[Antenatally detected hydronephrosis: practical approach for the pediatrician]. / Dilatation pyélocalicielle chez le nouveau-né: attitude pratique pour le pédiatre.

Approximately 1% of the fetuses present some dilatation of their urinary tract in utero. More than 50% of these antenatally detected hydronephrosis will disappear spontaneously after birth. The other 50% comprises ureteropelvic junction obstruction, vesico-ureteral reflux and primary megaureters. Postnatal radiological evaluation (renal ultrasonography and VCUG) is performed in every infant with a significantly dilated renal pelvis (> 8 mm between 20 and 30 weeks or > 10 mm after 30 weeks in utero). Renal nuclear scan should be done in every child with significant/worsening post-natal hydronephrosis. Antibioprophylaxis will be started from birth to prevent urinary tract infection. Medical or surgical approach will be chosen in the light of the uroradiological exam results and the clinical progress.

Selective hepatic artery ligation for hepatic haemangioendothelioma: case report and review of the literature.

Although benign, hepatic haemangioendotheliomas (HHE) are rare vascular tumours of the infant which have a high mortality rate secondary to high output congestive heart failure. The management of these tumours is still controversial and none of the different medical or surgical options has been unanimously accepted. We report the case of a neonate with congestive heart failure (CHF) due to a localized HHE, treated successfully by selective ligation of the left hepatic artery branch irrigating the tumour, under perioperative ultrasound Doppler control. A review of the literature showed 35 cases of HHE treated by hepatic artery ligation (HAL) with a survival rate of 80 %.

Severe bronchial synechia after removal of a long-standing bronchial foreign body: a case report to support control bronchoscopy.

The authors report the case of a child who had severe bronchial synechia of the left main bronchus after removal of a pistachio shell embedded in granulation tissue. Histology finding of the removed granulation tissue at initial bronchoscopy showed an Actinomyces bacterial invasion. It was decided not to treat this local contamination and to perform a control bronchoscopy to verify the disappearance of local bacterial invasion. The control bonchoscopy performed 4 weeks after the foreign body (FB) removal disclosed a large central left main bronchus synechia producing a 70% reduction of the lumen, although the child had become asymptomatic except for a slight residual cough. The resection of the synechia restored a normal bronchial lumen. The performance of a systematic control bronchoscopy after removal of long standing FB is discussed and recommended.

Biliary atresia and orthotopic liver transplantation. 11 years of experience in Geneva.

Biliary atresia (BA) is a congenital malformation or an evolutive inflammatory process which, without treatment, leads to cirrhosis, hepatic failure and death within two years of birth. The literature gives a survival rate of 60% at five years and 25% to adulthood after an initial operation performed for BA. 30% of children do not survive beyond two years of age. BA has become the most frequent indication for liver transplantation (LT) in children. With LT, survival expectancy is 90%. Results of the operation designed for BA remain unsatisfactory, and seem to depend on the age of the infants, as well as on other factors such as liver histology, and centre experience. Since 1989, onset of the paediatric hepatic transplantation program in Geneva, to July 2000, 20 children have been referred for initial treatment of BA, and 26 for possible hepatic transplantation after initial treatment done in another centre. The aim of the current study is to analyse our own results of the initial operation and to present the results of liver transplantation in this particular group of patients. All the patients with a BA are included in this study. The initial operation for BA yielded 43% favourable outcome at five years and the survival in this group following LT reached 91.3% survival. The importance of the age of the patient at time of initial operation is underlined.

Intestinal obstruction caused by an ectopic fallopian tube in a child: case report and literature review.

