Inflammatory cloacogenic polyp in an adolescent - case report and review of the literature.

Inflammatory cloacogenic polyp is a rare lesion arising in the anal transitional zone. It is usually benign, but rare cases of malignant transformation are known. It is most commonly seen in the adult population from the fourth to the sixth decade of life, but it can be found among children and adolescents as well. The most common clinical symptoms include rectal bleeding and altered bowel habits, although some patients may be asymptomatic. Treatment involves transanal endoscopic microsurgery followed by a bowel regimen with stool softeners. We present the case report of a 14-year-old boy presenting with intermittent rectal bleeding in whom a polypoid lesion was found during digital rectal examination. The patient underwent proctosigmoidoscopy during which the suspicious lesion was removed by transanal endoscopic microsurgery and the histological diagnosis of inflammatory cloacogenic polyp was established. In the postoperative period, the patient was without any further problems. In this case report, we want to raise awareness of this rare diagnosis and emphasize its place in the differential diagnosis of rectal bleeding across all age groups.

[Laparoscopy at the pediatric surgery department for a five-year period]. / Laparoskopie na pracovisti detské chirurgie v petiletém období.

INTRODUCTION: Laparoscopy in small children was developed only after the adoption and verification of basic principles in adult patients and is mostly concentrated in specialized facilities due to the possible complications and necessity of follow-up specialized anesthesiological and post-operative care. In the 1990s, the Clinic of Paediatric Surgery, Orthopaedics and Traumatology at University Hospital Brno was one of the first in the Czech Republic to begin operating on children laparoscopically. The presented study informs about the development of these minimally invasive methods, the frequency of their use, and the spectrum of patients at the pediatric surgery facility where laparoscopy in children has been systematically developed over many years. METHODS: Retrospective analysis of children operated upon laparoscopically at the clinic of Paediatric surgery, Orthopaedics and Traumatology of University Hospital Brno over the five-year period from 1 January 2012 to 31 December 2016. A list of surgical procedures was prepared which was then first divided into procedures specific exclusively for children and those common to adult patients surgery. Separately, an overview was prepared of operated patients under 50 kg, which was the boundary criterion defined by the authors for laparoscopy in children as opposed to adults. For all procedures, the frequency of the completed cases performed laparoscopically was precisely ascertained. The source for this data was the hospital system and surgical documentation. RESULTS: In the evaluated period, a total of 995 laparoscopic procedures were performed, more than half of which (56.8%) were in patients under 50 kg. The majority of those were procedures performed also in adults. The group of surgical operations exclusively specific to children was characterized by low frequencies of the individual procedures. CONCLUSION: The presented analysis confirms that laparoscopy in children is based on standard procedures common to surgery on adults. These procedures are adopted the most quickly, and they can be disseminated across a large group of surgeons who are then able to perform these routinely on child patients. Surgical procedures exclusively specific for children, on the other hand, are performed less frequently, their adoption is slower, and laparoscopic approach is less common. Therefore, laparoscopy specific to children needs to be performed on a long-term basis, systematically, and within a small group of surgeons. Otherwise, it is better not to perform it at all.Key words: laparoscopy - child frequency.

[Laparoscopic cholecystectomy in children and adolescents]. / Laparoskopická cholecystektomie u detí a adolescentu

INTRODUCTION: In the treatment of cholelithiasis in adults, laparoscopic cholecystectomy is the method of first choice. There is plentiful literary evidence of the low complication incidence in this age group, but similar assessment is lacking in the paediatric population. In this work, the authors focus on cholelithiasis in children and the possible use of laparoscopy in the diagnostic - therapeutic scheme. MATERIAL AND METHODS: The study group consisted of 148 patients operated on by laparoscopic cholecystectomy between 2002 and 2011 at the Department of Paediatric Surgery, Orthopaedics and Traumatology of University Hospital Brno. The first objective of the study was to evaluate the length of surgery; the second one was the occurrence of complications which were divided into intraoperative and postoperative. Intraoperative complications were subdivided into severe and moderate, postoperative complications into early and late. The last objective was to evaluate the benefit (number of complications, treatment outputs) of intraoperative cholangiography for obstructive jaundice before the surgery. RESULTS: In the above mentioned period, 143 laparoscopic cholecystectomies and five laparoscopic cholecystectomies including splenectomy were performed. The average age of the patients was 13.9 years; the average length of laparoscopic surgery was 52 minutes. One major, serious intraoperative complication (0.7%) was recorded - injury to the ductus hepaticus communis. Moderate intraoperative complications occurred in 4.5%. Furthermore, one serious early postoperative complication (0.7%) - bleeding from the cystic artery --and one minor (0.7%) - in a patient with acute pancreatitis after endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography - was recorded. Late postoperative complications occurred in 4% of the patients. Conversion of laparoscopic operation with a definitive resolution of the serious condition was performed in one patient because of the aforementioned serious intraoperative complications. Eleven patients underwent intraoperative cholangiography; extraction of stones from the bile duct was performed in six cases. CONCLUSION: Intraoperative cholangiography in children and adolescents can be recommended as a safe and effective imaging modality for patients with preoperative evidence of biliary obstruction. Laparoscopic cholecystectomy in children and adolescents can be clearly recommended as an effective and safe surgical technique convenient for paediatric patients.

