Blunt abdominal trauma resulting in gallbladder injury: a review with emphasis on pediatrics.

BACKGROUND: Gallbladder injury in blunt abdominal trauma is a rare and difficult diagnosis. Gallbladder injury is reported to be between 1.9% and 2.1% of all abdominal traumas. It has vague symptoms usually with inconclusive investigation results; hence, it is often diagnosed at laparotomy. The patient typically has vague abdominal pain and occasionally a period of remission depending on the type of gallbladder injury. In pediatrics, blunt abdominal trauma presents additional challenges of difficult historians and compensating physiology. Any delay in diagnosis and definitive management will worsen the prognosis. Making the diagnosis requires astute clinical acumen and radiologic interpretation. The classification system of Losanoff has merit in guiding treatment. While cholecystectomy is the preferred treatment, there are occasions when the gallbladder may be left in situ and these are discussed. METHODS: Literature searches were performed using Pubmed and Medline with keywords "abdominal trauma," "gallbladder injury," and "gallbladder perforation." DISCUSSION: The authors highlight the incidence of associated visceral injuries in gallbladder trauma (>90%). Gallbladder perforation is more likely in cases when the gallbladder is distended and thin-walled at the time of injury. Therefore, we recommend that gallbladder perforation is suspected in those patients who have drunk alcohol or eaten recently. Despite the developments in modern computed tomography, identifying gallbladder perforation is difficult because of the subtlety and rarity of the condition. We draw attention to the proposed anatomic classification systems because they are of some use in guiding treatment. In the absence of a diagnosis after blunt abdominal trauma and with intra-abdominal free fluid, the clinician faces the difficult decision of whether surgery is indicated for a potential visceral injury. After discussing the available evidence, the authors advocate a low index of suspicion for performing diagnostic laparoscopy.

Haematuria in children.

Haematuria is a common finding in children and can be macroscopic or microscopic. In contrast to adults, haematuria in children very rarely indicates an underlying malignant pathology. The differential diagnosis is broad, with the most common underlying causes being infection, glomerulonephritis and hypercalciuria. It is useful to distinguish between nephrological or upper urinary tract and lower urinary tract pathologies, as this will guide investigations and referral. This review discusses the causes of haematuria in the paediatric population.

Dual Pathology Causing Congenital Bladder Outlet Obstruction.

Anterior urethral syringocele is an uncommon congenital deformity characterized by cystic dilatation of bulbourethral gland ducts and is usually asymptomatic. We present a case on 4-day-old male neonate who presented with bilateral antenatal hydroureteronephrosis and renal impairment and found to have urethral syringocele and posterior urethral valves.

Ureterocystoplasty: long-term functional results.

PURPOSE: Many institutions have reported varied levels of success with ureterocystoplasty. Recently, there have been concerns regarding the efficacy of ureterocystoplasty as a form of bladder augmentation. We report our long-term functional outcomes with the procedure based on the experience of a single surgeon. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A total of 17 procedures were performed during a 12-year period. Of the patients 10 had posterior urethral valves, 3 had bladder exstrophy, 2 had a neuropathic bladder, 1 had a cloacal anomaly and 1 had a left ectopic ureter. Mean patient age at operation was 5.9 years (range 0.3 to 14.2). All patients underwent preoperative ultrasound, urodynamic studies and radionuclide scanning. Postoperative urodynamics were performed at 6 months. RESULTS: Followup ranged from 0.5 to 11.5 years (mean 4.5). Nine patients underwent ureterocystoplasty with preservation of the ipsilateral kidney, and 1 underwent ureterocystoplasty alone and had a solitary right kidney. The remaining 7 patients underwent ureterocystoplasty with ipsilateral nephrectomy. Postoperatively, the mean bladder capacity improved from 125 to 292 ml, while the mean end filling pressure decreased from 72 to 22 cm H(2)O. Mean preoperative system compliance was 2.1 ml/cm H(2)O, which increased to 16.2 ml/cm H(2)O postoperatively. A total of 13 patients did not require further augmentation surgery. The remaining 4 patients had high pressure and poorly compliant bladders, and underwent ileocystoplasty. Subsequent postoperative nucleotide scans in these 4 patients demonstrated stable upper tracts with good drainage. CONCLUSIONS: Based on our results, ureterocystoplasty provides durable functional urodynamic improvement in patients with a megaureter.

Urological and sexual outcome in patients with Hirschsprung disease: A systematic review.

PURPOSE: There is a paucity of recent evidence regarding long-term urological and sexual outcomes following surgery for Hirschsprung disease (HD). We aimed to undertake a systematic review of all HD literature to define these outcomes. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A systematic literature search was conducted on studies from 1966 to 2014. Relevant articles were assessed for urological/sexual operative complications and functional sequelae. Studies were analysed in qualitative (Rangel score) and quantitative syntheses. RESULTS: Initially 257 reports were assessed, with 24 studies were eligible for inclusion (1972-2014). Mean study quality was 16.5 ± SD 4.8 (range 6-23), indicating overall fair/poor quality. Ten studies (1021 patients) reported operative complications, with ureteric/urethral/vaginal injury occurring in seven (0.7%) patients. In three studies, the primary outcome was urological functional assessment. From 17 studies, 52/2546 patients (2.0%) had reported urinary incontinence. In infants, absent spontaneous erections post-operatively was reported in 3/203 patients (1.5%, 5 studies); of these 3, parents did not note spontaneous erections pre-operatively either. In older patients, erectile dysfunction occurred in 6/498 (1.2%) males. Other sexual outcomes were reported in 10 studies, with 5/10 studies (416 patients) reporting no erectile dysfunction. In the other studies reports ranged from non-specified sexual dysfunction in one study to diverse sexual related problems in nine (7.8%) of their patients in another. CONCLUSIONS: Urological/sexual outcomes are rarely reported after HD surgery (24 studies over 42 years). Study quality is usually poor and a large proportion of the studies are more than 30 years old. In the majority of series it is unclear whether urological and sexual function impairments were not present or if they were not assessed. Prospective reporting of urological/sexual outcome is required, in particular in the era of new surgical techniques/approaches to HD.

