The Time of Diagnosis and Surgical Treatment of Congenital Cryptorchidism: A Single Center's Observational Study in Greece.

PURPOSE: Congenital cryptorchidism or undescended testes (UDT) is one of the most common congenital abnormalities in newborns. Current guidelines recommend that surgical management should be scheduled by the 12th month and no later than the 18th month of the child's life. This is the first study to evaluate the age of diagnosis and surgical treatment of children with UDT in Greece, as well as the compliance with current guidelines worldwide. METHODS: A retrospective analysis of patients with UDT who underwent orchidopexy from 2015 to 2019 was conducted. Patient age at diagnosis and orchidopexy and the meantime between were recorded. Patients were separated into groups, based on the diagnosis age: group A, diagnosis until the 11th month; group B, diagnosis between the 12th and 18th month; and group C, diagnosis at >18th month. RESULTS: We identified 217 children who were diagnosed with UDT and underwent orchidopexy in our department. The majority of the patients (47.4%) had right-sided UDT, while 25.3% of them had UDT on both sides. There were 89 (41%) children in group A, 20 (9.2%) in group B, and 108 (49.8%) males in group C. The median age at diagnosis was 18 months (range: 1-164 months), while for groups A, B, and C, the median age at diagnosis was five, 15, and 71.5 months, respectively. The median age at orchidopexy was 23 months (range: 6-166 months), and for each aforementioned group, it was 11, 16.5, and 74 months. The median waiting time for the orchidopexy was 84 days (range: 1-692 days), and for each group, it was 157, 42, and 56 days, respectively. The delay between diagnosis and surgery was significantly greater for group A compared to groups B and C (p A versus B = 0.01 and p A versus C< 0.0001), while there was no difference in the delay between groups B and C (p > 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Patient age at diagnosis and applied orchidopexy was within the recommended range for almost half of the patients. The rest of them had delayed diagnosis and surgery due to delayed referral. In delayed cases, the time from diagnosis to treatment was significantly shorter. Early surgical referral leading to prompt treatment will increase compliance with the guidelines and improve the quality and the outcomes of the provided health-care services.

Laparoscopic-Assisted Anorectoplasty for Anorectal Malformation With Recto-Prostatic Urethral Fistula: A Case Report and Review of the Literature.

Congenital recto-urethral fistula is the most common form of anorectal malformation found in boys. The final repair includes the ligation of the fistula and the anorectoplasty, and can be achieved either way: posterior sagitally or laparoscopically. We present a case of a term male infant diagnosed with anorectal malformation and recto-prostatic urethral fistula, that underwent a laparoscopic-assisted posterior sagittal anorectoplasty in our department.

Acute Appendicitis Following COVID-19 Infection in Pediatric Patients: A Single Center's Study in Greece.

PURPOSE: This study investigated the potential association between the previous severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) positive infection, as well as vaccination, and the presentation of acute appendicitis in pediatric patients. It has been three years since the World Health Organization (WHO) declared the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic, and city lockdowns and self-protective measures have been applied worldwide. In an effort to contribute to the research on the probable long-term complications of the COVID-19 infection as well as the vaccination against SARS-CoV-2, the current study was designed and investigated patients' health records in the post-quarantine era. METHODS: A retrospective analysis of patients admitted and treated surgically for acute appendicitis from January 2022 to June 2022 was conducted. Demographic and personal data, as well as the COVID-19 infection history of each child, were recorded. The patients who were negative for a previous COVID-19 infection were excluded. For the rest of the sample, the time-to-onset of acute appendicitis, the severity of appendicitis (complicated or uncomplicated), and the vaccination status of the patients were examined. Regarding the time-to-onset of appendicitis, we divided the patients into three groups: group A with a time-to-onset < 3 months, group B with a time-to-onset of 3-6 months, and group C with a time-to-onset of >6 months. Statistical analysis followed and was considered significant if p < 0.05. RESULTS: Sixty-six children with a mean age of 10.5 years (range 1-15 years) were admitted for acute appendicitis during the determined period. After excluding 30 children that were negative for previous COVID-19 infection, we divided the patients into three groups: group A-23 children, group B-7 children, and group C-6 children. A statistically significant incidence of acute appendicitis diagnosis in <3 months after laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 infection (p < 0.01) was found. The incidence of complicated appendicitis was greater in patients with a positive SARS-CoV-2 history, with an estimated odds ratio of 1.8 (p > 0.05). The majority of the children (92%) had not received a COVID-19 vaccination. For the vaccinated children, the relative risk for complicated appendicitis was equal to 1.5 (p > 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: The results of our study demonstrate a potential positive relationship between COVID-19 infection and subsequent acute appendicitis in pediatric patients. There are also some speculations on the presentation of complicated cases of appendicitis following COVID-19 infection or vaccination, but these need to be further proven. Further data are required to better understand this potential complication of COVID-19 infection as well as the role of vaccines in the current post-vaccine era.

