Laparoscopic Diaphragmatic Hemiplication in Children with Acquired Diaphragmatic Eventration After Congenital Heart Surgery.

PURPOSE: To report our technique and experiences in the laparoscopic diaphragmatic hemiplication (LDHP) in children with acquired diaphragmatic eventration after congenital heart surgery. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: Between October 2007 to December 2013, 3498 children with congenital heart disease underwent cardiac surgery in our hospital, and 40 (1.14%) of them had unilateral diaphragmatic elevation on postoperative chest X-ray (mean elevation, 2.5 ± 0.26 intercostal spaces [ICS]) and were diagnosed as having diaphragmatic eventration due to diaphragmatic hemiparesis as a result of phrenic nerve injury. These 40 patients were followed up, and 22 of them recovered after conservative treatment; the other 18 needed surgical intervention. We conducted a retrospective study relating to surgical indications, surgical technique, complications, and outcomes. RESULTS: There were 24 boys and 16 girls with a mean age of 10.0 ± 4.5 months old (range, 2 months-4 years). Twenty-two patients did not require surgical intervention. Eighteen patients underwent LDHP (12 cases left-sided and 6 cases right-sided); 2 of them had emergency LDHP with a history of ventilator dependency after cardiac surgery, and 16 of them had planned LDHP with a history of recurrent pneumonia and dyspnea. The operative time was 60 ± 7.9 minutes (range, 45-105 minutes), with minimal blood loss (3 ± 1.5 mL [range, 1-9 mL]), no intra- or postoperative complications, and postoperative hospital stay of 7 ± 1.3 days (range, 5-10 days). The diaphragmatic drop was 2.4 ± 0.2 (range, 2-4 ICS) without recurrence, and the follow-up time for all 40 patients was 14.8 ± 1.6 months (range, 11-36 months). CONCLUSIONS: Our study further shows that LDHP is feasible and effective in selected patients after congenital heart surgery. Our technique is convenient and provides excellent clinical and radiological results.

Clinical outcomes and ergonomics analysis of three laparoscopic techniques for Hirschsprung's disease.

AIM: To report the clinical outcomes and ergonomics analysis of three laparoscopic approaches in the management of Hirschsprung's disease (HD). METHODS: There were 90 pediatric patients (63 boys, 27 girls; mean age: 3.6 ± 2.7 mo; range: 1.0-90.2 mo) who underwent laparoscopic endorectal pull-through Soave procedures for short- and long-segment HD in our hospital. Three laparoscopic approaches were used: conventional laparoscopic pull-through (CLP) in 30 patients between 2009 and 2013, single-incision laparoscopic pull-through (SILP) in 28 patients between 2010 and 2013, and hybrid single-incision laparoscopic pull-through (H-SILP) in 32 patients between 2011 and 2013. We applied the hybrid version of the single-incision approach in 2011 to preserve the cosmetic advantage of SILP and the ergonomic advantage of CLP. We retrospectively analyzed the clinical data, cosmetic results, and ergonomics of these three approaches to have a better understanding of the selection of one approach over another. RESULTS: The CLP, SILP, and H-SILP groups were similar in regard to age, sex, transition zone, blood loss, hospital stay, and intraoperative complications. Early and late postoperative results were not different, with equal daily defecation frequency and postoperative complications. No conversion to open technique was needed and none of the patients had recurrent constipation. With proper training, the ergonomics challenges were overcome and similar operative times were registered for the general operative time in the patients < 1 year of age and the short-segment HD patients. However, significantly shorter operative times were registered compared to SILP for patients > 1 year of age (CLP and H-SILP: 120 ± 15 min and 119 ± 12 min, respectively, vs 140 ± 7 min; P < 0.05) and for long-segment HD patients (152 ± 3.5 min and 154 ± 3.6 min, respectively, vs 176 ± 2.3 min; P < 0.05). The best cosmetic result was registered with the SILP (scarless), followed by the H-SILP (near scarless appearance) and the CLP (visible scars) procedures. CONCLUSION: Based on the results, we believed that the laparoscopic approach should be selected according to the age, transition zone, and desired cosmetic result.