Quality of newly formed cartilaginous tissue in defects of articular surface after transplantation of mesenchymal stem cells in a composite scaffold based on collagen I with chitosan micro- and nanofibres.

The aim of this study was to evaluate macroscopically, histologically and immunohistochemically the quality of newly formed tissue in iatrogenic defects of articular cartilage of the femur condyle in miniature pigs treated with the clinically used method of microfractures in comparison with the transplantation of a combination of a composite scaffold with allogeneic mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) or the composite scaffold alone. The newly formed cartilaginous tissue filling the defects of articular cartilage after transplantation of the scaffold with MSCs (Group A) had in 60 % of cases a macroscopically smooth surface. In all lesions after the transplantation of the scaffold alone (Group B) or after the method of microfractures (Group C), erosions/fissures or osteophytes were found on the surface. The results of histological and immunohistochemical examination using the modified scoring system according to O'Driscoll were as follows: 14.7+/-3.82 points after transplantations of the scaffold with MSCs (Group A); 5.3+/-2.88 points after transplantations of the scaffold alone (Group B); and 5.2+/-0.64 points after treatment with microfractures (Group C). The O'Driscoll score in animals of Group A was significantly higher than in animals of Group B or Group C (p<0.0005 both). No significant difference was found in the O'Driscoll score between Groups B and C. The treatment of iatrogenic lesions of the articular cartilage surface on the condyles of femur in miniature pigs using transplantation of MSCs in the composite scaffold led to the filling of defects by a tissue of the appearance of hyaline cartilage. Lesions treated by implantation of the scaffold alone or by the method of microfractures were filled with fibrous cartilage with worse macroscopic, histological and immunohistochemical indicators.

Use of allogenic stem cells for the prevention of bone bridge formation in miniature pigs.

This study appears from an experiment previously carried out in New Zealand white rabbits. Allogenic mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) were transplanted into an iatrogenically-created defect in the lateral section of the distal physis of the left femur in 10 miniature pigs. The right femur with the same defect served as a control. To transfer MSCs, a freshly prepared porous scaffold was used, based on collagen and chitosan, constituting a compact tube into which MSCs were implanted. The pigs were euthanized four months after the transplantation. On average, the left femur with transplanted MSCs grew more in length (0.56+/-0.14 cm) compared with right femurs with physeal defect without transplanted MSCs (0.14+/-0.3 cm). The average angular (valgus) deformity of the left femur had an angle point of 0.78 degrees , following measurement and X-ray examination, whereas in the right femur without transplantation it was 3.7 degrees. The initial results indicate that preventive transplantation of MSCs into a physeal defect may prevent valgus deformity formation and probably also reduce disorders of the longitudinal bone growth. This part of our experiment is significant in the effort to advance MSCs application in human medicine by using pig as a model, which is the next step after experimenting on rabbits.

[New options for management of posttraumatic articular cartilage defects]. / Nové moznosti v lécbe poúrazových defektu kloubní chrupavky.

