Minimally invasive treatment of pediatric head and neck dermoids: percutaneous drainage and radiofrequency coblation.

BACKGROUND: Dermoids are common benign head and neck cysts in children containing a variety of different skin elements. Current standard treatment is surgical removal that sometimes requires extensive dissection to ensure complete resection and often leaves unwanted facial scarring. A minimally invasive treatment alternative should offer a similar rate of success with a decrease in operative complexity, recovery time and postoperative scarring. OBJECTIVE: To assess the outcomes of our minimally invasive percutaneous treatment of head and neck dermoids, we reviewed our 9-year interventional radiology (IR) department experience. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The medical records, imaging and procedural details were reviewed from a cohort of pediatric patients with dermoids treated in our IR department from January 2009 through February 2018. Patients in the study underwent ultrasound (US)-guided cyst puncture, 3% Sotradecol (sodium tetradecyl sulfate [STS]) emulsification of the thick cyst contents allowing complete drainage, and radiofrequency coblation of the cyst wall. RESULTS: In this retrospective study, we report on 22 dermoids in 21 patients. The average patient age was 3 years. Twenty-one of the 22 dermoids were successfully treated for an overall success rate of 95%. Four intraosseous dermoids were successfully treated using computed tomography (CT) guidance instead of, or in addition to, US. Average follow-up time was 22 months. CONCLUSION: The combination of percutaneous cyst drainage using STS as an emulsifying agent followed by radiofrequency coblation is a safe, effective, minimally invasive treatment for pediatric patients with head and neck dermoids.

Percutaneous treatment of ranulas: ultrasound-guided drainage with salivary gland chemical ablation.

BACKGROUND: Ranulas are salivary pseudocysts in the floor of the mouth adjacent to damaged salivary glands. Current surgical management is drainage of the ranula with removal of the offending gland. An analogous percutaneous procedure could potentially offer similar treatment efficacy in a more minimally invasive way. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the outcomes of a cohort of patients with ranulas treated with percutaneous ranula aspiration and chemical ablation of the source salivary gland to see whether this technique could be proposed as a minimally invasive treatment alternative. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This retrospective single-center study evaluated 24 patients treated percutaneously for ranulas between January 2004 and December 2014. All patients were treated with percutaneous ranula aspiration and chemical ablation of the offending salivary gland. Treatment success and any complications were recorded. RESULTS: Complete ranula eradication was successfully accomplished in 87.5% of the patients with no complications. CONCLUSION: Initial results suggest that our technique of percutaneous aspiration of ranulas and chemical ablation of the source salivary gland is safe and effective.

Comparison of 2D BLADE Turbo Gradient- and Spin-Echo and 2D Spin-Echo Echo-Planar Diffusion-Weighted Brain MRI at 3 T: Preliminary Experience in Children.

RATIONALE AND OBJECTIVES: We describe our preliminary experience using a 2D turbo gradient- and spin-echo (TGSE) diffusion-weighted (DW) pulse sequence with non-Cartesian BLADE trajectory at 3 T in pediatric patients. We compared the TGSE BLADE to conventional DW spin-echo echo-planar imaging (SE-EPI) in pediatric brain imaging, assessing the presence of artifacts from signal pile-ups, geometric distortion, motion, susceptibility from air-tissue interface, shunts and orthodontia, and diagnostic image quality. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Data were acquired in 53 patients (10.4 ± 7.9 years). All DW imaging data were acquired precontrast, with SE-EPI first. A four-point scale for rating was used-1 (best) and 4 (worst). A neuroradiologist scored the two sequences and further noted whether the TGSE BLADE approach or SE-EPI was preferred in each case. Apparent diffusion coefficients were compared quantitatively between the two sequences in a subset of 16 patients, in 41 separate regions of interests including caudate nucleus, putamen, globus pallidus, thalamus, and pathological areas. RESULTS: In 43.4% of the cases, TGSE BLADE was preferred; in 49.1% of the cases, both sequences were preferred equally. Average scores for SE-EPI were 2.2 ± 0.8 versus TGSE's 1.2 ± 0.4 in assessing diagnostic quality (p < 0.05). Motion artifacts were minimal on both sequences in 92.5% of the cases. In the TGSE BLADE scores, no case received a "4" for significant artifacts with marginally acceptable image quality. Apparent diffusion coefficients values between the two sequences were statistically similar, with a linear regression slope of 0.92 (r2 = 0.97). CONCLUSION: TGSE BLADE DW imaging exhibited less geometric distortion in the brain and reduced signal pile-ups in areas of high susceptibility than conventional SE-EPI.

Percutaneous Salivary Gland Ablation using Ethanol in a Rat Model.

OBJECTIVES: Sialorrhea is a common health and psychosocial problem for children with neuromuscular dysfunction secondary to a variety of disorders such as cerebral palsy. Current accepted treatments include the injection of botulinum toxin into the submandibular glands for temporary symptom relief. The purpose of this study is to demonstrate the feasibility of percutaneous ethanol injection for longer lasting salivary gland ablation in an animal model. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Twenty rats were used in this study. In each rat, 98% ethanol was injected into the right submandibular gland under ultrasound guidance. No intervention was performed on the left gland, which served as the control. Ten rats were sacrificed and glands evaluated at three weeks, with the remaining 10 rats sacrificed and evaluated at three months. Unpaired, 1-tailed T-tests were used to analyse the data. RESULTS: Ethanol injections induced a significant and sustained reduction in salivary gland size. Treated glands were 41% smaller by mass than untreated controls in the 10 rats sacrificed at three weeks (P < 0.001). Treated glands were 43% smaller by mass than untreated controls in the 10 rats sacrificed at three months (P < 0.001). Qualitative histologic analysis demonstrated extensive parenchymal damage, inflammation, and fibrosis at both three week and three month time points. CONCLUSIONS: Using a rat model, we demonstrated dramatic and sustained submandibular gland damage after percutaneous injection of ethanol.

Patients exposed to diagnostic head and neck radiation for the management of shunted hydrocephalus have a significant risk of developing thyroid nodules.

PURPOSE: External radiation to the head and neck can lead to an increased incidence of thyroid nodules. We investigated whether patients requiring repeated head and neck imaging for the management of shunted hydrocephalus had a higher incidence of ultrasound-detected thyroid nodules compared to reports of comparable age. METHODS: Patients treated at our institution for shunted hydrocephalus from 1990 to 2003 were contacted. Enroled patients underwent a thyroid ultrasound. Demographic data and radiation exposure history were obtained retrospectively. RESULTS: Thyroid nodules were identified sonographically in 15/112 patients (13.6 %). Patients with thyroid nodules were older (mean 24.3 ± 7.6 years) than those without (mean 18.4 ± 8.0 years) (p = 0.005). Those with a detectable thyroid nodule had a longer follow up time compared to those who did not (mean 21.9 ± 5.5 vs. 15.1 ± 7 years, respectively) (p = 0.018). CONCLUSION: Patients with shunted hydrocephalus are exposed to substantial head and neck radiation from diagnostic imaging and have a higher incidence of thyroid nodules detected by ultrasonography. These patients should be provided ongoing surveillance for detection of thyroid nodules and the possibility of malignancy.