Post-appendectomy abdominal pain attributed to incidental ovarian cyst: a case report.

Acute abdominal pain in adolescents has a multitude of diagnoses to consider ranging from life-threating ones to other less obvious. In this case report, a 15-year-old girl presented with right lower quadrant abdominal pain and tenderness one month after successful surgical management of acute appendicitis. Post-appendectomy abdominal pain could easily be attributed to post-operative complications, while, in reality, a different disease state may be the cause of the pain. Physicians should have a high index of clinical suspicion, even though the temporal association of events may suggest otherwise. Hemorrhagic ovarian cyst (HOC) should be included in the differential, as it was confirmed with imaging in our case. A conservative treatment approach with progesterone was chosen, with menses resuming 2 days later, leading to regression of the cyst. The clinical significance of this case relies on the timely recognition of a disease entity, in order to distinguish it from complications arising postoperatively.

Orchidopexy for congenital cryptorchidism in childhood and adolescence and testicular cancer in adults: an updated systematic review and meta-analysis of observational studies.

Congenital cryptorchidism is a well-established risk factor of testicular malignancies. However, there is still remarkable variability in the measures of associations between of these two clinical entities. The current meta-analysis investigates the up-to-date risk of testicular cancer in adults with a history of surgically corrected congenital cryptorchidism until adolescence. The meta-analysis was conducted with strict criteria for the identification of the congenital cryptorchidism cases that underwent surgery before adulthood. The study was performed in accordance with the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines. A search of the PubMed and the Scopus databases was conducted, using a defined strategy, from inception to February 2023. Two independent authors screened the literature and extracted the data, using inclusion and exclusion criteria. Of the 2176 articles identified, 93 articles were fully retrieved, and 6 articles met all the inclusion criteria. The Newcastle-Ottawa scale was applied for the studies' quality assessment. The random-effects model in RevMan 5.4 program was used for the meta-analysis. Three case-control studies and three cohort studies were selected. They included 371,681 patients and 1786 incidents of testicular cancer. The pooled odds ratio (OR) was 3.99 (95% confidence intervals (CI): 2.80-5.71). The heterogeneity was moderate and estimated at 51% with the I-squared statistic. A forest plot and a funnel plot were produced to evaluate the ORs and the probable publication bias, respectively. The mean Newcastle-Ottawa score was 8/9 for all the included reports.  Conclusion: This systematic review and meta-analysis verifies, with an updated estimate, the increased risk of testicular cancer in adults with an orchidopexy history. New evidence on the maldescent laterality supports that the cancer risk remains increased and for the contralateral, unaffected testicle, although to a lesser extent. The orchidopexy in the first year of life prevents the testicular damage and decreases the overall cancer risk. What is Known: • Congenital cryptorchidism is the commonest genitourinary abnormality and a risk factor for testicular cancer. • The most recent meta-analysis reporting this association was in 2013. What is New: • After reviewing literature until February 2023, the association of congenital cryptorchidism with testicular cancer risk in adulthood was verified: odds ratio=3.99 [2.80-5.71], 95% CI. • The meta-analysis highlights the protective role of early orchidopexy and the controversial data about maldescent and testicular cancer laterality.

Classification systems of acute appendicitis as an indicator for paediatric surgical consultation of children with acute abdominal pain.

AIM: This study examined if the classification systems for acute appendicitis could be applied in the emergency department as an indicator for surgical consultation, in order to reduce unnecessary paediatric surgery admission. METHODS: The Alvarado Score (ALS) and the Pediatric Appendicitis Score (PAS) were applied. The decisions for hospitalisation and treatment were made independent of the scores. RESULTS: In total, 307 children with abdominal pain suggestive of acute appendicitis were included. We used a cut-off point of 7 and divided the patients into groups; the group with score ≥ 7 points was considered the positive ALS and/or PAS group, and the group with score < 7 points was the negative ALS and/or PAS group. The same process for cut-values set at 6 points was followed. The joint probabilities for the 7-point-thresholds were: ALS-sensitivity 84%, PAS-sensitivity 85%, ALS-specificity 92%, PAS-specificity 92%, ALS-positive predictive value (PPV) 83%, PAS-PPV 84% and 93% negative predictive value (NPV) for both scores. Considering the 6-point-thresholds, we estimated: 94% sensitivity for both scores, 74% ALS-specificity, 84% PAS-specificity, 66% ALS-PPV, 73% PAS-PPV, 91% ALS-NPV and 97% PAS-NPV. CONCLUSION: The scoring systems provided acceptable prediction of patients with and without appendicitis. They may be of use in the emergency department, as assistive diagnostic-tools, in order to reduce paediatric surgery consultations, admissions and treatment costs.

