding had begun. Surgery was needed in 36% of the cases, of which 86% suffered from gut perforation, terminal ileum being the most frequent localization. The general mortality was 12%. Only one of the operated patient died. We conclude that in the appearance of NEC there are a lot of influential factors, including perinatal stress, prematurity and a low birth weight. Clinical symptoms are haemodynamic instability, abdominal distension and bloody stools, obtaining confirmation through radiology in 87%. We consider the importance of early diagnosis and treatment and exhaustive observation by children's surgeon to indicate early surgery.

[Comparative sensitivity of intravenous urography, ultrasonography and DMSA scan in the diagnosis of vesicoureteral reflux nephropathy]. / Sensibilidad comparada de la urografía intravenosa, la ecografía y el DMSA scan en la detección de la nefropatía del reflujo vesicoureteral.

We compared the efficiency of the IVP, the ultrasound and the DMSA scan in the detection of pyelonephritic lesions during the evaluation of 165 kidneys in 83 children, aged up to 14 years, with vesicoureteric reflux. Our study showed an efficiency of 60.20% for the IVP, 29.60% for the ultrasound and 96.90% for the DMSA scan. These results clearly show that the best imaging method for detecting renal scars is the DMSA scan, followed by IVP and ultrasound.

[Our experience with aspiration of ectopic ureteroceles]. / Nuestra experiencia con la aspiracion de los ureteroceles ectopicos.

Since 1986 we have performed suction of the ectopic ureteroceles in seven cases. In four of these cases the obstruction caused by the ureteroceles affected the upper hemi-kidney. In the remaining three cases both hemi-kidneys of the same side were affected. One child suffered failure of both hemi-kidneys. All the ureteroceles corresponded to the upper hemi-kidney and were associated with ipsilateral duplicity. In four of the cases the treatment applied was the heminephrectomy of the upper hemi-kidney and the suction of the ureterocele. In one case, we did a nephrectomy and suction of the ureterocele. In the remaining two cases the suction of the ureterocele was done, as well as the ureteropyelostomy, since it was necessary to use the upper hemi-kidney in the renal TC99m dimercaptosuccinic acid scan-DMSA. In five of the children there was a collapse of the ureterocele giving good results in both kidneys. In two of the children there was no collapse, which provoked the need for removal of the ureterocele. In one of these two cases, the renal dilatation persisted later. In the last case it was necessary to perform nephrectomy due to the absence of recuperation of the renal function. Three of the children had associated reflux which disappeared in one of them, after the suction of the ureterocele. Vesical surgery might be avoided by means of the ureterocele's suction technique in 60 per 100 of the cases. However, it is essential to pursue the child's progress once every six months, in order to detect possible failures of ureterocele collapse.

[The use of technetium 99m with diethyleneamino pentaacetic acid (Tc 99-DTPA) in the pathology of the pyeloureteral junction]. / Aplicación del tecnecio 99m con ácido dietilenoaminopentacético (Tc 99-DTPA) en la patología de la unión pieloureteral.

By using diuretic renograms with technetium 99m-diethylenetriaminepentaacetic acid (Tc 99-DTPA) as a non-invasive procedure to evaluate paediatric patients with pelvicaliceal dilatation, we are able to make a clear differentiation between dilated, obstructed and non obstructed renal units. This procedure has given us a new insight into the management of these patients, permitting us to decide which patients would benefit from a surgical treatment and which patients would be reserved for clinical observation and follow up.

[Omphalopagus conjoined twins with successful surgical separation (author's transl)]. / Separación quirúrgica con supervivencia de dos gemelas siamesas onfalópagos.

The authors present an observation of omphalopagus conjoined twins with successful separation. They comment on the etiopathogenic factors, obstetrical problems, investigation of the extent of the union and operative timing.