Guideline implementation for the treatment of undescended testes: Still room for improvement.

BACKGROUND: Early orchidopexy (OP) around the age of 1 year is recommended in boys with congenital undescended testis (UDT) worldwide since decades. Former retrospectives studies did not distinguish congenital from acquired UDT with a consecutive negative bias concerning the age at surgery. METHODS: In a retrospective analysis, data of all boys who underwent OP in eight pediatric surgery institutions from 2009 to 2015 were analyzed. Congenital or acquired UDT were differentiated. Patients were categorized into 3 groups of age at surgery: (1) <12 months, (2) 12-24 months, (3) >24 months. Data of one institution were analyzed in detail: exact age of first referral, exact age at surgery, intraoperative findings. RESULTS: Out of 4448 boys, 3270 boys had congenital UDT. In 81% (2656 cases) surgery was performed beyond the age of 1 year, in 54.4% (1780) beyond the age of 2 years. chi-Square statistics showed a higher rate of early operations in hospitals compared to outpatient services and in Germany compared to Switzerland. In 694 congenital detailed cases, median age at referral was 13 months [range 0-196], median age at surgery was 15 months [range 0-202]. CONCLUSION: Delayed referral is the main reason for guideline non-conform delayed surgery in UDT. TYPE OF STUDY: Clinical Research paper. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: Level III: Treatment Study.

The timing of surgery for undescended testis - a retrospective multicenter analysis.

BACKGROUND: n Germany, it is recommended that the surgical treatment of an undescended testis should be carried out between the ages of 6 months and 1 year to lower the risks of subfertility and testicular carcinoma. Although this recommendation has appeared in the German guidelines from 2007 onward, orchidopexy is still frequently performed at later ages. METHOD: We retrospectively analyzed data from seven pediatric surgical services in the German state of Baden-Württemberg on all boys who underwent orchidopexy from 2009 to 2012. We classified the timing of surgery as Age Group I (before the first birthday), Age Group II (between the first and second birthdays), and Age Group III (after the second birthday). We determined whether preoperative hormonal treatment was given and distinguished primary from secondary undescended testis. RESULTS: Among 2213 boys who underwent orchidopexy, 1850 had primary and 363 had secondary undescended testis. Of those with primary undescended testis, the percentages of boys who underwent surgery in Age Groups I, II, and III were (respectively, with 95% confidence intervals): 18.7% (17-20.6%), 24.4% (22.5-26.5%), and 57% (54.6-59.2%). A small percentage of boys in each group also received preoperative hormonal treatment. From 2009 to 2012, there was a secular trend favoring earlier orchidopexy. In 2012, 28 boys (14.2% [9.7-20.0%]) had orchidopexy in outpatient pediatric surgery practices before their first birthday, while 68 did on hospital inpatient services (40.7% [33.2-48.6%]). CONCLUSION: Most of the patients studied had surgery at a later age than recommended. Adherence to the guidelines in this respect is nonetheless relatively good in Germany compared to other countries, as studies from abroad have yielded findings that are just as bad or worse.

Transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunts in children with biliary atresia.

PURPOSE: We retrospectively evaluated the technical and long-term clinical results of transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunts (TIPS) in children with portal hypertension and biliary atresia (BA). METHODS: Nine children with BA and recurrent bleeding from esophagogastric and/or intestinal varices were treated by TIPS at the age of 34-156 months and followed-up in two centers. Different types of stents were used. RESULTS: Shunt insertion succeeded in all patients, but in two a second procedure was necessary. Seven procedures lasted more than 3 hr, mainly due to difficult portal vein puncture. Variceal bleeding ceased in all patients; however, 16 reinterventions were performed in eight patients for clinical reasons (n = 11) and sonographically suspected restenosis (n = 5). Four patients underwent successful liver transplantation 4-51 months after TIPS and five are in good clinical conditions 64-75 months after TIPS. CONCLUSION: TIPS in children with BA is technically difficult, mainly due to periportal fibrosis and small portal veins. Frequency of reinterventions seems to be higher compared with adults.