Giant omphalocele: A novel approach for primary repair in the neonatal period using botulinum toxin.

INTRODUCTION: Giant omphalocele (GO) is a complex condition for which many surgical treatments have been developed; however, no consensus on its treatment has been reached. The benefits and efficacy of botulinum toxin A (BTA) in the repair of large abdominal wall defects in adults has been proven, and its reported use in children has recently grown. The goal of this study is to describe a novel technique for primary repair of GO using BTA during the neonatal period and report our initial experience. METHODS: patients were followed from August 2020 to July 2022. BTA was applied to the lateral abdominal wall in the first days of life followed by surgical repair of the abdominal defect. RESULTS: while awaiting surgery, patients had minimal manipulation, without requiring mechanical ventilation, were on full enteral feeding, and in contact with their parents. The midline was approximated without tension and without the need for additional techniques or the use of a prosthesis. Patients were discharged with repaired defects. CONCLUSION: this approach represents a middle ground between staged and the nonoperative delayed repairs. It does not require aggressive interventions early in life, allowing maintenance of mother-child bonding and discharge of the patient with a repaired defect without the need for additional techniques or the use of a prosthesis. We believe that this technique should be considered as a new possible asset when managing this complex condition.

Giant omphalocele: A novel approach for primary repair in the neonatal period using botulinum toxin / Onfalocele gigante: Uma nova abordagem para reparo primário no período neonatal utilizando toxina botulínica

ABSTRACT Introduction: Giant omphalocele (GO) is a complex condition for which many surgical treatments have been developed; however, no consensus on its treatment has been reached. The benefits and efficacy of botulinum toxin A (BTA) in the repair of large abdominal wall defects in adults has been proven, and its reported use in children has recently grown. The goal of this study is to describe a novel technique for primary repair of GO using BTA during the neonatal period and report our initial experience. Methods: patients were followed from August 2020 to July 2022. BTA was applied to the lateral abdominal wall in the first days of life followed by surgical repair of the abdominal defect. Results: while awaiting surgery, patients had minimal manipulation, without requiring mechanical ventilation, were on full enteral feeding, and in contact with their parents. The midline was approximated without tension and without the need for additional techniques or the use of a prosthesis. Patients were discharged with repaired defects. Conclusion: this approach represents a middle ground between staged and the nonoperative delayed repairs. It does not require aggressive interventions early in life, allowing maintenance of mother-child bonding and discharge of the patient with a repaired defect without the need for additional techniques or the use of a prosthesis. We believe that this technique should be considered as a new possible asset when managing this complex condition.

RESUMO Introdução: onfalocele gigante (OG) é uma condição complexa para a qual muitas alternativas terapêuticas foram desenvolvidas; no entanto, não há consenso sobre qual o melhor tratamento. Os benefícios e eficácia da toxina botulínica A (TBA) no reparo de grandes defeitos da parede abdominal em adultos foram comprovados, e o relato de uso em crianças cresceu recentemente. O objetivo deste estudo é descrever uma nova técnica para reparo primário de OG utilizando TBA durante o período neonatal e relatar nossa experiência inicial. Métodos: os pacientes foram acompanhados de agosto de 2020 a julho de 2022. A TBA foi aplicada na parede abdominal lateral nos primeiros dias de vida, seguida de correção cirúrgica do defeito abdominal. Resultados: enquanto aguardavam a cirurgia, os pacientes tiveram mínima manipulação, sem ser exigida ventilação mecânica, permaneceram em alimentação enteral plena e mantiveram contato com os pais. A linha média foi aproximada sem tensão e sem necessidade de técnicas adicionais ou uso de prótese. Os pacientes receberam alta com o defeito reparado. Conclusão: essa abordagem representa um meio-termo entre o reparo estagiado e o tratamento não-operatório. Não requer intervenções agressivas no início da vida, permitindo a manutenção do vínculo materno-infantil e a alta do paciente com defeito reparado sem a necessidade de uso de técnicas adicionais ou prótese. Acreditamos que esta técnica deva ser considerada como um novo possível recurso no manejo desta complexa condição.

Experimental use of new absorbable tracheal stent.