A Case of Embryonal Rhabdomyosarcoma Presenting as a Lobulated Protrusion From the Urethral Meatus at Birth.

This is the first reported case of rhabdomyosarcoma presenting as a mass protruding from the urethral meatus present at birth. A male neonate was transferred to a tertiary pediatric urology center on day 4 of life where the mass was surgically excised. Histology confirmed an embryonal rhabdomyosarcoma and chemotherapy commenced. The patient completed chemotherapy at the age of 8 months. The child is now 3.5 years old and well with no recurrence of disease.

Neonatal imperforate hymen causing obstruction of the urinary tract.

An imperforate hymen associated with urinary retention, bilateral hydronephrosis, and bilateral hydrosalpinx is extremely rare in the neonatal period. We present a case of a 2-day-old neonate with a marked interlabial swelling causing urinary retention. Imaging revealed hydrometrocolpos, hydrosalpinx, and bilateral hydronephrosis. Her symptoms resolved after hymenectomy.

Attraction problems following magnet ingestion.

Ingestion of magnetic toys is associated with serious complications that can result in pressure necrosis and bowel perforation. We report three cases of multiple (more than two) magnet ingestion. In two patients, the symptoms did not resolve and complications of perforation and jejunocolic fistula occurred. The third patient, however, had early intervention with no resultant complication. The literature is reviewed and close observation and early surgical intervention is recommended.

Vesical prolapse in an apparently "normal" bladder.

Bladder prolapse is extremely rare in children. Reports have been limited to pathologic bladder conditions such as the exstrophy-epispadias complex. We report an interesting presentation of bladder prolapse in a child with Williams syndrome with an apparently normal bladder.

The two-stage repair for severe primary hypospadias.

OBJECTIVES: The repair of severe primary hypospadias represents a major surgical challenge. After initial enthusiasm for single-stage procedures, many paediatric urologists have turned to the alternative two-stage approach after experiencing disappointing results. A single surgeon's experience of the two-stage procedure is reported. METHODS: Between 1998 and 2003, 62 boys underwent a two-stage reconstruction for primary hypospadias. Indications for staged repair included proximal meatus (mid-shaft [18 patients], peno-scrotal [23] or perineal [two]), moderate or severe chordee (38 patients), poor glans groove, and lichen sclerosis. Inner prepuce was the graft of choice. Median age was 27.6 months at completion of surgery and median follow-up was 26 months. RESULTS: All grafts took well and none of the 62 patients needed revision. One patient developed a haematoma. Maturation of the graft for at least six months ensured the best conditions for the second-stage closure. Overall the cosmetic and functional results after the second stage were excellent. The outcomes were determined by the parents' and surgeon's assessment of function and the cosmetic appearance. Complications included partial glans dehiscense (three patients), residual mild curvature (three) and meatal stenosis (three). CONCLUSION: The two-stage repair has proved to be a reliable and reproducible technique with a low complication rate in a difficult cohort of hypospadias patients. Inner preputial skin grafts take very successfully on the ventral surface of the penis, and splitting the glans enables a slit-like meatus to be achieved. Excellent cosmetic results can be anticipated.

The role of unilateral nephrectomy in the treatment of nephrogenic hypertension in children.

OBJECTIVES: To define the efficacy of unilateral nephrectomy in a large series of patients presenting with renal disease and hypertension, as the latter may be a prominent finding in children with nephrourological disease (renal parenchymal disease, renovascular disease, obstruction, renal dysplasia and cancer). PATIENTS AND METHODS: We retrospectively reviewed the hospital and outpatient records of 118 children who presented for evaluation with hypertension, and who had a nephrectomy between 1968 and 2003. Patients included in the study were those who had a unilateral nephrectomy for benign renal hypertension with a normal contralateral kidney; in all, 21 had complete records and follow-up were evaluated. The hypertension was associated with primary renal disease, obstruction and renovascular disease. Blood pressure and medication requirements were compared before and after surgery, the blood pressure values also being compared with published nomograms. RESULTS: Patients were diagnosed with hypertension at a median age of 5 years and had a nephrectomy at a median of 11 months after the diagnosis. The median follow-up after surgery was 39 months. Most patients responded well and became normotensive, or there was a reduction in the need for medication. The median time to normalization was 2, 10 and 11 days in patients with primary renal disease, obstruction and renovascular disease, respectively. CONCLUSION: Nephrectomy is successful in normalizing blood pressure in children with benign renal hypertension and with a normal contralateral kidney.