Feeding gastrostomy in children with complex heart disease: when is a fundoplication indicated?

PURPOSE: Malnutrition is common among children with complex heart disease (CHD). Feeding gastrostomies are often used to improve the nutritional status of such patients. Our purpose was to evaluate a cohort of children with CHD following open Stamm gastrostomy without fundoplication. METHODS: We reviewed all CHD patients who underwent feeding gastrostomy placement from 1/1/2004 to 4/7/2015. Demographic data, cardiac diagnoses, operative details, post-operative complications, and the need for GJ feeding and fundoplication were examined. RESULTS: Open Stamm gastrostomy was performed in 111 patients. Median age at surgery was 37 weeks (3 weeks-13.7 years); average weight was 5.3 ± 4.9 kg. Thirty-four patients (30 %) experienced a total of 37 minor complications, including tube dislodgement after stoma maturation (20), superficial surgical site infection (13), mechanical failure (3), and bleeding (1). Three patients experienced a major complication (need for return to the OR or peri-operative death <30 days). Three patients required a subsequent fundoplication. Fifty-six surviving patients (62 %) continue gastrostomy feeds, of which 7 (13 %) patients require GJ feeds. CONCLUSION: Children with CHD tolerate an open Stamm gastrostomy well with minimal major complications. These results support very selective use of fundoplication in infants and children with CHD who require a feeding gastrostomy.

Comparison of pachymetry measurements between the Alcon Wavelight EX500 and Sonogage Corneo-Gage plus platforms.

PURPOSE: To compare the agreement of intraoperative central corneal thickness (CCT) measurements of the Wavelight EX500 (Alcon Laboratories, Fort Worth, TX) that uses optical low coherence reflectometry to the Corneo-Gage Plus ultrasound pachymetry device (Sonogage, Cleveland, OH). METHODS: In this retrospective study, 50 eyes of 26 patients undergoing LASIK were evaluated. Following LASIK flap creation, each eye was measured by both optical low coherence reflectometry and ultrasound pachymetry immediately prior to flap lifting and then again after flap lifting. RESULTS: The mean CCT value before lifting the flap was 556.9 and 557.78 µm as measured by ultrasound pachymetry and optical low coherence reflectometry, respectively. After lifting the flap, the mean ultrasound pachymetry value was 440.96 µm and the mean optical low coherence reflectometry value was 441.7 µm. A two-sample Kolmogorov-Smirnov test demonstrated that the ultrasound pachymetry and the optical low coherence reflectometry distribution of measurements were the same. A Shapiro-Wilk test of normality could not be rejected. Bland-Altman plots showed strong agreement. The correlation between the two tests was 0.98 before flap lifting and 0.97 after flap lifting, both with a 95% confidence interval. CONCLUSIONS: The pachymetry measurements by the optical low coherence reflectometry correlated with those of the ultrasound pachymetry device. The Wavelight EX500 optical low coherence reflectometry may be used in place of the ultrasound pachymetry device for measuring CCT.