BACKGROUND/PURPOSE: Silicone and metallic stents are not effective in children with tracheobronchial stenosis or tracheomalacia. Herein, we aimed to evaluate the clinical manifestations and histological reaction of rabbit trachea to the presence of a new poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) with polyisoprene (PLGA/PI) polymer absorbable stent. METHODS: Fourteen adult white rabbits (weight, 3.0-3.5kg) were randomly assigned to three groups: Group I (n=6): PLGA/PI spiral stent; Group II (n=6): PLGA/PI fragment; and Group III (n=2): controls. After a longitudinal incision on three cervical tracheal rings, the stents and fragments were inserted into the trachea and fixed onto the lateral wall with nonabsorbable sutures. RESULTS: The stented group showed significantly more stridor at rest (p=0.0041), agitation (p=0.014), and use of accessory muscles (p=0.0002) and required more emergency endoscopies than the fragment group. Further, it showed significantly more remarkable histological inflammatory damage than the fragment and control groups (p=0.002). CONCLUSIONS: The new PLGA/PI polymeric stent implanted into the trachea of rabbits caused more clinical manifestations and histologically verified inflammatory reaction than the PLGA/PI polymeric fragment. Future studies should be aimed at reducing the stent-wall thickness.

Ischemic versus pharmacologic hepatic preconditioning.

BACKGROUND: Hepatic ischemia-reperfusion injury has a significant impact on liver resection and transplantation. Many strategies have been developed to reduce the effects of ischemia-reperfusion injury, including pharmacologic and ischemic preconditioning; however, studies comparing these two methods are lacking. MATERIAL AND METHODS: An experimental study was performed in a swine model. Eighteen swine were randomly assigned to three different groups: an ischemic preconditioning (IschPC) group, a pharmacologic preconditioning (PharmPC) group, and a control group. All animals underwent a 40-min liver ischemia, followed by 40 min of reperfusion. The IschPC group received a short period of ischemia (10 min) and a short period of reperfusion (15 min) before prolonged ischemia. The PharmPC group received inhaled sevoflurane for 30 min before prolonged ischemia. The control group did not receive any intervention before prolonged ischemia. Blood samples and liver tissue were obtained after ischemic and reperfusion periods. Injury was evaluated by measure of DNA damage (using COMET assay) and serum biochemical markers (transaminases, alkaline phosphatase, amylase, bilirubin, and C-reactive protein [CRP]). RESULTS: No significant difference was found in serum biochemical markers, except for the C-reactive protein level that was lower in the PharmPC group than in the control group soon after hepatic ischemia. Soon after prolonged ischemia, DNA damage index, both in blood samples and in liver tissue samples, was similar among the groups. However, an increase in DNA damage after reperfusion was higher in the control group than in the PharmPC group (P < 0.05). The increase in DNA damage in the IschPC group was half of that observed in the control, but this difference was not statistically significant. CONCLUSIONS: Our results suggest an early protective effect of PharmPC (lower levels of C-reactive protein soon after ischemia). The protective effect observed after reperfusion was higher with PharmPC than with ischemic preconditioning. The simultaneous use of both methods could potentiate protection for ischemia-reperfusion.

Surgical treatment for pediatric mediastinal neurogenic tumors.

BACKGROUND: Mediastinal neurogenic tumors are relatively rare in children, and controversies persist about the best surgical approach and long-term survival. METHODS: With ethics approval we reviewed the case notes of 43 consecutive children (22 boys) operated on for mediastinal neurogenic tumor in two different institutions from March 1998 to June 2009. RESULTS: The average age at diagnosis was 3 years (range, 0.6 to 4.7 years). Of the 43 operated tumors, 20 were neuroblastomas (47%), 13 were ganglioneuroblastomas (30%), and 10 were ganglioneuromas (23%). Only 6 (14%) of these tumors were discovered incidentally; the remaining 37 (86%) presented symptomatically: cough (30%), dyspnea (21%), wheezing (11.6%), neurologic spinal compression (7%), dancing eyes syndrome (7%), and Horner syndrome (7%). Tumor resection was undertaken by open operation in 38 cases (88%) and by thoracoscopy in 5 cases (12%). The children operated on by means of thoracoscopy had significantly smaller tumors (p = 0.01) and shorter duration of thoracic drain (p = 0.011) and hospitalization (p = 0.016) than those who were operated on by thoracotomy. There was not any surgical death. Postoperative complications occurred in 11 children (25.6%). Tumor recurrence occurred in 4 children (9.3%) operated on by open surgery, and there were 2 deaths of children with neuroblastoma. The overall survival was 95.4% in an average follow-up of 3.5 years (range, 0.7 to 4.4 years). CONCLUSIONS: Surgical resection of children with mediastinal neurogenic tumors treated at two international tertiary hospitals was safe, and the thoracoscopic approach was appropriate for small tumors. The long-term survival was higher when compared with those reported for other primary neurogenic tumor locations.

