[Cardiovascular and respiratory changes during laparoscopy in neonates and infants]. / Cambios cardiovasculares y ventilatorios durante la laparoscopia en neonatos y lactantes pequeños.

The pneumoperitoneum induced during laparoscopy has cardiovascular and respiratory effects that have to be taken into account to perform laparoscopic procedures in neonates and small infants. The aim of this paper is to describe the hemodynamic and ventilatory changes that occur in a group of these patients undergoing standard laparoscopic procedure. We performed a retrospective review of patients undergoing laparoscopic pyloromyotomy in our institution. We collected demographic data, data from the intervention, outcome and complications and hemodynamic parameters (heart rate--HR--and blood pressure--BP--) and respiratory (O2 saturation--SO2--and exhaled CO2--ECO2--) at different times during surgery. We performed statistical analysis of these data. We reviewed a total of 55 charts. Mean age was 34 days and average weight 3,785 g. All patients were ventilated with pressure control mode and received maintenance fluid therapy. BP, HR and SO2 were stable throughout the surgery not showing significant differences. The ECO2 increased significantly after inflation, however it was controlled by increasig respiratory rate. In conclusion, the hemodynamic and ventilatory response in these patients is controllable with anesthetic and surgical measures but it is important to consider the possible consequences of pneumoperitoneum in this group of patients.

[Laparoscopy as diagnostic-therapeutic method in abdominal traumatism in the pediatric age]. / Laparoscopia como método diagnóstico-terapéutico en el traumatismo abdominal en la edad pediátrica.

The management of blunt abdominal traumatism with a moderate amount of free peritoneal fluid and without solid organ injury as well as the one of minimal penetrating trauma is controversial. We present three cases of blunt abdominal trauma and two of penetrating trauma that underwent diagnostic laparoscopy in our department. We found a small bowel perforation in one of the cases of blunt trauma that was repaired by externalization of the jejuna loop by one of the ports. In the other two cases we found intestinal and mesenteric contusions and free fluid that were treated by peritoneal drainage. One of the cases of penetrating trauma presented omentum evisceration with no other injuries and the second presented a gastric perforation that needed reconversion to laparotomy. In our experience and according to literature, laparoscopy should be taken into account as a diagnostic procedure and sometimes also therapeutic in selected cases of both blunt and penetrating abdominal trauma in pediatric population.

[Minimally invasive surgery in pediatric patients with ventriculo-peritoneal shunts]. / Cirugía laparoscópica en pacientes con válvula de derivación ventrículo-peritoneal.

The use of laparoscopy in patients with ventriculo-peritoneal shunts has been controversial. There is concern about the risk malfunction or infection of the shunt as well as about the possibility of adhesions that could make the surgical procedures too difficult to be undertaken by minimally invasive surgery. We present our results in pediatric patients with ventriculoperitoneal shunts that have undergone laparoscopic procedures in our department. We have performed 16 surgical procedures. The most frequent indication was fundoplication. During surgery there were no complications or intracranial hypertension episodes. Two of the procedures were considered by the surgeons more difficult and longer than usual. None of them required conversion to open technique. One shunt had to be replaced after surgery because of infection. According to our experience minimally invasive surgery is feasible and safe in pediatric patients with ventriculo-peritoneal shunts.

Oesophageal narrowing in chronic granulomatous disease.

A 14 year-old boy with X-linked chronic granulomatous disease (CGD) developed a long smooth narrowing at the mid oesophagus with severe dysphagia. Endoscopy revealed a normal mucosa and biopsy showed non-specific acute inflammatory changes. Bacterial cultures of the biopsy specimens were sterile. Combined treatment with antibiotics and steroids resulted in a transitory remission, but symptoms recurred after 2.5 months. One second course of steroids and antibiotics lead to a long-term remission. Oesophagogram was more useful than endoscopy to evaluate the severity of the stricture.

Diaphragmatic hernia associated with double pulmonary sequestration.

