Rare case of inguinal ureteral hernia in a child diagnosed by drip infusion pyelography-computed tomography.

INTRODUCTION AND IMPORTANCE: Inguinal hernias are the most commonly experienced disease in pediatric surgery. However, it is rare for the organs of the urinary system to prolapse as the contents of the hernia. CASE PRESENTATION: We report a case of a 14-year-old boy with congenital paraperitoneal inguinal herniation of the ureter. Intraoperatively, we found an unfamiliar tubular loop structure arising from the deep inguinal ring in the left inguinal canal. The tubular structure, which may have been part of the ureter, was left in the inguinal canal to avoid damage. Postoperative drip infusion pyelography-computed tomography showed anatomical irregularity of the ureter in the inguinal canal. Follow-up in the 5th postoperative year showed no recurrence of hydrocele and complications associated with ureteral obstruction. CLINICAL DISCUSSION: Inguinal ureteral hernias are rarely reported in children. Paraperitoneal inguinal hernias are reported to be associated with vesicoureteral reflux and posterior urethral valve. Patients rarely present with symptoms like those observed in our case report. Whilst general surgical treatment is to return the ureter to the retroperitoneal space, we opted to leave the ureter in the inguinal canal to avoid unnecessary damage. However, this intraoperative management resulted in slight hematuria. The ureter should be placed back where it belongs, and postoperative monitoring using computed tomography may be important. CONCLUSION: This case provides valuable insight into preoperative diagnostic difficulties and intra- and postoperative management of an inguinal ureteral hernia in children, highlighting the importance of accurate diagnosis and appropriate surgical intervention in the treatment of this disease.

Laparoscopic treatment of an abdominoscrotal hydrocele: A case report.

INTRODUCTION: Abdominoscrotal hydrocele (ASH), a composite of scrotal and abdominal hydroceles connected through the inguinal canal, is rare and no consensus regarding its mechanisms and surgical treatments has been reached to date. PRESENTATION OF THE CASE: We report a case of an 11-month-old boy with a large ASH. Ultrasonography and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) revealed a huge hydrocele (maximum length: 8 cm). The patient underwent laparoscopic percutaneous extraperitoneal closure (LPEC) and the orifice of the processus vaginalis (PV) was completely closed. The postoperative course was uneventful. Follow-up ultrasonography and MRI in the first postoperative year showed no recurrence of ASH. DISCUSSION: An ASH with a length >8 cm is considered rare in pediatric patients. There is no consensus regarding its etiology and surgical intervention is selected according to the patient's condition and the characteristics of ASH. We opted to perform early surgical intervention considering the ASH size and the adverse effects on testicular development. LPEC helped identify the condition and location of the ASH and allowed safe and reliable operation of the large intrapelvic hydrocele. In patients with no PV patency, a change in approach from LPEC to an open anterior approach should be considered even if LPEC is feasible. CONCLUSION: This case provides valuable insight into successful LPEC of a large ASH without any complications, highlighting the importance of elucidating the morphological mechanisms and making an accurate diagnosis and the challenges associated with these processes.

Evaluation of the efficacy of incision and drainage versus hainosankyuto treatment for perianal abscess in infants: a multicenter study.

PURPOSE: We retrospectively compared the short-term outcomes between incision and drainage (ID) and hainosankyuto (TJ-122, Tsumura & Co, Tokyo, Japan) treatment for perianal abscess (PA) in infants. METHODS: We retrospectively examined 48 consecutive patients (median age 129 days; range 19-330 days) who presented with PA over a 3 year period. Group 1 comprised 26 patients who were treated with ID at presentation, and Group 2 comprised 22 patients who were treated with oral TJ-122 at presentation; oral treatment was continued until the disappearance of purulent discharge and resolution of induration at the abscess site. RESULTS: PAs were identified in all 48 patients at presentation. The median duration of follow-up was 26 months (range 13-40 months). At presentation, there were no differences in the gender, age, birth weight, duration of symptoms, skin erosion or prevalence of diarrhea between the two groups. Purulent discharge resolved within a median period of 26 days (range 7-42 days) in Group 2, but persisted for 40 days (range 4-196 days) in Group 1. The induration resolved within a median period of 39 days (range 7-91 days) in Group 2, but persisted for 70 days (range 4-308 days) in Group 1 (p = 0.04). CONCLUSIONS: TJ-122 treatment was more beneficial than ID in treating PA in infants.

Non-promoter DNA hypermethylation of Zygote Arrest 1 (ZAR1) in neuroblastomas.

BACKGROUND: The comprehensive methylation analysis of tumor-specific differently methylated regions in malignant melanomas and brain tumors has led to the identification of non-promoter hypermethylation of zygote arrest 1 (ZAR1). To search the non-promoter ZAR1 hypermethylation in neuroblastomas, we analyzed the levels of the methylation and transcript expression of ZAR1. METHODS: The MassARRAY® EpiTYPER (Sequenom Inc., San Diego, CA, USA) system was optimized to determine the quantitative methylation levels of ZAR1 for 12 neuroblastoma cell lines, 23 neuroblastoma samples and four adrenal samples. ZAR1 expression levels were evaluated through a quantitative, real-time reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction. The quantitative methylation levels of ZAR1 were subjected to correlation studies with the established markers of progressive disease and outcome. RESULTS: Strikingly, the hypermethylation of ZAR1 regions and ZAR1 expression levels was observed in the neuroblastoma cell lines and neuroblastoma samples, compared to the adrenal samples. Somatic changes in ZAR1 methylation and ZAR1 expression were found in all three neuroblastoma patients. In the ZAR1 regions, poor-outcome tumors that were MYCN-amplified and/or Stage 3 or 4 and/or the age at diagnosis was≥18months, and/or showed an unfavorable histology were frequently hypermethylated. CONCLUSION: Our results indicate that the hypermethylation of ZAR1 regions is extremely frequent in neuroblastomas and correlates with established markers of progressive disease and outcome.

Identification of aberrant methylation regions in neuroblastoma by screening of tissue-specific differentially methylated regions.

BACKGROUND: The identification of tissue-specific differentially methylated regions (tDMRs) is key to our understanding of mammalian development. Research has indicated that tDMRs are aberrantly methylated in cancer and may affect the oncogenic process. PROCEDURE: We used the MassARRAY EpiTYPER system to determine the quantitative methylation levels of seven neuroblastomas (NBs) and two control adrenal medullas at 12 conserved tDMRs. A second sample set of 19 NBs was also analyzed. Statistical analysis was carried out to determine the relationship of the quantitative methylation levels to other prognostic factors in these sample sets. RESULTS: Screening of 12 tDMRs revealed 2 genomic regions (SLC16A5 and ZNF206) with frequent aberrant methylation patterns in NB. The methylation levels of SLC16A5 and ZNF206 were low compared to the control adrenal medullas. The SLC16A5 methylation level (cut-off point, 13.25%) was associated with age at diagnosis, disease stage, and Shimada classification but not with MYCN amplification. The ZNF206 methylation level (cut-off point, 68.80%) was associated with all of the prognostic factors analyzed. Although the methylation levels at these regions did not reach statistical significance in their association with prognosis in mono-variant analysis, patients with both hypomethylation of SLC16A5 and hypermethylation of ZNF206 had a significantly prolonged event-free survival, when these two variables were analyzed together. CONCLUSIONS: We demonstrated that two tDMRs frequently displayed altered methylation patterns in the NB genome, suggesting their distinct involvement in NB development/differentiation. The combined analysis of these two regions could serve as a diagnostic biomarker for poor clinical outcome.