Induction of pleural empyema in rats by thoracentesis with intrapleural pressure monitoring.

Our objective was to evaluate experimental induction of empyema in rats by intrapleural inoculation of Staphylococcus aureus by means of thoracentesis with pleural pressure monitoring. Forty female albino Wistar rats, anesthetized with droperidol and fentanyl, underwent intrapleural inoculation of a 0.2-ml solution. Group I ( N=25) received 10(10) colony-forming units/ml of Staphylococcus aureus cultivated in brain-heart infusion agar (BHI); group II (N = 15), the control group, received sterile BHI agar. Rats were inoculated after right hemithorax thoracentesis with a needle connected to an oscilloscope for pressure monitoring to confirm that the needle was inside the pleural space. Animals were killed after 3 (groups Ia and IIa) to 5 (groups Ib and IIb) days with sodium pentobarbital. The macroscopic changes, amount of pleural fluid, and anatomopathological aspects of pleura and lungs were recorded, as well as death causes and bacteriological findings of pleural fluid for animals that died before the time established for euthanasia. In group I, three animals died of thoracentesis complications, and five others died in the first 24 h due to septicemia; blood and spleen cultures isolated the bacteria previously inoculated. In group II, there was one death of unknown cause. Of the 17 rats inoculated with bacteria, nine (group Ia) were killed on the 3rd day; all had bacteria in pleural fluid (volume 0.5-3.8 ml). The other eight rats (group Ib) were killed on the 5th day; three (39.5%) had pleural fluid with bacteria (0.5-1.5 ml), and five (60.5%) had no pleural fluid. Rats from group II killed on the 3rd (group IIa) and 5th (group IIb) days had no pleural fluid. Pathologic examination revealed inflammatory infiltrate (93.75%) and fibrin (18.75%) in pleura, and inflammatory interstitial infiltrate (12.5%) in the right lung in group I; no changes were observed in 93.3% of the lungs in group II. Macroscopic examination revealed only turbid and bloody pleural fluid (class I) without pleural adhesions. Pleural inflammatory infiltrate was found in rats that received the bacteria but had no fluid at necropsy (class 0). One control rat, although with no clinical signs of disease or pleural fluid, had signs of pleural and pulmonary infection at necropsy. We conclude that empyema may be induced in rats by the inoculation of Staphylococcus aureus by means of thoracentesis with pleural pressure monitoring. The highest amount of pleural fluid was observed 3 days after bacterial inoculation.

Bronchoscopy and tracheotomy removal of bronchial foreign body.

On rare occasions, endoscopic extraction of airway foreign bodies is not feasible or may be associated with large risk for the patient; in those situations, open surgery is indicated. The authors report a case of an 8-year-old boy presenting with an airway foreign body that was too large to be extracted through the subglottic region. After several attempts, extraction was accomplished through a tracheotomy with bronchoscopic control. After removal, the cervical opening was closed. Since the tracheal suture was firm and without air leaks, a tracheostomy cannula was not placed. The tracheal tube was removed after 3 days. Follow-up 1 month after the procedure showed that all respiratory symptoms had disappeared.

