Epidermoid Splenic Cyst in Children Treated by Laparoscopic Partial Splenectomy.

ABSTRACT: Epidermoid splenic cyst is a rare benign tumour in children, accounting for 10% of all cystic lesions of the spleen and is the most common diagnosis of non-parasitic splenic cysts. Its discovery could be incidental or happen after an imaging workup for a mass or abdominal pain. Since total splenectomy exposes a patient to the occurrence of overwhelming post-splenectomy infection, laparoscopic partial splenectomy has been increasingly popular over the past two decades because it preserves the immune function of the spleen. This technique should only be performed by a well-trained team because of the high risk of bleeding. The authors report the cases of three patients who underwent laparoscopic partial splenectomy: a 7-year-old girl with no relevant history with a 4.5-cm epidermoid cyst involving the lower pole of the spleen, a 13-year-old boy, type 1 diabetic on insulin therapy, with a 7-cm epidermoid cyst of the upper pole of the spleen and a 14-year-old girl, with no previous history, with a 6-cm upper pole epidermoid splenic cyst. Operating times were 2 h 30 min, 3 h and 4 h 30 min, respectively. The intraoperative blood loss was 100 mL, 350 mL and 300 mL, respectively. The length of hospital stay was 6 days for each patient. No blood transfusion was performed perioperatively. With a mean follow-up duration of 21 months (32 months, 21 months and 10 months, respectively), no complication or recurrence occurred.

Outcome of long gap esophageal atresia at 6 years: A prospective case control cohort study.

BACKGROUND DATA: EA is the most frequent congenital esophageal malformation. Long gap EA remains a therapeutic challenge for pediatric surgeons. A case case-control prospective study from a multi-institutional national French data base was performed to assess the outcome, at age of 1 and 6 years, of long gap esophageal atresia (EA) compared with non-long gap EA/tracheo-esophageal fistula (TEF). The secondary aim was to assess whether initial treatment (delayed primary anastomosis of native esophagus vs. esophageal replacement) influenced mortality and morbidity at ages 1 and 6 years. METHODS: A multicentric population-based prospective study was performed and included all patients who underwent EA surgery in France from January 1, 2008 to December 31, 2010. A comparative study was performed with non-long gap EA/TEF patients. Morbidity at birth, 1 year, and 6 years was assessed. RESULTS: Thirty-one patients with long gap EA were compared with 62 non-long gap EA/TEF patients. At age 1 year, the long gap EA group had longer parenteral nutrition support and longer hospital stay and were significantly more likely to have complications both early post-operatively and before age 1 year compared with the non-long gap EA/TEF group. At 6 years, digestive complications were more frequent in long gap compared to non-long gap EA/TEF patients. Tracheomalacia was the only respiratory complication that differed between the groups. Spine deformation was less frequent in the long gap group. There were no differences between conservative and replacement groups at ages 1 and 6 years except feeding difficulties that were more common in the native esophagus group. CONCLUSIONS: Long gap strongly influenced digestive morbidity at age 6 years.