Laparoscopic appendectomy (LA) has become a gold standard for children even in complicated appendicitis. The purpose of this study was to compare the postoperative surgical site infection rates between laparoscopic and open appendectomy (OA) group in pediatric complicated appendicitis.
A total of 1,158 pediatric patients (age ≤15 years) underwent operation for appendicitis over a period of 8 years. Among these patients, 274 patients (23.7%) were diagnosed with complicated appendicitis by radiologic, operative and pathologic findings, and their clinical outcomes were retrospectively analyzed.
Of the 274 patients with complicated appendicitis, 108 patients underwent LA and 166 patients underwent OA. Patients in the LA group returned to oral intake earlier (1.9 days vs. 2.7 days; p<0.01) and had a shorter hospital stay (5.0 days vs. 6.3 days; p<0.01). However, rate of postoperative intra-abdominal infection (organ/space surgical site infection) was higher in the LA group (LA 15/108 [13.9%] vs. OA 12/166 [7.2%]; p<0.01). Readmission rate was also higher in the LA group (LA 9/108 [8.3%] vs. OA 3/166 [1.8%]; p<0.01).
The minimally invasive laparoscopic technique has more advantages compared to the open procedure in terms of hospital stay and early recovery. However, intra-abdominal infection and readmission rates were higher in the laparoscopy group. Further studies should be performed to evaluate high rate of organ/space surgical infection rate of laparoscopic procedure in pediatric complicated appendicitis.
Laparoscopic hernia repair in children is still controversial. The aim of this study was to report our long-term results of the laparoscopic hernia technique, which is based on the same surgical principles as conventional open herniotomy.
Five hundred fourteen pediatric patients with inguinal hernia were included in this study under informed consent. All patients underwent a laparoscopic technique of sac transection and intracorporeal ligation. The asymptomatic contralateral inguinal ring was routinely explored and repaired if a patient had patent processus vaginalis on the contralateral side. Patients were prospectively followed for 5 years. Those who were lost to follow-up were excluded from the study. Perioperative complications and recurrences were evaluated.
The mean follow-up period was 29 months. Mean operation time was 27.5 minutes. Forty one percent of the patients had contralateral patent processus vaginalis. Only one hernia recurred (0.19%). We had one case of contralateral metachronous hernia (0.21%) during follow-up period.
The long-term follow-up results of our study revealed that laparoscopic hernia sac transection and ligation can be a safe and effective alternative for conventional herniorraphy.
Minimally invasive techniques for pediatric inguinal hernia repair have been evolving in recent years. We applied the laparoscopic method to repair pediatric inguinal hernia using the techniques of sac transection and intra-corporeal ligation. Between November 2008 and August 2010, 67 pediatric patients (47 boys and 20 girls) with inguinal hernias were included in this study. Postoperative activities, pain, and complication were checked prospectively at regular follow-up. One patient presented with clinically bilateral hernia, and three patients had metachronous hernias. Thirty-two cases out of 63 patients with unilateral hernias had a patent processus vaginalis on the contralateral side. Mean operation time was 35±11.4 minutes for unilateral hernias and 43±11 minutes for bilateral hernias. There were no intra-operative complications. One patient had a small hematoma on the groin postoperatively, which subsided spontaneously in a week. Recurrence and metachronous hernia were not found at follow up. In summary, laparoscopic inguinal repair in children is safe, easy to perform and has an additional advantage of contralateral exploration. Further studies should include long term follow-up.
Abdominal cerebrospinal fluid pseudocyst is an uncommon complication of ventriculoperitoneal shunt (VPS) performed for hydrocephalus. The incidence of VPS complications in children is higher than in adults. There are controversies and difficulties in the treatment of the abdominal pseudocyst. We report a case of abdominal pseudocyst complicating VPS in a boy. Partial excision of pseudocyst and replacement of the VP shunt were effective during a followup of 18 months postoperatively with no recurrence.
The term “Littre's hernia” was originally defined by Reinke in 1841 as “the presence of a Meckel's diverticulum in any hernia sac.” Littre's hernia is a very rare disease, which accounts for less than 1% of all Meckel's diverticula. We report a case of Littre's hernia experienced in a 45 day-old infant.
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