Partial epididymal rupture and spermatic cord haematoma with an associated secondary testicular torsion due to blunt scrotal injury, in a 12-year-old boy.

Scrotal injuries are not very common in children and are mostly due to blunt trauma from direct injury, sports injuries or motor vehicle accidents. Traumatic testicular torsion in children has been also infrequently reported in the literature. To ensure testicular salvage, an urgent and specialised diagnosis and management are necessary. We present a case of a partial epididymal rupture and spermatic cord haematoma with an associated secondary testicular torsion due to blunt scrotal injury, in a 12-year-old boy.

Asymptomatic autoamputation of ovary and fallopian tube in a 2 days newborn: a case report.

Automatic amputation of the ovary represents a rather uncommon condition. Especially asymptomatic autoamputation is an even more unusual laparoscopic finding. We hereby present a case of a 2-days´-old infant with a prenatal ultrasound (US) diagnosis of a cystic mass, laparoscopically proved as an amputated right adnexa. The female infant was asymptomatic and had normal laboratory exams, including hormone levels, according to her age. The infant was managed surgically, as the size of the cystic lesion, both prenatally and postnatally was indicative of surgical intervention. Careful monitoring is critical for the management of cystic lesions diagnosed prenatally. Although rare, the suspicion of an auto-amputated ovary has to be risen during diagnostic approach of infants with adnexal cysts, especially when these lesions are supposed to "wander" during imaging examinations, and also taking into account the size of the lesion in order for a final approach and management to be established.

Laparoscopic-assisted excision of a huge polycystic omental lymphangioma in a 3 year old patient presenting with acute abdomen: case report and review.

Lymphangioma is a rare benign neoplasm affecting mainly children. In this report we present a complicated case of polycystic omental lymphangioma in a 3 year old female presenting with acute abdomen. The patient underwent a laparoscopic-assisted excision of the lesion and had an excellent postoperative course. We discuss the effectiveness and advantages of this laparoscopic surgical approach in children and elaborate on the current literature.

Right sided Bochdalek diaphragmatic hernia appeared as a life-threatening event in an infant: a case report.

We report a case of a 5-month-old female infant who presented with a cardiorespiratory distress and shock. After thoracic computed tomography (CT) scan, a right sided Bochdalek hernia was diagnosed with massive herniation of the abdominal viscera causing mediastinal shift. The girl underwent emergency laparotomy, which confirmed the right sided diaphragmatic hernia with herniation of small bowel and colon. After reduction of herniated contents, the defect in the diaphragm was closed. The patient had an uneventful post-operative cause. This case demonstrates that an undiagnosed Bochdalek hernia can appear with such a severe, life-threatening and misleading presentation.

Frontal bone fibrous dysplasia in a 6-months-old boy: A distinctive entity.

Fibrous Dysplasia (FD) is a non-malignant condition caused by post-zygotic, activating mutations of the GNAS gene that results in inhibition of the differentiation and proliferation of bone-forming stromal cells and leads to the replacement of normal bone and marrow by fibrous tissue and woven bone. The clinical behavior and progression of FD is variable. The management of this condition is difficult and in every case is strictly individualized. We report a case of frontal fibrous dysplasia in a 6month's old boy who underwent a successfully resection of the lesion with an excellent cosmetic effect.

Testis-Sparing Surgery for Non-Palpable Leydig Cell Tumors in Prepubertal Children.

Leydig cell tumor (LCT) is an infrequent stromal neoplasm of the testis with an incidence of less than 3% of all gonadal tumors in the general male population. Only 25% is found in prepubertal children, where Leydig cell tumors are always reported benign. The hospital records of two prepubertal male children, who underwent organ sparing surgery for testicular LCT the last five years, were retrospectively reviewed. In both of them, the lesion was incidentally found during a scrotal ultrasonography for testicular pain. The diagnosis of a benign LCT was based on the pre-operative physical examination and imaging (Ultrasound-US, Magnetic Resonance Imaging-MRI) as well as the negative tumor markers. A testicle-sparing procedure was decided and the pathologic examination of the surgical specimen confirmed the diagnosis. No tumor recurrence was noted on follow-up. Testis-sparing surgery provides the possibility of complete excision of such lesions and should be considered as the treatment of choice.

Endoscopic treatment of obstructive ureterohydronephrosis in children.

