Pediatric laparoscopic surgery; initial experience from Pakistan; first 100 cases in single center.

In a developing country like Pakistan, laparoscopic surgeries are not considered favourable by many, possibly because of high costs or a lack of expertise. It is an established fact that laparoscopic surgery offers better surgical treatments with a shorter hospital stay and fewer complications. The current retrospective study was conducted at a tertiary care hospital in Karachi and comprised of laparoscopy cases performed by a single surgeon from March 2012 to September of 2014. A total of 100laparoscopic surgeries were performed; mostly appendectomies 49(49%) and undescended testes (UDTs) 34(34%). Overall, there were 70(70%) male patients. The mean age of the patients was 7.1 years and standard deviation (SD) of 2. Four (4%) patients had cellulitis. Laparoscopy paediatric surgery offered advantages of fewer wound-associated complications, less incisional pain, a shorter recovery time, and improved cosmesis.

Unintentional Injuries In Children: Are Our Homes Safe?

Unintentional injuries are a leading cause of death in childhood globally. Injuries lead to emotional trauma and financial burden for children, parents, and society. Here are the frequencies of unintentional injuries in children presented to the emergency and paediatric surgery clinics of the Aga Khan University Hospital, Karachi, Pakistan, from January to December 2012. Aretrospective chart review of children aged 0 day to 14 years presented with falls, burns, foreign body ingestion or inhalation, poisoning, fingers caught in doors, electrocution injuries and drowning, was conducted. Atotal of 165 children were included. Domestic injuries were frequently occurring injuries in our set-up which could be prevented by doing small adjustments to make the home safe for children.

Functional Outcome of Anorectal Malformations and Associated Anomalies in Era of Krickenbeck Classification.

OBJECTIVE: To describe the management and functional outcome of anorectal malformations and associated anomalies according to Krickenbeck classification. STUDY DESIGN: Case series. PLACE AND DURATION OF STUDY: The Aga Khan University Hospital, Karachi, from January 2002 to December 2012. METHODOLOGY: Anorectal anomalies were classified according to Krickenbeck classification. Data was collected and proforma used regarding the primary disease associated anomalies, its management and functional outcome, according to Krickenbeck classification. Cases included were: all those children with imperforate anus managed during the study period. Qualitative variables like gender and functional outcome were reported as frequencies and percentages. Quantitative variables like age were reported as medians with interquartile ranges. RESULTS: There were 84 children in study group. Most common associated anomaly was cardiac (38%), followed by urological anomaly (33%). All children were treated by Posterior Sagittal Anorectoplasty (PSARP). Fistula was present in 64 out of 84 (76%) cases. The most common fistula was rectourethral (33%), followed by recto vestibular (31%). According to Krickenbeck classification, continence was achieved in 62% children; however 27% children were constipated, followed by 12% children having fecal soiling. CONCLUSION: Functional outcome of anorectal malformation depends upon severity of disease. A thorough evaluation of all infants with ARM should be done with particular focus on cardiovascular (38%) and genitourinary abnormalities (33%).

Empyema thoracis in children: clinical presentation, management and complications.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the etiology, clinical manifestation, management (medical and surgical) and complications of children with empyema thoracis in a tertiary care hospital from Karachi, Pakistan. STUDY DESIGN: Descriptive, analytical study. PLACE AND DURATION OF STUDY: Department of Surgery, The Aga Khan University Hospital, Karachi, from January 1996 to December 2010. METHODOLOGY: Medical records of admitted children aged > a month to 15 years with discharge diagnosis of empyema thoracis and data was collected on demographic features, clinical manifestation, management and complications. Children managed medically were compared with those managed surgically by using interquartile range and median comparison. Mann-Whitney U test was used to compare age in months, weight (kg) and length of stay in days and presenting complaint, duration of illness; chi-square test was used to compare thrombocytosis in between groups and p-value was calculated. RESULTS: Among the 112 patients, 59 (53%) were younger than 5 years of age. Males (n=83, 74%) were predominant. Fifty (45%) children were admitted in winter. Thirty (27%) children found unvaccinated and one fourth (n=27; 24%) were severely malnourished. Fever, cough, and dyspnea were the major presenting symptoms. Sixty-six (59%) were on some antibiotics prior to admission. Staphylococcus aureus (n=13) and Streptococcus pneumoniae (n=5) were the commonest organism isolated from blood and pleural fluid cultures. Majority of the children required some surgical intervention (n=86). Surgically managed children were younger (p=0.01); had less weight (p=0.01) and prolonged fever (p=0.02); and stayed longer in hospital (p < 0.001) as compared to medically managed children. Requiring readmission (n=8), subcutaneous emphysema (n=5) and recollection of pus (n=5) were the major complications. CONCLUSION: Staphylococcus aureus was the major organism associated with paediatric empyema thoracis. Early identification and empiric antibiotic as per local data is essential to prevent short and long-term complications. Younger, lower weight children with prolonged fever required surgical management.

