Suprapubic vesicostomy buttons: Indications, complications and bladder outcomes.

Introduction: Vesicostomy button drainage is a recognised alternative to clean intermittent catheterization (CIC) in children with urethral obstruction, sensate urethra or neurological/behavioural issues.

Aim: To report the indications, complications and long-term bladder functional outcomes in a 15-year cohort of patients with button vesicostomy.

Materials And Methods: AMT Mini one gastrostomy button was inserted via a surgical vesicostomy, or percutaneously under cystoscopic guidance.

Renal scarring is the most significant predictor of breakthrough febrile urinary tract infection in patients with simplex and duplex primary vesico-ureteral reflux.

Introduction: The association of high-grade vesico-ureteral reflux (VUR) with renal dysplasia and/or scarring is well-established, and the combination of these factors has been shown to decrease the likelihood of VUR resolution. Other VUR parameters have similarly been shown to be associated with VUR non-resolution, including VUR grade and timing at cystography, associated urinary tract anatomical abnormalities, and bladder dysfunction.

Objective: To establish independent risk factors that can predict symptomatic persistence of VUR.

The value of contrast studies in the evaluation of bowel strictures after necrotising enterocolitis.

Purpose: Strictures of the bowel are a frequent complication post-necrotising enterocolitis (NEC). Contrast studies are routinely performed prior to stoma closure following NEC. The aim of this study was to evaluate the ability of these studies to detect strictures and also directly compare them to operative and histological findings.

Varicocele surgery: 10 years of experience in two pediatric surgical centers.

Aim: The study was designed to compare recurrence rates and complications after laparoscopic versus open varicocele surgery in children.

Subjects And Methods: A retrospective case-note review of all varicocele surgery over a 10-year period (April 1999-March 2009) in two pediatric surgical centers was performed. Multivariate analysis using logistic regression was performed using SPSS Statistics version 18 (SPSS Inc.

Does thoracoscopic congenital diaphragmatic hernia repair cause a significant intraoperative acidosis when compared to an open abdominal approach?

Purpose: Thoracoscopic congenital diaphragmatic hernia (CDH) repair is increasingly reported. A significant intraoperative acidosis secondary to the pneumocarbia, as well as an increased recurrence rate, are possible concerns. Our aim was to review our early experience of the technique.

Spider-man, magnets, and urethral-cutaneous fistula.

Self-inserted foreign bodies in the genitourinary tract or externally attached to the male genitalia can be challenging to the urologist. These cases often necessitate urgent assessment and intervention. We present the case of a 12-year-old boy who inserted 1 magnet into his urethra and placed a second on the ventral surface of the penis.

A comparative study examining open inguinal herniotomy with and without hernioscopy to laparoscopic inguinal hernia repair in a pediatric population.

Aims: Open herniotomy with or without hernioscopy has been performed in our unit for a decade. Since 2005 the laparoscopic repair was also introduced. The aims of this study were: (1) to compare detection rates for direct visualization of the contralateral deep inguinal ring via the known sac using a 70 degrees scope and via umbilical 30 degrees laparoscopy and (2) to compare operative timings, metachronous and recurrence rates for the three different management pathways for inguinal hernia.

Is contralateral exploration necessary in girls with unilateral inguinal hernia?

Background/purpose: Routine contralateral groin exploration in girls with unilateral inguinal hernia (UIH) continues to be controversial. The aim of this study was to determine the incidence of contralateral hernia development in girls after UIH repair.

Methods: Between 1972 and 2000, 391 girls underwent repair of UIH.

Endoscopic treatment of primary grades IV and V vesicoureteral reflux in children with subureteral injection of polytetrafluoroethylene.

Purpose: We evaluated our experience with endoscopic STING (subureteral polytetrafluoroethylene injection) for grades IV and V vesicoureteral reflux.

Materials And Methods: We reviewed the records of 221 boys and 305 girls who underwent STING for primary grades IV (430) and V (96) vesicoureteral reflux between 1984 and 2000. Median patient age at STING was 3 years (range 3 months to 14 years).

Is primary endoscopic puncture of ureterocele a long-term effective procedure?

Background/purpose: For more than a decade, endoscopic puncture of ureterocele has been recommended as an initial and, in the majority of the patients, as a definitive procedure. This study evaluates the long-term effectiveness of primary endoscopic puncture of ureterocele.

Methods: Over the last 18 years (1984 through 2001), 52 patients (median age 3 months) underwent primary endoscopic puncture of ureterocele.

Immunocolocalization of the heme oxygenase-2 and interstitial cells of Cajal in normal and aganglionic colon.

Purpose: Interstitial cells of Cajal (ICCs) are pacemaker cells that play an important role in the control of gut motility. Carbon monoxide (CO) has been proposed as an endogenous messenger molecule between ICC and smooth muscle cells in the gastrointestinal tract (GIT). Heme oxygenase-2 (HO-2) is the main physiologic mechanism for generating CO in human cells.

Fate of the retained ureteral stump after upper pole heminephrectomy in duplex kidneys.

Purpose: We review the long-term outcome of retained ureteral stumps in children undergoing heminephrectomy for nonfunctioning upper pole moieties in duplex kidneys.

Materials And Methods: The medical records of 50 patients who underwent 50 upper pole heminephrectomies for a nonfunctioning upper pole moiety of a duplex kidney between January 1990 and December 2000 were reviewed retrospectively.

Results: Median patient age at heminephrectomy was 2.