Obstructive ureterohydronephrosis in childhood population is a matter of debate between paediatric surgeons and paediatricians, as far as the therapeutic protocol that should be applied. Close observation, chemoprophylaxis, endoscopic and surgical approaches are the universally used techniques that provide quality of life in the paediatric patients. Undoubtedly, "the less is more" even when we have to encounter obstructive ureterohydronephrosis in children. Herein, we present a short case series where the endoscopic management of obstructive uropathies proved to be therapeutic without any need of surgical intervention.

Is it always Wilms' tumor? Localized cystic disease of the kidney in an infant: An extremely rare case report and review of the literature.

Localized Cystic Disease of the Kidney (LCDK) is an extremely rare benign disease in pediatric population. Although its management is conservative and generally requires no treatment, the unfamiliarity with the disease can expose such patients to misdiagnosis as renal malignancies or uncertainty for proper treatment. We report such a case in an infant and review the current literature.

Abdominal Lymphangioma and Hemangioma in a Newborn.

Abdominal hemangiolymphangioma (HLA) in neonates is a rare condition that demands surgical intervention after a complete preoperative diagnostic approach. The differential diagnosis and the establishment of a therapeutic algorithm is a challenge, both for the neonatologists and the pediatric surgeons, because there is no consensus in the management of HLAs in infancy according to the literature. We report a rare case of abdominal HLA in a female newborn that was admitted to our pediatric surgery department with a prenatal diagnosis of an abdominal cystic tumor. After a thorough preoperative diagnostic approach, the neonate underwent an explorative laparotomy and lesion excision with simultaneous splenectomy due to the operative findings. The neonate had an uncomplicated postoperative period and is free of recurrence a year after. Only the pathology examination can reveal the HLA diagnosis. When a total surgical excision is evitable, a close follow-up follows an uncomplicated postoperative hospitalization.

Primary posterior mediastinal germ cell tumor in a child.

Yolk sac tumor is the most common malignant neoplasm of germ cell origin and usually occurs in infant testes or ovaries. On rare occasions, the tumor arises from extragonadal sites, including the sacrococcygeal region, uterus, vagina, prostate, retroperitoneum, liver, mediastinum (commonly in the anterior), pineal gland, and third ventricle. Yolk sac tumors have an unfavorable prognosis, if not treated aggressively. We report the case of a 3-year-old boy with a primary posterior mediastinal yolk sac tumor who was managed initially with surgery, followed by chemotherapy and had a favorable prognosis. In the literature on yolk sac tumors presenting as a mediastinal mass, pediatric germ cell tumors have been reported very rarely in the posterior mediastinum.

Traumatic perineal injury in a 13-year-old female: Case report and review of the literature.

Traumatic perineal injury in children is a rather underestimated condition, in terms of occurrence. The rapid stretching of the soft perineal environment, combined with the surrounding osseous tissue of the pelvis, can cause severe injuries. The key to successful management of these injuries includes timely resuscitation, thorough physical examination and quick and safe repair of damages.

Injury of the external genitalia in 10-year-old boy.

Degloving injury of penis and scrotum is very rare in child population and requires early reconstructive surgery for good outcomes. We report a 10-year-old boy with complete avulsion of the scrotum and partial of the penis caused by a bicycle chain due to off-road bicycling. The patient has been treated successfully with a single-staged surgery.

Laparoscopic evaluation and management of isolated gastric rupture in a boy after blunt abdominal injury.

Blunt abdominal injury in children can be a significant diagnostic and therapeutic challenge. The extent and localization of organ damage cannot be always thoroughly investigated noninvasively and in spite of modern imaging techniques and a laparotomy may be necessary for diagnosis, even though it carries a significant morbidity. We present a rare case of isolated gastric rupture after blunt abdominal injury in a 12 year old boy that sustained a bicycle accident. He was hemodynamically stable, had signs of acute abdomen and axial tomography was inconclusive as of the site of visceral perforation. Definitive diagnosis and treatment were carried out laparoscopically with excellent results. Laparoscopic surgery in cases of blunt abdominal injury with gastric rupture can serve both as a diagnostic and therapeutic modality with the additional advantage of being less traumatic. The accumulation of relevant experience is mandatory in order to establish this modality in the diagnostic and therapeutic protocols.

Proliferative Fasciitis in Childhood: A Review of Clinical Data Apropos of a Case.

Proliferative Fasciitis (PF) is a benign lesion with histologic and clinical features overlapping with those of malignant soft tissue tumours. Its occurrence in children is considered very rare. We present a case of PF appearing as a painful, red, gradually increasing in size lesion, during a period of a few weeks, on the finger of a five-year-old boy compromising the dermis and subcutaneous tissue. We were able to locate literature on 20 paediatric PF cases, which we review. Only five of these focus on the clinical data, the rest describing mainly histological findings. It is the first reported paediatric case appearing on the finger.