Routine second trimester ultrasound screening for prenatal detection of fetal malformations in Sassari University Hospital, Italy: 23 years of experience in 42,256 pregnancies.

OBJECTIVE: To establish, for a determined period of time, the effectiveness of a program of ultrasound screening in detecting fetal malformations in prenatal time. To assess the sensitivity, the specificity, the positive and the negative predictive value of the ultrasound screening. To examine the trend of such indexes of diagnostic accuracy in a long time period. STUDY DESIGN: The patients admitted to the study had effected at least one ultrasound examination within the second trimester of pregnancy (< or =23 gestational weeks). The examined pregnant women were 42,256 and the period of reference ranged from January 1981 to December 2004. All patients delivered in Gynecologic and Obstetric Clinic of Sassari University, Sassari, Italy. RESULTS: In the considered period were reported 1050/42,256 (2.48%) cases of fetal malformations, of which 974 single and 76 multiple malformations. The cases of malformations diagnosed in prenatal period were 578/1050 (55.05%), of which 65/578 (11.24%) multiple anomalies. The overall sensitivity was 55.05% (95% confidence interval: 52-58%), with a variability from the 32.95% (cardiovascular system) to 81.05% (central nervous system) in relationship to the typology of the examined apparatus. The overall specificity was 99.88% (95% confidence interval: 98-99.9%), the predictive positive value 91.89% (95% confidence interval: 89-93%) and the negative predictive value 98.87% (95% confidence interval: 95-99%). CONCLUSION: The sensitivity of the ultrasound screening undoubtedly appeared to be satisfactory. We believe that, for the examination of some apparatuses, as for the cardiovascular apparatus, with the extension of the standard examination (four-chamber view) to further plans of scanning, sensitivity could subsequently be improved.

Perimortem cesarean delivery 30 minutes after a laboring patient jumped from a fourth-floor window: baby survives and is normal at age 4 years.

We describe the first case of a perimortem cesarean section on a patient who committed suicide during labor by jumping from the fourth-floor window of the labor ward. The cesarean section was performed 30 minutes after the death of the woman, and a child of 3037 g was born with an Apgar score of 0 at 1 minute. Today, 4 years later, the baby is well and has no apparent neurological problems.

Phimosis. Preputial plasty using transversal widening on the dorsal side with EMLA local anesthetic cream.

BACKGROUND/PURPOSE: In the United States, the treatment of choice for the correction of phimosis is circumcision, whereas in European countries, the condition is usually treated by preputial plasty using Duhamel's method or modified versions. We report our experience in correcting phimosis by preputial plasty using transversal widening on the dorsal side with EMLA local anesthetic cream. METHODS: Twenty-six patients with phimosis were operated on by preputial plasty, under local anesthesia with EMLA cream. A transversal incision is made on the dorsal side of the ring of prepuce, like 3 contiguous Ts, the middle one inverted with the long arm on the preputial mucosa side. The 2 small mucocutaneous flaps of the prepuce are separated and then sutured with interrupted stitches, thus transforming the incisions from T to V. RESULTS: No postoperative complications were observed. At 1-year follow-up, the cosmetic and functional results were satisfactory. CONCLUSIONS: The technique of preputial plasty that the authors present enlarges the stenotic ring of prepuce by a transversal widening on the dorsal side. The ring of prepuce obtained is wide and symmetrical on its dorsal and ventral sides and therefore cosmetically and functionally satisfactory. It is a good alternative to the more radical circumcision technique.

Accidental fetal lacerations during cesarean delivery: experience in an Italian level III university hospital.

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to investigate the incidence, type, location, and risk factors of accidental fetal lacerations during cesarean delivery. STUDY DESIGN: Total deliveries, cesarean deliveries, and neonatal records for documented accidental fetal lacerations were reviewed retrospectively in our level III university hospital. The gestational age, the presenting part of the fetus, the cesarean delivery indication, the type of incision, and the surgeon who performed the procedure were recorded. Cesarean deliveries were divided into scheduled, unscheduled, and emergency procedures. Fetal lacerations were divided into mild, moderate, and severe. Neonatal follow-up examinations regarding laceration sequelae were available for 6 months. RESULTS: Of 14926 deliveries, 3108 women were delivered by cesarean birth (20.82%). Neonatal records documented 97 accidental fetal lacerations. Of these accidental lacerations, 94 were mild; 2 were moderate, and 1 was severe. The overall rate of accidental fetal laceration per cesarean delivery was 3.12%; the accidental laceration rate in the cohort of fetuses was 2.46%. The crude odds ratios were 0.34 for scheduled procedures, 0.57 for unscheduled procedures, and 1.7 for emergency procedures. The risk for fetal accidental lacerations was higher in fetuses who underwent emergency cesarean birth and lower for unscheduled and scheduled cesarean births (P < .001). CONCLUSION: Fetal accidental laceration may occur during cesarean delivery; the incidence is significantly higher during emergency cesarean delivery compared with elective procedures. The patient should be counseled about the occurrence of fetal laceration during cesarean delivery to avoid litigation.

Pyloric atresia: a new operation to reconstruct the pyloric sphincter.

BACKGROUND/PURPOSE: The standard method of surgical correction of pyloric atresia "solid segment" type is a gastroduodenostomy that can in the long term cause bilious duodenogastric reflux. The authors report 2 cases of pyloric atresia in which the pyloric sphincter was reconstructed by a new technique of gastroduodenal mucosal advancement anastomosis. METHODS: Two premature babies with "solid segment"-type pyloric atresia, one with an associated junctional epidermolysis bullosa, underwent surgery for reconstruction of the pyloric sphincter. By a longitudinal incision of the atretic pylorus, the cul-de-sacs of gastric and duodenal mucosa were isolated in the respective gastric and duodenal sides, advanced into the opened pyloric canal, and sutured together using end-to-end anastomosis. The longitudinal pyloromyotomy then was closed above the reconstructed mucosal pyloric neocanal. RESULTS: The postoperative course was normal. At 7 years (patient 1) and 2 years (patient 2) after the operation, both are well, and no gastrointestinal disorders are present. Good competence of the pyloric sphincter has been confirmed by x-ray barium meal in both cases, and by HIDA technetium 99m hepatic scintiscan and esophagogastroduodenoscopy (EGD) with biopsy in patient 1. CONCLUSIONS: Our technique of surgical correction of pyloric atresia allows preservation of the pyloric sphincter, whose muscular layer, although hypoplastic, is present in these cases.