Supraglotoplastia endoscópica em crianças com laringomalacia grave com e sem doença neurológica associada / Endoscopic supraglottoplasty in children with severe laryngomalacia with and without neurological impairment

Objetivo: Descrever as indicações e resultados da supraglotoplastia endoscópica em crianças com e sem lesão neurológica que apresentavam laringomalacia grave. Métodos: estudo retrospectivo de 8 crianças com laringomalacia grave submetidas a supraglotoplastia endoscópica com material de microcirurgia. Quatro crianças tinham paralisia cerebral (todas masculinas, idade média 6 anos) e 4 eram crianças sem doença neurológica (3 femininas, idade média de 11,5 meses). As indicações da cirurgia foram dificuldade respiratória em repouso e/ou esforço, dificuldade de deglutiçào, deficiência de crescimento e baixa saturação transcutânea de oxigênio. Estudo polissonográfico realizado nas últimas duas crianças mostrou dessaturação na oximetria, apnéia e hipoventilação durante o sono. As crianças receberam corticóide e antibiótico no pré-operatório. Resultados: todas as crianças sem doença neurológica apresentaram melhora significativa do estridor e da obstrução ventilatória. Das crianças com paralisia cerebral, uma necessitou traqueostomia logo após a cirurgia por edema e tecido de granulação supraglótico. As outras três apresentaram melhora clínica inicial, mas pioraram progressivamente, apesar da realização de outros procedimentos: uma necessitou nova supraglotoplastia após 6 meses; outra necessitou traqueostomia após 7 meses. Aquelas sem traqueostomias persistem com obstrução ventilatória grave. Não foi observada complicação do procedimento cirúrgico. Conclusões: 1) a supraglotoplastia é bem tolerada e sem complicações na criança; 2) a supraglotoplastia, neste estudo, mostrou-se eficaz no tratamento da laringomalacia grave em crianças sem paralisia cerebral; entretanto, a supraglotoplastia não melhorou a obstrução ventilatória de crianças com paralisia cerebral e laringomalacia grave

Pleuroscopia com mediastinoscópio em crianças com derrame parapneumônico complicado / Thoracoscopy with mediastinoscope in pediatric complicated parapneumonic effusion

Objetivo: Avaliar nossa experiência com a pleroscopia com mediastinoscópio em crianças com derrame parapneumônico complicado. Métodos: Foi realizada revisão retrospectiva de prontuário de sete crianças submetidas à pleuroscopia no Hospital de Clínicas de Porto Alegre, no período de Julho/1995 a Junho/1997. O procedimento foi realizado com mediastinoscópio especialmente contruído para uso em crianças. Resultados: Foram estudados seis meninos e uma menina. O procedimento foi realizado sob anestesia geral, sem intubação seletiva. Seis crianças tinham sido previamente submetidas à drenagem torácica fechada; uma realizou pleuroscopia como procedimento inicial. Não foi observada nenhuma complicação cirúrgica da pleuroroscopia. Após o procedimento, duas crianças apresentaram recorrência do derrame pleural e febre persistente, tendo sido necessária a realização de drenagem torácica aberta (pleurostomia); duas outras apresentaram pequeno derrame pleural residual assintomático, que não necessitou tratamento. Conclusão: A Pleuroscopia com mediastinoscópico é segura, eficaz e sem complicações graves, sendo útil para remoção do líquido e das septações pleurais em derrames parapneumônicos compliçoes em fase fibrinopurulenta, permitindo a expansão completa do pulmão

Lesöes cutâneas na histoplasmose disseminada progressiva associada com SIDA / Skin lesions in progressive disseminated histoplasmosis associated with AIDS

O polimorfismo das manifestaçoes clínicas na histoplasmose disseminada progressiva associada com SIDA, em especial das lesoes cutâneas, pode confundir o clínico e o patologista no diagnóstico da mucose. Relatamos um caso desta forma clínica da micose, diagnosticada pelo exame direto e histológico e cultivos de aspirado de nódulo subcutâneo e biópsia de pele. Técnicas especiais de coloraçao e de cultivo das amostras devem ser utilizadas, mesmo em zonas consideradas de baixa endemicidade da histoplasmose, devido à possibilidade da ocorrência de infecçoes combinadas numa mesma lesao. Sao comentadas as demais manifestaçoes desta forma clínica da micose.