The association of pulmonary sequestration with diaphragmatic hernia is an infrequent but well known situation. We report a rare case in which the diaphragmatic malformation was accompanied by two extralobar pulmonary sequestrations.

Results of the Azizkhan procedure for long-term suprastomal tracheomalacia.

One of the reasons of failure to decannulate patients after airway surgery or long-term tracheostomy is suprastomal tracheomalacia. We present 7 cases with long-term tracheostomies treated by an anterior cricoid suspension described by Azizkhan in 1993. Prior to surgery, other causes of airway obstruction, as well as the presence of gastroesophageal reflux disease should be ruled out. All of them are decannulated. This procedure is a safe surgical technique, easily reproducible and with low costs.

Treatment of esophageal varices by endoscopic ligation in children.

Endoscopic variceal ligation (EVL) is an alternative technique to endoscopic variceal sclerotherapy (EVS) to treat esophageal varices. This method consists of mechanical ligature and thrombosis of varices using elastic rubber rings. During an 11-month period, nine pediatric patients with esophageal varices secondary to portal hypertension were treated by EVL. Extrahepatic portal vein obstruction was the cause of portal hypertension in 5 patients and in 4 cases the cause was intrahepatic disease. The average age of the patients was 8 years (range: 2-15). Five patients had bled from esophageal varices previously. Two were actively bleeding at the time of the procedure. Endoligature was performed prophylactically in four patients. Fifty varix ligations were performed in 26 separate sessions. In children older than ten years, EVL was performed under intravenous sedation. Two mild rebleeds have occurred in this group and responded to repeated ligature. Varices were reduced in grade in all patients. Six patients achieved variceal eradication. Recurrence of varices was not encountered. No major complications occurred and there were no treatment failures. These early results suggest that endoscopic ligation is a safe and effective method for the control of esophageal varices in children.

[Our experience in neonatal surgery in a 15-year period. Follow-up of 1,003 cases]. / Nuestra experiencia en cirugía neonatal a lo largo de 15 años. Seguimiento de 1.003 casos.

From 1982 to 1994, 1.003 cases of surgical newborns have been retrospectively studied. Frequency and epidemiology have been evaluated, so as associated malformations. Prenatal diagnosis was made in 72 cases (7.1%). The most frequent entity was intestinal atresia, with 122 cases (12.1%), followed by necrotizing enterocolitis in 80 cases (7.9%), nevertheless this last one was the most frequent finding in preterm newborns. Esophageal atresia was found in 57 cases (5.6%). Association with other malformations was found in 127 cases (12.6%), and 32 cases of them (3.1%) constituted congenital malformations syndromes. The number of surgical newborns has increased in the last years, mainly due to ambulatory surgery. Global mortality of operated patients was 62 cases (5.9%); the highest mortality index was for congenital diaphragmatic hernia (33.5%), followed by necrotizing enterocolitis (28%). Mortality rate has decreased in recent years, due to improving in management and treatment of these patients, and the consolidation of surgical newborn units. Future efforts should be aimed for decreasing in mortality and improving the standard of life of these patients.

[Ambulatory surgery. Experience at a pediatric surgery department]. / Cirugía de corta estancia. Experiencia de un servicio de cirugía pediátrica.

In October 1987 we opened an Outpatient Surgical Unit, since January 1988 to December 1993 we have treated 8232 patients with an mean age (range of 2 weeks to 17 years). All the patients were given general anesthesia, loco-regional anesthetics or deep sedation. 33.5 percent of the total number of patients operated in our hospital were treated in this Unit, being 41.4 percent if related to programmed surgery. Only 2.5 percent of them were admitted in the inpatient area with no significant complications.

[The treatment of the tracheobronchomalacia in pediatric age]. / Tratamiento de la traqueobroncomalacia en la edad pediátrica.