Articular cartilage trauma, in particular due to its poor healing potential remains a complicated problem in both the adult and paediatric traumatology and orthopedics. In older patients, total endoprosthesis of the joint is a method of choice, however, in younger patients, the situation remains more complicated. In case of osteochondral lesions (arthrosis, chondral fractures. osteochoodrosis dissecns) the ideal management should result in complete recovery of the hyaline cartilage on the traumatized joint surface. Contemporary medicine uses some therapeutic procedures resulting in partial recovery of the articular cartilage structure at the lesion site and several techniques of excisionining the articular surface's injured part and of transplantations of biological grafts. Regarding the above first approach, abrasive methods (micro fractures, small drill holes), which are expected to result in recovery of the articular cartilage through progenitor cells that migrate from the bone marrow to the defect site following subchondral fracturing. In case the injury is managed early, the osteochondral fragment may be fixed and the articular congruence be recovered. Mosaicoplasty using osteochondral auto grafts or other autologous grafts, or more recently using transplantations of autologous chond rocytes, which seem to have a major potential in the hyaline cartilage healing process. However, methodology of the transplant retention at the defect site remains a problem. Furthermore, the use of mesenchymal stem cells, so far in the experimental phase, appears prospective. Pivotal articular cartilage treatment research activities have progressed to a level of searching for a suitable scaffold of perfect qualities. This is the task for cooperation with bioengineering. requiring provision of the most exact differentiation protocol for hyline cartilage producing mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs).

[The use of biodegradable materials in the management of bone cysts in children]. / Pouzití biodegradabilních materiálu v lécbe kostních cyst u detí.

AIM: The commonest benign lytic bone disorders, which compromise the bone robustness include juvenile bone cysts. Provided the cysts do not undergo spontaneous healing, which is commonly facilitated by pathological fracturing or introduction of osteosynthetic material into the cyst, the cystic cavity must be filled in. Numbers of potential defect management procedures, including use of corticoids, autografts, allografts or recently introduced methods of application of synthetic anorganic biomaterials, have been used. The aim of this study is to assess a possibility of the biomaterials use in the management of benign cysts in children. MATERIAL AND METHODOLOGY: The study included 20 juvenile bone cysts patients aged 10-17, treated with tricalcium phosphate during 2004-2007 in the KDCHOT. The authors assessed rates of the procedures, therefore a number of required hospitalizations and total anesthesias, intraoperative complications, postoperative complications, durations of hospitalization and treatment outcomes, based on Neer criteria, including the cyst's time-to-heal interval. In addition, evaluation of the results was related to the cyst's location. RESULTS: The treatment results, assessed according to the Neer criteria, show that 90% of the cysts healed and did not require further surgical intervention. Poor outcome was recorded in 2 subjects, who required further surgery due to skeletal instability. Intraoperative and perioperative complications were insignificant, the average duration of hospitalization was 4 days and the average time-to-heal period following primary or secondary percutanneous cyst filling was 15 months (ranging from 13 to 20 months). CONCLUSION: The studied method of the tricalcium phosphate application resulted in reduced rates of surgical procedures required for the defect healing. Furthermore, it is not associated with serious perioperative or intraoperative complications and the hospitalization duration may be very short.

Charcot-Marie-Tooth neuropathy type 1A combined with Duchenne muscular dystrophy.

We report a 24-year-old male with an unusual combination of two inherited neuromuscular disorders--Charcot-Marie-Tooth (CMT) disease type 1A and Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD). A phenotypic presentation of this patient included features of both these disorders. Nerve conduction studies revealed demyelinating peripheral neuropathy. Electromyography showed a profound myogenic pattern. The serum creatine kinase level was highly elevated. Muscle biopsy revealed a dystrophic picture with deficient dystrophin immunostaining. CMT1A duplication on chromosome 17p11.2 was found. The frame-shift mutation c.3609-3612delTAAAinsCTT (p.K1204LfsX11) was detected in the dystrophin gene by analysing mRNA isolated from the muscle tissue. The patient inherited both these mutations from his mother. The combination of CMT1A and DMD has not been reported as yet.

[Subtalar stabilization of pes equinovalgus by conventional open surgery using bicortical iliac crest bone graft (mid-term results)]. / Strednedobé výsledky subtalární stabilizace pes equinovalgus klasickou otevrenou metodou bikortikálním stepem z pánve.