The authors present the case of a prepubertal 14-year-old girl who was admitted for an acute abdominal pain, fever, and vomiting. She was in a poor general state, having recently suffered a weight loss of 5 kg. A plain abdominal x-ray disclosed signs of mechanical ileus. An abdominal ultrasound scan showed a normal uterus, a normal right-sided ovary, but no left ovary. An emergency laparoscopy found a normal uterus with complete absence of the left ovary and salpinx, the upper left dome of the uterus being smooth with no visible horn. The right ovary and salpinx were normal. Intestinal obstruction was caused by a strangulating cordlike structure of unclear origin. After converting to a laparotomy, we found an abnormal fallopian tube inserted in the left parieto-colic groove. The tube extended next on the lateral sigmoïd mesentery and wrapped itself around the ileum, provoking a local strangulation and an ischemic covered bowel perforation. The bowel perforation was treated by a segmental bowel resection. Careful dissection of the cordlike structure disclosed a true rudimentary fallopian tube with hypotrophic fimbriae and a small distal round structure containing ovarian tissue. These structures were removed entirely. A review of the literature on this rare situation is presented and discussed.

Etiology and management of pediatric chylothorax.

OBJECTIVES: To determine the incidence and etiology of chylothorax and to assess our therapeutic management approach. STUDY DESIGN: We reviewed 51 patients diagnosed with chylothorax over a 12-year period. Cause, interval between operation and diagnosis, duration of chylothorax, and total volume loss per weight were recorded. RESULTS: Chylothorax was diagnosed in 46 children after cardiothoracic surgery, giving an incidence of 2.5% (46/1842); in 1 child chylothorax occurred after chest trauma, and in 4 the chylothorax was congenital or a manifestation of lymph angiomatosis. Three etiologic groups were identified: group 1, direct injury to the thoracic duct (33/51 = 65%); group 2, thrombosis and/or high venous pressure in the superior vena cava (14/51 = 27%); and group 3, congenital (4/51 = 8%). Conservative treatment was the only treatment in 80% of the patients. Surgical procedures consisted of 4 ligations of the thoracic duct, placement of 7 pleurodesis shunts, and placement of 2 pleuroperitoneal shunts. Patients in groups 2 and 3 were at higher risk for failure of conservative treatment (P <. 005). Longer duration of chylothorax and higher volume of drainage were present in group 2 compared with group 1 (P <.01). CONCLUSION: Conservative treatment was successful in 80% of the patients with our management approach. Prevention, early recognition, and treatment of potential complications, such as superior vena cava thrombosis or obstruction, may further improve success of conservative treatment. Congenital chylothorax seems different and may require a specific approach.

Magnetic resonance imaging helps in the early diagnosis of myositis ossificans in children.

Two cases on myositis ossificans circumscripta (MOC) in the arm are reported. Plain X-ray films and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) were performed in both cases. In the first, an intramuscular tumor-like mass without calcifications was found on MRI with soft-tissue edema extension. In the second, MRI disclosed additional bone-marrow edema. The diagnosis of MOC was confirmed by biopsy in one case and by follow-up in the other. MOC is a benign soft-tissue lesion that is rare in children, with an acute course and usually spontaneously favorable evolution. The differential diagnosis from an infection or a malignant tumor remains difficult. The best imaging modalities are conventional radiography and MRI. The MRI patterns of MOC are typical but not pathognomonic; typical MRI findings in conjunction with clinical symptoms during the early phase of MOC permit the postponement of a biopsy or aggressive surgical procedures. Surgery is indicated for cases not showing typical MOC calcifications at a later stage.

Nephrogenic adenoma of the bladder: ultrasound demonstration. A case report.

A 4-year-old girl developed a space-occupying lesion in the bladder. This was demonstrated by US after resection of a huge ureterocoele and bilateral re-implantation of ureters at 3 months of age and after three episodes of urinary tract infection. The mass developed outside the field of surgery and was removed endoscopically. Histology revealed a nephrogenic adenoma. US findings have not been emphasised previously. US should be useful in the detection of such lesions and for surveillance of recurrence.

Reliability of color Doppler and power Doppler sonography in the evaluation of intussuscepted bowel viability.