OBJECTIVE: Aortopexy is the more extended treatment for severe tracheomalacia, when it fails, reintervention and other procedures are necessary. We present our experience in the treatment of this pathology. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Tracheomalacia, bronchomalacia and tracheobroncomalacia cases during a twelve year period (1983-1995) were reviewed (type, age, symptoms, surgical procedures and results were collected). RESULTS: Nineteen patients (9 males, 10 females) presented tracheobronchomalacia in our Hospital. Diagnosis was made by bronchoscopy in all of them: nine cases of tracheomalacia, five bronchomalacias and five suprastomal malacias were found. Mean diagnosis age was twenty four months (newborn-twelve years). Ten patients were managed nonoperatively, five with anterior cricoideal suspension and two cases were treated by aortopexy; one of them, after 2 months of respiratory stridor and recurrent respiratory arrest, needed an endoscopically placed intraluminal expandable Palmaz Prothesis. This prothesis was removed two years later. In this moment, the patient is doing well without stridor or respiratory symptoms.

[Internal hernia through Treves' avascular field defect (author's transl)]. / Hernias internas en el área avascular de Treves.

Authors report two cases of internal hernia through Treves avascular field defects, at the ileal level and another case in which this mesenteric mishape was incidentally found during operation for intestinal obstruction due to adhesions. In this particular case it can be speculated that the defect could have been the cause of a former neonatal obstruction for which operation did not offer an explanation. This type of internal hernia is one of the rarest in pediatric surgical practice. The clinical picture is that of an intestinal strangulation and therefore diagnosis can hardly be made preoperatively. The ileal terminal location of the strangulated loop can, in their opinion, justify a resection extending to the caecum in order to avoid vascular risks on the anastomosis in spite of the sacrifice of the ileo-cecal valve. The three patients survived. Literature on this topic is briefly reviewed.

Detection of specific antibodies to pigeon serum and bloom antigens by enzyme linked immunosorbent assay in pigeon breeder's disease.

BACKGROUND: Pigeon breeder's disease is an extrinsic allergic alveolitis in the lungs of sensitised people, caused by hypersensitivity reactions to inhaled pigeon antigens. Antigens from different sources of the animal are used for diagnostic purposes, with serum being the most widely used. Bloom is rarely used; very little is known of its antigenicity and diagnostic performance, particularly when used with the enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) method, which is the most popular test as it permits measurement of the antibody response. METHODS: To (a) standardise an ELISA for the measurement of specific IgG against pigeon serum and pigeon bloom extract; (b) to establish reference values for specific IgG in 73 non-exposed controls, (c) to show the presence of specific IgG against pigeon serum and bloom in serum samples of 17 patients with bird fancier's lung and 11 asymptomatic fanciers, and (d) to study the similarity of the two antigen sources by cross reactivity experiments. RESULTS: Reference values of specific IgG were defined with the 97.5 percentile (367.9 U/ml for pigeon serum and 953.7 U/ml for pigeon bloom extract). Of symptomatic patients 100% had values higher than the cut off for both antigens. In asymptomatic fanciers values were higher than the cut off for pigeon serum in 45% and bloom extract in 54%. Cross reactivity experiments showed that the two antigens differed in antigenic content although some components may be common to both. CONCLUSION: The ELISA methods used proved to be useful tools for evaluating specific IgG antibody responses against both antigens. The diagnostic performance of both ELISA methods performed with these antigen sources was similar, showing very high sensitivity but moderate specificity. Although some antigenic similarity was found between pigeon serum and bloom extract, cross reactivity studies showed that various antigens seemed to be specific to the bloom extract. However, the antigens responsible for pigeon breeder's disease seem to be present in both antigenic sources.

[Hiatal hernia following T.E.F. repair (author's transl)]. / La hernia hiatal en el postoperatorio de la atresia de esófago.

Hiatal hernia and/or gastroesophageal reflux are studied in 182 pediatric patients after surgical correction of esophageal atresia. Clinical and radiological aspects, along with postoperative complications, are reviewed. Special stress is given to late stenosis that does not cure with conventional treatment and are originated by undiagnosed reflux. Hiatal disfunction screening is proposed in following up patients of esophageal atresia in avoidance of disphagic and aspirative complications.