PURPOSE OF THE STUDY: The aim of the study was to analyze the results of subtalar stabilization of the foot by conventional open surgery with the use of bicortical graft in cerebral palsy patients with pes equinovalgus and to compare our results with those of other authors. MATERIAL: A total of 193 operations were performed, with bilateral surgery in 84, surgery on the right foot in nine and surgery on the left foot in 16 patients. The average follow-up was 5 years and 2 months. METHODS: Before and after surgery, the clinical presentation in each patient was evaluated according to our subjective, description- based classification using a I-to-III scale (I, normal foot; II, moderate deformity; III, severe deformity). On lateral radiographs of the foot in a standing position, the talocalcaneal (TC) angle and that between the longitudinal calcaneus axis and foot-supporting surface (CS) were measured. The data was analyzed by statistical methods. RESULTS: The pre-operative findings were compared with the post-operative ones on the basis of our I-III classification system. In all results obtained with the McNemar test, p-values were lower than 0.001; therefore, at a 5 % level, the null hypothesis can be ruled out and a conclusion can be drawn that this surgery has an effect on the change in foot shape, as defined by our classification. Surgery failed in 13 feet (6.7 %), i.e., it did not produce any change in the degree of deformity. Similarly, values of the TC and CS angles were compared. The null hypothesis of Wilcoxon's test is that the patient's condition (TC and CP angles) remains the same before and after surgery. In all cases, the p-values were lower than 0.001; therefore, at a 5 % level, the null hypothesis can be ruled out, with the conclusion that differences between pre- and postoperative conditions were statistically significant. DISCUSSION: The results of this study, as compared with the relevant data, show that, for correction of pes equinovalgus, subtalar stabilization with bicortical iliac crest graft is a sufficiently reliable method even without metal fixation. The failure rate is only 6.7 %. CONCLUSIONS: The method described here achieves good results, the validity of which is supported by statistical analysis. Key words: cerebral palsy, pes equinovalgus, subtalar extra-articular arthrodesis.

[Data collection and the Czech Republic Trauma Registry]. / Sber dat a Urazový registr Ceské republiky.

INTRODUCTION: A trauma registry is an integral part of any thorough traumatological care conception. The essential task of such a data collection is to provide complex information on conditions, treatment, outcomes and trauma treatment costs, considering a region or other registered part of, usually, a state entity. MATERIAL, METHODOLOGY: Registration of individual trauma characteristics throughout the state territory is a prerequisite for creating a data set, providing information for making valid conclusions applicable for all ranges of human activity. The trauma registry outputs are essential for traffic institutions, police, commercial inspection, commercial and health insurance companies, hospitals, etc. With respect to traffic problematics, the trauma registry plays a significant role in pointing out the most risk places in the region, in assessing the traffic type and use of protective tools. Furthermore, it facilitates exact aiming of preventive and corrective measures. CURRENT CONDITION: Current legislation does not require reporting data to the trauma database, insufficient data are provided by UZIS only. Our Clinic of Paediatric Surgery, Orthopaedics and Traumatology iniciated a model version of the Czech Republic National Trauma Registry. Our activities were approved by and supported by the Society of Traumatologic Surgery. It is a question of time, when sufficient pressure is exerted and the trauma registry becomes an integral part of the traumatological care in the Czech Republic.

Cost of endovascular versus open surgical repair of abdominal aortic aneurysms.

BACKGROUND: Endovascular repair of abdominal aortic aneurysms (AAA) is a new minimally invasive method of aneurysm exclusion that has been adopted with increasing enthusiasm, and with acceptable clinical results. It is important, however, to assess new health-care technologies in terms of their economic as well as their clinical impact. The aim of the present study was to compare the total treatment costs for endovascular (EVR) and open surgical repair (OSR) for AAA. METHODS: A retrospective review of patient hospital and outpatient records for 62 patients undergoing either EVR (n = 31) or OSR (n = 31) was carried out between June 1996 and October 1999. Resource utilization was determined by a combination of patient clinical and financial accounting data. Costs were determined for preoperative assessment, inpatient hospital stay, cost of readmissions and follow up, and predicted lifetime follow-up costs. RESULTS: The two groups were well matched, with no significant difference with respect to age, gender, maximum aneurysm diameter or comorbid factors. Endovascular treatment resulted in a shorter intensive care unit (ICU) and hospital stay (mean: 0.07 vs 2.9 days, P < 0.001; mean: 6.0 vs 13.4 days, P < 0.001; respectively) and fewer postoperative complications (P = 0.003). The cost of hospitalization was less for EVR ($7614 vs $15092, P < 0.001), but this was offset by the more costly vascular prosthesis ($10284 vs $686). Costs were higher for the EVR group for preoperative assessment ($2328 vs $1540, P < 0.001) and follow up ($1284 vs $70, P < 0.001). Lifelong follow up could be expected to cost an additional $4120 per patient after EVR. Total lifetime treatment costs including costs associated with readmission for procedure-related complications were higher for EVR ($26909 vs $17650). CONCLUSION: Treatment costs for endovascular repair are higher than conventional surgical repair due to the cost of the vascular prosthesis and the greater requirement for radiological imaging studies.