Posterior mediastinal branchial cleft cyst: an unusual site.

A two and a half year old Kenyan girl presented with recurrent chest infections and difficulty in swallowing. Her clinical and laboratory workup was suggestive of lower respiratory tract infection for which she received a course of antibiotics; however, she remains symptomatic after the management of her suspected diagnosis. Therefore, further radiological workup including a chest CT scan and barium study were performed. This showed a homogeneous mass surrounded by ascending and descending aorta in the posterior mediastinum that was compressing the middle esophagus. She had a posterolateral thoracotomy which revealed a cystic mass with smooth surfaces (5x5 cm) in the posterior mediastinum. Histopathology showed branchial cleft cyst predominately lined by stratified squamous epithelium, with lymphocytes predominance. A final diagnosis of posterior mediastinal branchial cleft cyst was made. She was discharged home and remained well at follow-up.

Focused abdominal sonography for trauma (FAST) in blunt paediatric abdominal trauma.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the role of focussed abdominal sonography for trauma in blunt paediatric abdominal trauma patients, and to see if the role of computed tomography scan could be limited to only those cases in which sonography was positive. METHODS: The retrospective study covered 10 years, from January 1,2000 to December 31,2009, and was conducted at the Department of Radiology and Department of Emergency Medicine, Aga Khan University Hospital, Karachi. It comprised cases of 174 children from birth to 14 years who had presented with blunt abdominal trauma and had focussed abdominal sonography for trauma done at the hospital. The findings were correlated with computed tomography scan of the abdomen and clinical follow-up. Sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, negative predictive value and accuracy of focussed abdominal sonography for trauma were calculated for blunt abdominal trauma. SPSS 17 was used for statistical analysis. RESULTS: Of the total 174 cases, 31 (17.81%) were later confirmed by abdominal scan. Of these 31 children, sonography had been positive in 29 (93.54%) children. In 21 (67.74%) of the 31 children, sonograpy had been true positive; 8 (25%) (8/31) were false positive; and 2 (6%) (2/31) were false negative. There were 6 (19.3%) children in which sonography was positive and converted to laparotomy. There was no significant difference on account of gender (p>0.356). Focussed abdominal sonography for trauma in the study had sensitivity of 91%, specificity of 95%, positive predictive value of 73%, and negative predictive value of 73% with accuracy of 94%. All patients who had negative sonography were discharged later, and had no complication on clinical follow-up. CONCLUSIONS: Focussed abdominal sonography for trauma is a fairly reliable mode to assess blunt abdominal trauma in children. It is a useful tool to pick high-grade solid and hollow viscous injury. The results suggest that the role of computed tomography scan can be limited to those cases in which focussed sonography is positive.

Isolated splenic abscess in children, role of splenic preservation.

PURPOSE: Splenic abscess (SA) is rare life threatening clinical condition in children. Diagnosis is delayed because of its non-specific clinical presentation. It has a high mortality rate even in the era of antibiotics. This study aim to determine the role of splenic preservation in the management of isolated splenic abscess in children, and to compare different treatment modalities for it. METHODS: A retrospective cross-sectional study of 20 years was conducted including all children <14 years of age with the principal diagnosis of "Splenic abscess". We have excluded all splenic abscesses occurring after penetrating or blunt abdominal trauma. RESULTS: Total of 17 children were managed during the study period. Most of our patients were older than 10 years of age. Majority of patients had a significant delay in presentation. Fever, abdominal pain, and vomiting were the main mode of presentation. Splenomegaly on abdominal examination was present in 12 patients. 15 (88 %) children were managed conservatively; however, 2 children required surgical intervention. CONCLUSION: Splenic abscess in children is a rare disease and its diagnosis is often delayed. Delay in diagnosis of SA in children can lead to life threatening complications. A high index of suspicion is needed to reduce delay in diagnosis. Children presenting with non-specific high grade fever vomiting and abdominal pain should be evaluated for SA. Timely ultrasound and CT scan will lead to earlier diagnosis. A conservative approach with intravenous antibiotics and early percutaneous drainage especially in immunocompetent children can preserve spleen to continue immune function.