Is transumbilical laparoscopic-assisted appendectomy feasible for complicated appendicitis? A single-center experience.

PURPOSE: Transumbilical laparoscopic-assisted surgery (TULS) mixed benefits of laparoscopic and open surgeries. Transumbilical laparoscopic-assisted appendectomy (TULAA) is a well-known procedure, accepted and currently used by pediatric surgeons for treatment of uncomplicated appendicitis (UA). There is no current agreement in its use for the complicated appendiceal infections (CA). We reported our results using TULAA for both UA and CA. METHODS: We retrospectively collected TULAA performed between April 2017 and April 2022. Appendicitis were classified in UA and CA. We analyzed conversion rate, operative time, length of stay, surgical site infections (SSIs) rate, postoperative intra-abdominal abscess and costs. RESULTS: Over 5 years, 316 children underwent TULAA. Conversion rate was 3%. Mean age at surgery was 9.36 years (IQR 2-16). Forty-nine appendicitis were CA. Operative time and hospital stay was higher in CA than in UA group (38.33 vs. 60.73 min, p < 0.00001; 4 vs. 7 days, p < 0.00001). SSIs rate showed no statistically significant difference between two groups. Incidence of postoperative intra-abdominal collections was 11% in CA and 1% in UA. TULAA's cost was 192.07 €. CONCLUSION: In our series, TULAA seems to be safe, feasible and cost-effective for both uncomplicated and complicated appendicitis, with no disadvantage in terms of outcomes compared to what is reported in literature for CLS.

Two-balloon epistaxis catheter to ensure vaginal patency in a complex case of vaginoplasty for vaginal agenesis: a case report.

Congenital vaginal atresia is a rare anomaly of the female genital tract. Many vaginoplasty procedures have been described, but the postoperative risk of vaginal stenosis remains a challenge. We report a case of isolated distal vaginal agenesis in a patient with neurological impairment where the use of an "alternative" dilator was needed. An 11-year-old girl with Down syndrome was admitted to the Emergency Department complaining of pelvic pain. The clinical evaluation showed a hard and painful pelvic mass associated with an imperforate hymen. Abdominal ultrasound and pelvic MRI were suggestive for hematometrocolpos and absence of the lower third segment of the vagina. Vaginoscopy confirmed the diagnosis of congenital vaginal agenesis. The patient then underwent a laparoscopic-assisted vaginoplasty. Considering the difficult management of the postoperative period, an epistaxis catheter was used as a vaginal stent and dilator. The use of an epistaxis catheter to provide adequate vaginal patency after vaginoplasty can be an alternative solution especially in those cases where calibrations with dilators are difficult or not tolerated.

Robot-Assisted Versus Laparoscopic Approach for Splenectomy in Children: Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

Aim: To compare the outcomes of pediatric splenectomies for hematologic diseases performed by robot-assisted laparoscopic surgery (RALS) and laparoscopic approach. Materials and Methods: Web of Science, Scopus, and PubMed databases were systematically searched for publications in English language from January 2000 to March 2020. All the studies dealing with pediatric elective splenectomies performed by RALS were included. The primary outcomes were the rate of postoperative complications and conversion. The secondary outcomes were the length of hospital stay and the operative time. Results: The search yielded 969 articles. Ten articles were included in the systematic review. Eighty patients underwent RALS splenectomy. Thirteen postoperative complications (16%) were reported and RALS was converted to open surgery in five cases (6.3%). Five of the included articles, three retrospective studies and two case series, were considered relevant for the meta-analysis and dealt with 130 patients. Of them, 71 children (55%) underwent RALS. No difference in the rate of complications was found between the two approaches (P = .235). RALS presented a similar rate of conversion to open surgery (P = .301). The mean operative times and length of hospital stays for RALS, reported in three different studies, were 107.5, 159.6, 140.5 minutes and 4.2, 3.93, 2.1 days, respectively. Conclusion: Even if few studies were included in the review, this meta-analysis reported similar rates of complication and conversion for RALS when compared with laparoscopy. Further studies are required to prove that this innovative technique was as safe and feasible as the current gold standard technique.

Inguinal Hernia Containing the Uterus in the Pediatric Patient: A Systematic Review.