[Training in the profession of occupational safety]. / Izobrazba strucnjaka za sigurnost na radu.

Since 1988, when the Higher Technical School for Occupational Safety ceased to exist, there has been no university education of specialized experts for the filed of safety at work in Croatia. In the past four years occupational safety experts have received their specialist training after completion of the secondary education. Since 1993 this practice has been regulated by relevant legal provisions. During specialization they become acquainted with legal provisions, types of occupational hazards and safety measures to be undertaken in the work organization. A four-year experience shows that 273 persons who have graduated as occupational safety specialists are presently employed in work organizations where such experts were lacking before. According to the reports of the occupational safety supervisory office, they are good at their job. The author proposes two levels of training for occupational safety specialists: specialist training following secondary schooling and a postgraduate university course of studies for designers and innovators in the field of safety.

Carotid surgery in northern Tasmania: a retrospective review.

A retrospective survey of 138 carotid endarterectomies performed in Northern Tasmania over a 6 year period was conducted to identify risk factors for postoperative neurological complications. A total of 80% of patients were operated on for transient ischaemic attacks (TIA) referable to stenosis of the ipsilateral internal carotid artery (ICA). A total of 77% of patients who were operated on had angiographic evidence of severe (over 80%) stenosis of the affected ICA. A combined postoperative permanent neurological deficit and mortality rate of 5.8% was achieved. Severe stenosis of the contralateral internal carotid artery and pre-operative symptomatic instability were associated with the development of postoperative neurological complications.

Comparison of saphenous vein patch, polytetrafluoroethylene patch, and direct arteriotomy closure after carotid endarterectomy. Part I. Perioperative results.

To evaluate the perioperative outcomes and the immediate increases in size after patch closure, 140 carotid endarterectomies were randomized into one of three groups: direct no-patch closure, saphenous vein patch closure, and polytetrafluoroethylene patch closure. Seven patients (4.4%) experienced signs of cerebral ischemia in the immediate postoperative period. In three cases this was transient and reversible. In the other four reexploration was undertaken and carotid thrombosis was corrected by thrombectomy. The condition of one of these patients deteriorated to a permanent stroke, whereas the other patients made a complete recovery. Neurologic complications were more frequent in the no-patch group, but the differences between the groups were not significant. The incidence of perioperative internal carotid stenosis, aneurysmal dilatation, and other morphologic abnormalities was assessed in 131 intravenous digital subtraction angiograms taken before the patient was discharged from the hospital. Eight (17.0%) of the endarterectomies in the no-patch group were narrowed by 30% to 50% diameter stenosis, whereas none of the patched arteries had more than 30% stenosis. In contrast, dilatation of the common or internal carotid artery to more than twice the measured diameter was absent in non-patched arteries but was present in seven (17.0%) saphenous patch closures and four (9.23%) polytetrafluoroethylene patch closures. We conclude that patch closure after carotid endarterectomy is less likely to cause stenosis in the perioperative period. Poly-tetrafluoroethylene patches resist dilatation better than do saphenous vein patches and are less likely to become aneurysmal.

Prospective randomized trial of polytetrafluoroethylene and Dacron aortic prosthesis. I. Perioperative results.

Over a two year period 80 patients were entered into a prospective randomized trial comparing polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) and Dacron infrarenal aortic reconstructions. Fifty-four patients were treated for aneurysm (30 single tubed grafts; 24 bifurcation grafts), and 26 patients were treated for occlusive disease (26 bifurcation grafts). The groups were matched for age, sex and preoperative risk factors. Five patients died after operation (6.3%) including two from hemorrhage, but there were no significant differences in mortality and morbidity between the PTFE and Dacron groups. The volume of blood lost at operation (1930 +/- 1340 ml, all patients); the volume of blood transfused (2.98 +/- 2.43 units); the volume of crystalloids infused (3050 +/- 1390 ml); the intraoperative heparin dosage (67.9 +/- 20.5 mg); the clamp time (71.6 +/- 34.5 min); and the total operating time (228.1 +/- 78.3 min) also showed no significant differences between PTFE and Dacron. The ankle systolic pressure index rose more for PTFE (0.96 +/- 0.24) than for Dacron (0.82 +/- 0.20; P less than 0.002) at the time of discharge. This partially reflects a difference in the index between the groups before operation (PTFE 0.79 +/- 0.30; Dacron 0.72 +/- 0.32), but it may also indicate that PTFE is less thrombogenic than Dacron.