Agenesis of the skull bones.

Agenesis of the cranial bones, a rare condition usually incompatible with life, was seen in a neonate. Embryogenesis and management of the condition are discussed. The defect heals with conservative treatment.

Megalourethra with posterior urethral valves.

A case of scaphoid megalourethra associated with the posterior urethral valves was seen in a 4-year-old male. The embryology of the anomaly and its management are discussed with a review of the literature.

Immature gastric teratoma.

Gastric teratoma, a very rare tumor of infancy is essentially benign. Immature (embryonic) elements have been described in only three of the sixty-six cases described previously. This report concerns with one "immature" gastric teratoma seen in infancy.

Inguinal herniotomy in children: a decade's experience.

We reviewed our experience with 1369 inguinal herniotomies in 1340 children performed over the last one decade. Different grades of surgeons were assigned work according to the complexity of cases. Except for the minor scrotal hematoma, other complications were hardly seen. Recurrences were seen in only 2 cases. Careful training and supervision of junior staff in the technique of inguinal herniotomy has led to results that compare favorably to those of specialized units in developed countries.

Abdominal tuberculosis in children: experience over a decade.

This presentation deals with 110 surgically proven cases of abdominal tuberculosis in the pediatric age group. The protean clinical profiles and complications of the disease entity made the clinical diagnosis difficult; the investigations were also found non-pathognomonic. The most common type of pathology seen was adhesive variety followed by nodal type. Strictures of the small bowel were uncommon and hyperplastic variety was rarely seen in the present series. The pathogenesis relating to various varieties has been suggested based on the vast experience from a single institution.

Teratomas in pediatric age group: experience with 75 cases.

The clinicopathological features of 75 children under the age of 12 years with teratomas are reviewed. Tumors arose in the following anatomic sites: sacrococcygeum (n = 49), ovary (n = 10), Testis (n = 5), oral cavity (n = 3), retroperitoneum (n = 2) and others (n = 6). Fifty five (74%) presented within the first year of life. Excluding the gonadal tumors, male-female ratio was 2:5. Majority of the tumors had only mature tissues. Such patients and those 9 patients in whom the histology was not specified, underwent excision alone and had 95% early survival rates. Five patients had admixture of mature and immature tumors. Nine patients had malignant tissues. Germ cell tumors containing only malignant component, but no mature or immature teratomatous tissues were excluded from the series. The patients with immature and malignant tissues underwent multimodal therapy including surgical excision, multiagent chemotherapy (VAC regimen) and at times radiotherapy. Mortality in patients with immature and malignant teratomas was 20 and 66.7%, respectively. Besides histology, the only factor which affected prognosis, especially in case of sacrococcygeal teratomas was the age at the time of presentation. Our experience highlights the importance of early recognition and complete surgical excision of teratomas in the pediatric age group.

Pattern of childhood trauma. Indian perspective.

Although infectious diseases are still the chief cause of death in children in a developing country like ours, but a definite increase in incident and related mortality due to trauma has been noted in the last decade. The problems relating to pediatric trauma are peculiar to our setup and differ considerably to the severe multiple organ trauma met with in the high velocity vehicular accidents, seen in developed Western countries. The present study identifies patterns of childhood trauma from our region. It comprises 2100 patients admitted over a 3 years period to Pediatric Surgical Unit. Cranial injuries were the most commonly encountered injuries followed by the abdominal and skeletal injuries. Fall from the house roofs is the commonest mode of injury, although road traffic accidents are also recognized to be on the increase. The overall mortality was 7.7%; its chief determinant being the presence of severe head injury. A few important epidemiological factors involved were identified.

Therapeutic and diagnostic role of bronchoscopy in pediatric age group.

Two hundred and seventy five cases were evaluated bronchoscopically for various respiratory conditions. In 140 cases, a foreign body and in 30 cases mucus plug was removed. In 47 cases there was inflammation of the tracheobronchial tree. Forty patients with empyema thoracis were evaluated bronchoscopically because of persistence of bronchopleural fistula or continued pus discharge from intercostal tubes not responding to the routine treatment. The purpose of the article is to stress the therapeutic as well as diagnostic aspect of bronchoscopy for various respiratory conditions in pediatric age group.

Spontaneous gastrointestinal perforation in the neonate.

Twenty seven cases of spontaneous gastro-intestinal perforation were treated from 1981 to 1990. Four perforations were in the stomach, 17 in the small bowel and seven in the large bowel. One of them had dual perforation, one in the stomach and another in the duodenum. The exact etiology remained obscure. Various factors observed were maternal obstetric complications, prematurity and perinatal asphyxia. Stress should be laid on early diagnosis by following up 'at risk neonates' thus, giving a better overall survival rate.

Abdominal tuberculosis in children.

Problems in the management of abdominal tuberculosis in children are discussed with reference to 80 surgically proven cases. The protean clinical manifestation depends on the site and the extent of the disease and its complications. The clinical diagnosis is difficult because of the vague symptoms, non-specific signs, and non-availablity of specific diagnostic tests. The most common type of pathology seen in abdominal tuberculosis in the paediatrics age were adhesive variety followed by nodal type. Strictures of the small bowel are uncommon and hyperplastic variety is rarely seen in this age group. Response to the antitubercular drugs is excellent however, the post operative complications and mortality remain high.