Laparoscopic complete excision of an enormous simple hepatic cyst occupying the entire abdomen in a child: a case report and literature review.

BACKGROUND: Simple hepatic cysts are common lesions in adults, but rare in children. Because of their benign nature, simple hepatic cysts may not be detected until they grow too large to be diagnosed and resected in a minimally invasive manner. CASE PRESENTATION: An 18-month-old girl presented with an enormous cyst occupying the entire abdomen. The beak sign on computed tomography revealed the hepatic origin of the cyst. The cyst was decompressed through the umbilicus, which was opened by the three-triangular-skin-flap technique, thus creating a working space that enabled laparoscopic surgery. The cyst was excised en bloc together with the attached hepatic parenchyma. CONCLUSIONS: Giant simple hepatic cysts occupying the entire abdomen are rare in children. Of 14 reported cases, only 1 underwent laparoscopic treatment. We have herein reported another case of a giant simple hepatic cyst in which the beak sign on imaging and the three-triangular-skin-flap umbilical opening technique were useful for its diagnosis and laparoscopic excision, respectively. Complete excision is desirable because there is a possibility of recurrence or other diseases that require total removal, including hydatid cysts and mesenchymal hamartomas.

Prostaglandin E-major urinary metabolite as a noninvasive surrogate marker for infantile necrotizing enterocolitis.

BACKGROUND: Early definitive diagnosis of necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC) based on Bell's staging criteria is difficult because there are few observable changes on abdominal imaging and blood chemistry tests at the onset of the disease. PURPOSE: To investigate whether prostaglandin E-2 major urinary metabolite (PGE-MUM) can be a useful surrogate marker reflecting the disease state and severity of NEC in infants. METHODS: Infants were enrolled in this study between January 2014 and December 2016. NEC diagnosis was based on Bell's staging criteria > Stage II or necrotic bowel observed at surgery. After diagnosis, PGE-MUM level was measured and compared with that of the other disease and healthy infant groups. RESULTS: Median PGE-MUM value was highest in the NEC group (576 [65-3672] µg/g•Cre/BSA × 1000), followed by the other disease group (94 [57-296] µg/g•Cre/BSA × 1000) and the healthy infant group (19 [10-44] µg/g•Cre/BSA × 1000) (sensitivity: 92.3%, specificity: 81.5%, accuracy: 85.0%; p < 0.01). PGE-MUM level correlated with improved status of NEC, length of necrotic intestine, and Bell's staging criteria. CONCLUSIONS: PGE-MUM level may be a useful surrogate biomarker reflecting the disease state of NEC. The method of urine sample collection is also advantageous, being noninvasive for infants. This is the first study reporting PGE-MUM level in NEC. TYPE OF STUDY: Study of diagnostic test. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: LEVEL II.

Cholelithiasis and choledocholithiasis associated with anomalous junction of the cystic duct in a child.

We report an extremely rare case of cholelithiasis, presumably owing to cholestasis resulting from an anomalous course of the cystic duct. A 10-year-old girl visited our hospital because of right epigastric pain and fever. Cholelithiasis and choledocholithiasis were diagnosed by ultrasound examination. Magnetic resonance cholangiopancreatography showed no pancreaticobiliary maljunction but confirmed a dilated, tortuous cystic duct anomalously draining into the right hepatic duct. Because cholangitis and obstructive jaundice progressed after admission, emergent endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography was performed, and a common bile duct stone was removed endoscopically. It was a bilirubin stone. At a later date, laparoscopic cholecystectomy was performed for cholelithiasis. Preoperative 3-dimensional computed tomography and intraoperative cholangiography enabled us to treat the cystic duct safely.