BACKGROUND: Inguinal hernia containing the uterus in pediatric patients with normal karyotype and phenotype is an extremely rare entity, and no consensus is available concerning diagnosis, surgical management, and follow-up. METHODS: A systematic review according to the Synthesis Without Meta-analysis protocol was conducted. Studies including pediatric female patients with inguinal hernia containing the uterus were searched. Keywords and mesh term searches were conducted (Medline, Scopus, and Web of Science). We additionally reviewed our center's clinical records and found 1 patient with an inguinal uterus hernia that was included in the statistical analysis. RESULTS: Thirty-six articles and 73 patients were considered for this analysis. The median gestational age at birth was 36 weeks. The inguinal mass was first noticed at the median age of 1.5 months (0-18 months), on the left side in 61% (on the right in 16, 39%). Sixty percent of patients had no associated symptoms or signs; 37.5% showed symptoms and signs of an incarcerated hernia. Median age at surgery was 2 months (1-72 months). In all patients, one or both adnexa herniated with the uterus. An open approach was more frequently used (56.4%). Contralateral duct exploration and ligation was performed in 7 patients (24.1%). No postoperative complications or recurrence have been described. CONCLUSIONS: The data obtained do not allow us to draw univocal conclusions on which is the best management in these patients. It is still unclear if an elective approach in an asymptomatic patient might bear long-term consequences on reproductive functions. No surgical technique proved to be superior to others, but both the open and laparoscopic approaches seem to be effective without postoperative complications or recurrence.

Innovative Techniques Associated with Traditional Abdominal Surgery in Complex Pediatric Cases: A Tertiary Center Experience.

Pediatric abdominal surgery is constantly evolving, alongside the advent of new surgical technologies. A combined use of new tools and traditional surgical approaches can be useful in the management of complex cases, allowing less invasive procedures and sometimes even avoiding multiple interventions. This combination of techniques has implications even from the anesthetic point of view, especially in post-operative pain control. Thereby, tertiary level centres, including highly-specialized professionals and advanced equipment, can maximize the effectiveness of treatments to improve the final outcomes. Our paper aims to present some possible combinations of techniques recently used at our institution to provide a one-session, minimally invasive treatment within different areas of abdominal surgery.

Laparo-endoscopic combination for the safe extraction of an open safety pin in a 9-month-old child. Case report.

INTRODUCTION: and importance: Accidental ingestion of foreign bodies (FBs) is common among infants. In case of sharp FBs, the risk of accidental organ damage with potential life-threatening complications constitutes an absolute indication for removal. We present the case of a child, who, following the ingestion of an open safety pin, was successfully treated exclusively with minimally invasive techniques. CASE PRESENTATION: A 9-month-old male patient was admitted for hematemesis. An anteroposterior and lateral X-ray of the thorax and abdomen revealed the presence of an open safety pin in the epi-mesogastric region, without a precise localization. Upper and lower gastrointestinal endoscopy, fluoroscopy, and laparoscopy were combined in the same intervention to localize and safely remove the foreign body. The patient was dismissed on a postoperative day 1. CLINICAL DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION: The two main pitfalls of this scenario were the initially uncertain location of the foreign body and the young age of the patient. A combination of different techniques was used to safely locate and remove the foreign body, reducing hospitalization and avoiding repeated radiological exposure. An experienced team in a tertiary paediatric surgical and endoscopic centre increases the chances of success and minimizes invasiveness and the risk of complications.

Long-Term Analysis of Respiratory-Related Complications Following Gastrostomy Placement with or without Fundoplication in Neurologically Impaired Children: A Retrospective Cohort Study.

Gastrostomy placement is crucial in neurologically impaired (NI) children to ensure an adequate food intake and a safe route for drugs administration and to reduce the risk of primary aspiration. NI patents are more prone to gastroesophageal reflux. The association with fundoplication is deemed to reduce reflux-related respiratory complications. However, long-term benefits of this approach are not clear. We therefore aimed to compare long-term reflux-related respiratory complications of gastrostomy only (GO) to gastrostomy with fundoplication (GF). We retrospectively reviewed 145 consecutive NI children managed from 2008 to 2018. As long-term outcomes, we analyzed number and length of hospital admissions (Reflux-Related-Hospitalization, RRH) and emergency department accesses (Reflux-Related-Accesses, RRA) due to respiratory problems. Results were analyzed with appropriate statistical method. Median age at referral and at gastrostomy placement were 2.2 and 3.4 years (SD 5.6), respectively. Median follow-up was four years (range 1-12). Anti-reflux procedures were performed in 26/145 patients (18%); tracheotomy in 23/145 (16%). RRH following surgery showed lower number of admissions/year (0.32 vs. 1 for GO vs. GF, p < 0.005) and days hospitalization/year (3 vs. 13, p = 0.08) in GO compared to GF; RRA was similar (0.60 vs. 0.65, p = 0.43). Gastrostomy placement alone appeared not to be inferior to gastrostomy plus fundoplication with respect to long-term respiratory-related outcomes for NI children in our center.