The purpose of this study is to analyze the early experience of the laparoscopic adhesiolysis for the intestinal obstruction due to postoperative adhesion. Seven patients were included in this study. The median age of those patients was 13, and there were 3 males and 4 females. Previous diagnosis and surgical procedure were various in seven cases, including small bowel resection with tapering enteroplasty, Boix-Ochoa fundopl ication, Ladd's procedure with appendectomy, mesenteric tumor resection with small bowel anastomosis, ileocecal resection and anastomosis, primary gastric repair, and both high ligation. A successful laparoscopic adhesiolysis was performed in one who had high ligation for inguinal hernia and had a single band adhesion. Six out of 7 (86%) cases needed to convert open surgery due to multiple and dense type of adhesion. In conclusion, laparoscopic approach with postoperative small bowel adhesion seems safe. However, it might be prudently considered because of high rates of conversion in children.
Labial adhesion in prepubertal girls is a common gynecologic problems. The labia minora are fused by thin transparent or thick fibrous membrane in the midline from the clitoris to posterior fourchet. The prevalence of labial adhesion may be even greater because many children with labial fusions are asymptomatic and these cases remain unreported. They are often unrecognized by physician and parents because most of symptomatic children complained urinary symptoms. The authors experienced 2 cases of labial adhesion in girls; one asymptomatic partial fusion and the other symptomatic complete fusion. These lesions were treated successfully by mechanical separation of labial adhesion and petroleum ointment (Vaseline) application without recurrence in follow-ups.
Infantile hypertrophic pyloric stenosis (IHPS) a common childhood disorders characterized by nonbilious projectile vomiting, an olive shaped mass in the right upper quadrant of the abdomen and visible gastric peristaltic wave in the upper abdomen. Its etiology and pathogenesis are not clear but abnormal nerve distribution of the pylorus has been postulated2-6. We performed immunocytochemical staning to the pyloric muscle from 10 IHPS and 3 controls patients, utilizing specific monoclonal antibody to NCAM(neural cell adhesion molecule). In IHPS patients, the number of NCAM protein immunoreactive nerve fibers were less than that in normal subjects. Auerbach myenteric plexuse was well developed and interbundle nerve plexuse was present but nerve fibers supplying individual muscle cells in smooth muscle bundles were poorly developed. These results indicate reduction of innervation in smooth muscles in IHPS patients that possibly contributes to the pathogenesis of IHPS.