In two similar cases of irreducible intussusception with wall necrosis and perforation, symptoms had begun 24 h before admission and the plain radiographs showed signs of small-bowel obstruction. The sonographic (US) appearances, however, were different: color Doppler (CD) US showed vascular flow in the intussuscepted bowel in one case and no flow in the other. After radio-clinical assessment, both children underwent surgery and an intestinal resection had to be performed, manual reduction being impossible. The reliability of the US findings and the prognostic value of CD and power Doppler US in determining the viability of the intussuscepted bowel are discussed with a review of the literature.

A silicone-coated nylon dressing reduces healing time in burned paediatric patients in comparison with standard sulfadiazine treatment: a prospective randomized trial.

Mepitel is a new grid like silicone coated nylon dressing containing no additional biological compounds. We describe a prospective randomized pilot study comparing Mepitel to the standard silver sulfadiazine cream (Flamazine) dressing for the topical treatment of paediatric burns. Seventy-six children presenting within 24 h of injury with a non previously treated burn were randomly assigned to Mepitel treatment (group M) or Flamazine treatment (group F). Age, sex, surface area of burn and causal agent were noted at admission. The depth of the burn, cumulative number of dressings, presence or absence of a complete epithelial cover, infection, bleeding and allergy were noted at each dressing change. There were 41 children in group M and 35 children in group F. Five children were subsequently withdrawn from each group because they required skin grafting. Analysis of the above mentioned criteria showed no statistical difference between the two groups except for the healing time (group M: 7.58+/-3.12, group F: 11.26+/-6.02, p < 0.01) and the number of dressings (group M: 3.64+/-1.5, group F: 5.13+/-2.9, p < 0.05). Mepitel has proved to be an easy-to-remove dressing, adhering only to intact skin. The faster healing time found in the Mepitel group may be related to a direct effect of silicone on epithelial growth or to a decrease in surface-cell damage compared to the silver sulfadiazine group. This attractive product will be further assessed on a larger scale trial to confirm our observations.

Monosegmental liver transplantation from an adult to an infant.

A shortage of small pediatric organ donors has led to the development of reduced size liver transplantation in children. However, the discrepancy between donor and recipient weight can limit the use of this procedure despite transplantation of the left lobe only. Monosegmental liver transplantation using segment III only was recently described. We report here the case of an 11 month old, 6.9 kg boy who received another monosegmental graft (segment II) from a 78 kg donor on an urgent basis. Because of the lack of parenchymal landmarks between segments II and III, sterile methylene blue solution was injected into the portal vein of segment III: parenchyma of this segment colored immediately and was resected accordingly. Three and a half years later, the growth, development, and nutrition of this child were normal. This procedure seems to be helpful when the left lobe of the graft is obviously too large.

Influence of severe underlying pathology and hypovolemic shock on the development of acute pancreatitis in children.

Acute pancreatitis in children is a little known and poorly defined disease, and thus rarely considered in the diagnosis of pediatric abdominal pain. In the past 14 years, the authors treated 21 children who had acute pancreatitis. Trauma was the cause of the disease in 29% of the patients. One third (33%) had hypovolemic shock-related pancreatitis (mostly after either cardiopulmonary bypass or severe gastrointestinal bleeding). Furthermore, a major proportion (38%) had severe underlying organic disease. The clinical presentation was unremarkable; most patients (83%) had abdominal pain, especially in the epigastrium, and vomiting was the only other clinical sign exhibited by more than 50%. The Glasgow score (a severity grading system based on eight laboratory values and calculated within the first 48 hours after admission) had good specificity but poor sensitivity. Amylasemia had no predictive value. More than half our patients (57%) had complications, mainly pseudocysts (24%) and relapse (14%), and about one quarter (24%) had severe pancreatitis. There were two deaths (10%), and all surviving children (90%) eventually were symptom-free. Treatment was conservative in the majority of cases; eight patients (38%) required surgery. Hypovolemic shock and a severe underlying pathology were identified as risk factors for the occurrence of severe pancreatitis (P < .005) or death (P < .001), but not for the development of complications.

