Laparoscopic surgery has become popular in the past few decades, owing to less postoperative pain, fast recovery, and better cosmetic outcomes. The laparoscopic approach has been employed in pediatric surgery for the same reasons. After the first attempts of single incision laparoscopic appendectomy in pediatrics in 1998, single incision laparoscopic surgery (SILS) has recently been proven to be safe and feasible for the pediatric population. However, limitations have been reported for SILS, such as the wide learning curve, compared to standard laparoscopic surgery, and the restricted number of hospitals with surgical training programs including SILS. In this study, we intend to present our initial experiences with SILS in children, and to describe the technique, instruments used, and outcomes. This is a retrospective study of 71 pediatric patients who underwent SILS, at a tertiary medical center, between September, 2012 and August, 2013. Electronic medical records were reviewed for demographics, type of procedure, operation time, use of additional ports, conversion to open surgery, complications and hospital stay. Additional ports were inserted in 4 cases, for the purpose of traction. Postoperative complications were noted in 13 cases, which were mostly related to wound inflammation or formation of granulation tissue. According to our analyses, patients with complications had significantly longer use and more frequent use of pain killers. Notwithstanding the small sample size, many of the procedures performed in pediatric patients seem to be possible with SILS.

Hickman catheters are tunneled central venous catheters used for long-term venous access in children with malignancies. The appropriate management for various kinds of catheter related complications has become a major issue. We retrospectively analyzed the clinical, demographic, and surgical characteristics in 154 pediatric hemato-oncology patients who underwent Hickman catheter insertion between January 2005 and December 2009. There were 92 boys and 62 girls. The mean age at surgery was 7.6±5.1 years old. The mean operation time was 67.4±21.3 minutes and C-arm fluoroscopy was used in 47(30.5%). The causes of Hickman catheter removal were termination of use in 82 (57.3%), catheter related bloodstream infection in 44(30.8%), mechanical malfunction in 11(7.7%), and accidents in 6(4.2%). Univariate and multivariate analysis for associated factors with catheter related bloodstream infection showed that there were no statistically significant associated factors with catheter related infection complications. All cases except two showed clinical improvement with catheter removal and relevant antibiotics treatment. The mean catheter maintenance period in patients of catheter removal without complications was 214.9±140.2 days. And, The mean catheter maintenance period in patients of late catheter related bloodstream infection was 198.0±116.0 days. These data suggest that it is important to remove Hickman catheter as soon as possible after the termination of use. When symptoms and signs of complications were noticed, prompt diagnostic approach and management can lead to clinical improvements.

Intramuscular injection(IM) into the gluteal muscles is a common route of medication, but may lead to complications. A retrospective review of 32 patients who required surgical treatment for local complications of buttock injections in children was made at the Taegu Fatima Hospital during a seven-year ninemonth period (March 1990 to December 1997). Local complications included acute inflammation, cellulitis and abscess(71.9 %), and fat necrosis(21.9 %), and injection granuloma(6.2 %). Over the half of injections were on the upper and outer quadrant of the buttock, but the other 43.7 % were in the upper and inner or lower and outer quadrant which are considered unsuitable sites for intramuscular injection. The majority of complications developed within fat tissue (90.6 %) rather than within muscle(9.4 %). Two-thirds of the patients were under 2 years of age, this suggests that it is technically difficult to accurately administer 1M injections in small children because muscle mass is smaller compared to subcutaneous. In addition subcutaneous fat is more susceptible to chemical irritation. Staph. aureus was the predominant organism, isolated in 84.6 % of the patients with abscesses. Treatment consisted of needle aspiration, incision and drainage, curettage, or surgical excision. In conclusion, the major factor that contributes to complications following 1M of the buttock appears to be the inadvertent intrafat rather than of 1M injection. Accurate injection into the muscles based on a knowledge of pelvic anatomy as well as the potential complications is necessary to prevent complications.