Colonic triplication associated with anorectal malformation: case presentation of a rare embryological disorder.

Tubular colonic triplication is an extremely rare hindgut malformation, with only 2 reports in the literature to date. The present authors describe the new and unusual case of a boy born with an imperforate anus, rectovesical fistula, and 3 distinct left colons. The bladder was divided by an incomplete septum. Prenatal ultrasound suggested colonic duplication. Surgical management involved resection of the triplicated segment and posterosagittal anorectal pull through.

Prenatal diagnosis of umbilicoportosystemic shunts: report of 11 cases and review of the literature.

OBJECTIVE: The objective of our study was to classify, understand, and illustrate abnormalities of the embryologic development of the umbilical vein and the portal system resulting in umbilicoportosystemic shunts. According to our data and a review of the literature, we propose an anatomic, biometric, and hemodynamic assessment of umbilicoportosystemic shunts. CONCLUSION: Umbilicoportosystemic shunts encompass different congenital vascular abnormalities that should be recognized because they may interfere with fetal growth and circulation.

Obstructive congenital gingival granular cell tumor.

Congenital gingival granular cell tumors (also known as congenital epulis or Neumann's tumor) are rare and always benign intraoral tumors originating from the alveolar ridge. They are typically seen as a mass protruding out of a newborn child's mouth. We report a case of a large obstructive congenital gingival granular cell tumor of the mandibular ridge. The intraoral mass was first detected on a 38-week prenatal ultrasound scan and resulted in neonatal airway obstruction. Complete surgical removal was performed with an uneventful postoperative course. Histologic and immunohistochemical assessments with antibodies against S-100 protein confirmed the diagnosis. The clinical and morphological aspects, differential diagnosis, histogenesis, and treatment are discussed.

Only two-phase models, computed independently for males and females, are appropriate to describe fetal head growth.

OBJECTIVE: To establish an accurate mathematical model describing fetal head growth, taking into account gender differences and changes in growth rate during gestation. METHODS: Ultrasound measurements of head circumference and biparietal diameter were made on 1,336 normal fetuses (684 males and 652 females) in the Maternité Régionale de Nancy (France). A new two-phase model, taking into account an alteration in growth kinetics at 30 gestational weeks, was computed independently for male and female data. The accuracy of this model was tested and compared with three current mathematical models: a linear-quadratic, a linear-cubic, and the Rossavik and Deter (1984) models. RESULTS: In all models, including ours, the coefficients of determination (R(2)) were high (> or =0.999), so long as male and female data were computed separately. However, the standard error estimates (SEE) of our two-phase model were much lower (0.13 < or = SEE < or = 0.57) than the SEE of the three other models when computed over the whole gestational period (0.49 < or = SEE < or = 2.69); nevertheless, when these three other models were computed for these two successive periods, their SEE decreased, and data fitting was improved. CONCLUSION: Only two-phase mathematical models, computed independently for male and female data, accurately describe the kinetics of fetal head growth. They should be used to calculate growth standards and to perform an exact diagnosis of impaired growth.

The vascular "ring" sign in mesoblastic nephroma: report of two cases.

Mesoblastic nephroma (Bolande's tumour) is a rare renal tumour, but, overall, is the most frequent benign renal tumour in childhood and the most frequent renal tumour during the first year of life. It is increasingly diagnosed with US during the fetal period. We report the findings of two patients who showed the "ring" sign, an anechoic ring surrounding the tumour and typical of mesoblastic nephroma. We identified a Doppler signal in the ring in both cases, and pathology confirmed the vascular origin of this sign.

A new method of implanting orthotopic rat bladder tumor for experimental therapies.

We developed a model of orthotopic transplantation of bladder tumor cells in female Fischer rats using a new reproducible technique. After first performing the mechanical abrasion of a portion of the bladder urothelium with an Abrader inserted transurethrally via a catheter, we administered a suspension of 5-40 x 10(6) viable AY-27 tumor cells in sterile phosphate-buffered saline to the bladder cavity. This rapidly led to a tumor growth incidence of approximately 100%. The induced bladder tumors grew expansively into the bladder cavity from the surface (mucosa) and gradually invaded the submucosa, muscles, serosa and surrounding tissue (high-stage invasive transitional cell carcinoma). Size and staging were related to the quantity of tumor cells instilled into the bladder cavity. This model matches the characteristics of human bladder tumor more closely than other bladder cancer models induced with tumor cells. Moreover, it presents many advantages: the method is reproducible, tumors grow rapidly, they are directly attached to the bladder surface and they are always located on the bladder wall, in line with the urethra. This proves especially helpful for evaluating chemotherapeutic agents by different means such as in vivo fluorescence spectroscopy, a noninvasive method used in photodynamic therapy, or other methods designed to detect and treat transitional cell carcinoma.