Escalator injuries in Genevan children: a report of 6 cases.

We present a retrospective survey of the mechanism and the lesions caused by escalators in Genevan children. Though these accidents are rare, they are often very serious. They occur primarily among children around the age of three and affect especially the hand. It is not economically feasible to replace or modify current escalators. It is therefore important that the current warning signs on escalators be improved. As there is a specific risk to children of catching fingers in the escalator and most parents are unaware of this type of danger, a warning sign with an explicit illustration could be of value. Also an insertion of a plastic bar just above the moving stairs on each lateral wall would block any potential extremities from being caught in the gap between the steps and the side of the staircase.

Skin harvesting on the scalp in children: utopia or reality.

UNLABELLED: Since 1990 we have used systematically the scalp as donor site for split skin graft in children. The aim of this retrospective and prospective study is to analyse the results, advantages, disadvantages, complications and problems of this method. MATERIAL AND METHODS: The series includes 43 children, age: 9 months to 15 years 6 months (mean age 5 years 9 months) who presented burns or other lesions. The surface to be grafted was 0.5% to 35% of the body surface (mean surface: 6.6% TBS). The follow-up was 25 to 1086 days (mean: 304 days). The donor site is prepared by marking of the hair-limit, shaving, disinfection and infiltration with normal saline under the galea of the surface to be harvested. Skin harvesting is done with an electrical dermatome. The donor site is covered with sponges soaked in adrenaline (1/500,000). RESULTS: 1 child required harvesting twice in 2 weeks, another one 3 times in 3 months. All the other children required only one procedure. 4 children needed a meshing of the graft. They required also harvesting from other donor sites. The surface to be grafted represented more than 15% TBS. 5 children with a surface to be grafted between 10 and 15% TBS could be covered in one session, without meshing, taking only the scalp. The healing of the scalp was complete after 7 to 14 days (mean: 9.5 days). There was no mortality in our series. We were not confronted with any infection. No hypertrophic scars or retractions were encountered. 3 children presented zones of alopecia, one had sequelae and needed two surgical procedures. The two other cases were minor cases and did not require further treatment. A certain sparseness of hair was noticed in a black girl, after the third harvesting. The blood losses were estimated as a total and have also to be attributed to the tangential excision of the burn area. CONCLUSION: Skin harvesting from the scalp in children can be recommended as first choice. The advantages, especially the rapid epithelialisation and the lack of visible scars, overcome the problems and the risks.

Multiloculated epidermoid cyst of the liver.

Epidermoid cysts of the liver are extremely rare and have been described in both children and adults. Their etiology remains an enigma, and several theories have been suggested as to their origin. Due to their possible malignant potential, early detection and resection are mandatory whether the cysts are unilocular or multilocular.

Ultrasonography of jejunal intussusception in children.

OBJECTIVE: To describe the ultrasonographic findings in different forms of jejunal intussusception in three children. PATIENTS AND METHOD: Two children with hamartomatous polyps of the jejunum acting as lead points for antegrade jejunoileocolic intussusception and retrograde jejunoduodenogastric intussusception respectively and one child with idiopathic postoperative intussusception were examined by ultrasonography. RESULTS: The findings of the US studies were abnormal and different in each case, depending on the underlying condition and the direction (antegrade or retrograde) of the intussusception. The hamartomatous polyps were seen as hyperechoic solid masses but could not be diagnosed more specifically with US. A target lesion was found in the case of idiopathic postoperative intussusception. The US results prompted the next imaging procedure, air enema in the one patient in whom the intussusception had reached the colon and preoperative barium meal in all of the patients. Surgery was performed without the delay that usually occurs with jejunal intussusception. CONCLUSION: In the appropriate clinical setting, US should be used to look for jejunal intussusception, so that suitable diagnostic gastrointestinal studies can be performed and delay in diagnosis avoided.