Cirugía pediátrica : organo oficial de la Sociedad Española de Cirugía Pediátrica
-
Abdominal injuries are frequent in children, and the early assessment is the best guaranty for an accurate management. Although computed tomography (TAC) has been considered the diagnostic modality of choice for children with blunt abdominal trauma, is a costly radiological test that requires the patients be stable and sedated. The aim of this study is to evaluate the usefulness of abdominal ultrasonography, a quick, non-invasive technique, of low cost, and repeatable, during the initial assessment of these patients, arguing about the possibility of replace TAC in the detection of intra-abdominal posttraumatic injury. ⋯ The sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, and negative predictive value of the TAC were 92.85%, 100%, 100%, and 66% respectively. We conclude that TAC is the imaging modality of choice in children with severe abdominal trauma but ultrasonography is a reasonable technique to arouse diagnostic suspicion, that can avoid additional tomographic studies. Abdominal computed tomography must be reserved for the hemodynamically stable children with anormal ultrasonographic findings or with suspected injuries by a clinical evolution that gone unnoticed in the previous study.
-
To see the relationship of the lingual frenum with speech and other oral functions, evaluating the surgical indications and the results of frenectomy. ⋯ The presence of a nondisturbing lingual frenulum does not justify its surgical section, the frenectomy is indicated only in presence of altered oro-lingual functions caused by the tongue-tie such as: speech problems, errors of bite and deglutition, lingual dysfunction and anomalous oral habits.
-
Conventional external beam radiation has proved its profit in pediatric tumors; but its complications have limited it in therapeutical approach. Intraoperative radiotherapy delivers a high single dose in residual tumor or high risk areas during surgery. In our center, during last two years, 7 patients have been candidates to surgery with intraoperative radiotherapy (the age range was between 5 months-17 years; mean 8.5 years). ⋯ The radiation doses ranged from 500 cGyto-1200 cGy. Local control tumor was achieved in 4 patients and no-complications were present secondary to surgery or intraoperative radiotherapy. Intraoperative radiotherapy seems to be a feasible treatment which might promote local control in pediatric tumors with protection of normal tissues and could be an excellent complement in special cases.
-
The attendance respiratory extracorporeal (AREC) is an oxygenation form for membrane extracorporeal with flow tidal and veno-venous cannula described by Chevalier et al. in 1990. We present our clinical experience so much with AREC in system veno-venous flow tidal as veno-arterial. From october of 1997 until the present time we have treated three patients by means AREC, in two patients with veno-venous system and in one veno-arterial. In all the cases bomb Collin-Cardio has been used with bladder for flow tidal and membrane of oxygenation of 0.8 m2, being inserted a system of alternative clamp of the branches of the circuit. The system AREC has been used in two patients with congenial diaphragmatic hernia, right in a case and left in the other one. The gestational age was of 38 and 36 weeks with a weight of 3,200 and 2,900 grams. Both patients were remitted from other centers by failure of the conventional treatment. In both cases the indication of AREC was the sharp deterioration of the general state with failure of the conservative treatment, being the previous oxygenation index of 109 and 112. The third patient precised veno-arterial AREC for ventricular failure during the correction of the congenital heart disease, this patient was 5 month old and the weight was 5,000 grams. The duration of AREC in the cases of congenital diaphragmatic hernia was of 14 and 10 days. In a patient the diaphragmatic hernia was corrected at the 55 hours of being in AREC. In the second case the hernia had been surgical corrected in another center. The exit of AREC in both cases carries out after a discreet improvement of the lung function. Both patients died at the 24 and 48 hours of the decannulation for cerebral hemorrhage and respiratory failure. The third patient stayed stable in veno-arterial AREC during 4 days, with hemodynamic support of 130 ml/kg/min, retiring the support to present absence of cerebral activity. ⋯ With the derived limitations of the extreme severity of the treated cases and the current phase of beginning of the AREC team, we think that it is a useful and available technique in our country, for the handling of patient with cardiorespiratory failure while waiting for improvement of their base pathology.
-
We developed the first Spanish Pediatric Trauma Registry in order to collect and evaluate information concerning aspects of injuries in our pediatric population. ⋯ The utility of this Registry is to know the epidemiology of our injured pediatric population, to review patient care, to develop prevention programs and to compare results with other centers so potential deficiencies can be identified and corrected.