Prognostic role of tumor-head volume ratio in fetal sacrococcygeal teratoma.

Objective: To evaluate the ability of a tumor-head volume ratio to predict outcome and incidence of hydrops in fetuses with sacrococcygeal teratoma.

Methods: Seventy-one sonograms were reviewed retrospectively from 28 fetuses with sacrococcygeal teratoma managed in our institution. Head volume (HV) and total tumor volume were calculated from sonograms.

Vascular endothelial growth factor isoform and receptor expression during compensatory lung growth.

Background: Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) is required for blood vessel formation during lung growth and repair. Alteration of VEGF isoform expression has been demonstrated in response to fetal tracheal occlusion and in models of lung injury. The purpose of this study was to investigate VEGF expression during compensatory lung growth in the mouse.

Does congenital diaphragmatic hernia associated with bronchopulmonary sequestration portend a better prognosis?

Introduction: Congenital diaphragmatic hernia (CDH) continues to be a devastating disease in the newborn population, with well-documented morbidity and mortality. Bronchopulmonary sequestration is a separate congenital defect that has been associated with CDH. While the association of sequestration with CDH has been reported to be as high as 30-40%, the prognosis associated with the two simultaneous defects is unknown.

Surgical treatment of childhood recurrent pancreatitis.

Background/purpose: Surgical intervention that improves pancreatic ductal drainage is a reasonable treatment strategy for recurrent pancreatitis in children.

Methods: This study was approved by the Committee on Human Research (San Francisco, CA). A retrospective chart review was performed on children aged 0 to 17 years given the International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision coding diagnosis of chronic pancreatitis who underwent surgical intervention from 1981 to 2005.

Prenatal and postnatal management of a patient with pentalogy of Cantrell and left ventricular aneurysm. A case report and literature review.

Introduction: Omphalocele is often associated with cardiac diverticulum in the pentalogy of Cantrell, however a prenatal diagnosis of omphalocele has not been described with a broad-based, thin-walled aneurysm of the ventricular wall in a surviving patient.

Case Report: A case of omphalocele with Morgagni hernia and left ventricular aneurysm diagnosed at 21 weeks, 6 days' gestational age is reported. Initial ultrasound examination demonstrated the cardiac defect and subsequent ultrasounds revealed the abdominal wall defect.

Congenital diaphragmatic hernia associated with spinal anomalies.

Objective: Increased mortality is seen in patients with congenital diaphragmatic hernia who have associated anomalies, such as cardiac defects. We reviewed our series of patients with congenital diaphragmatic hernia and spinal anomalies to evaluate if their prognosis was altered.

Methods: We examined our institutional database from August 1995 to August 2005, examining 679 cases of congenital diaphragmatic hernia, identifying all fetuses and newborns with congenital diaphragmatic hernia and spinal anomalies.

Fetal intervention for mass lesions and hydrops improves outcome: a 15-year experience.

Purpose: The natural history of certain prenatally diagnosed masses is well known. Large thoracic mass lesions can evolve one of 2 ways, either to regress and cause minimal morbidity, or to progress and enlarge, often resulting in hydropic changes in the fetus. This nonimmune hydrops carries a dismal prognosis, with nearly all fetuses expiring before or shortly after birth.

Fetal surgery for congenital diaphragmatic hernia.

Congenital diaphragmatic hernia (CDH) continues to account for significant mortality in neonates. Advances in postnatal therapies have reduced mortality rates in the less severely affected infants, though surviving infants continue to display significant comorbid conditions. The history of fetal treatment for CDH is a microcosm for the development of fetal therapy in general.

Long-term follow-up after thymectomy for myasthenia gravis: thoracoscopic vs open.

Purpose: The aim of this study was to determine if patients are in remission or weaning off medication after thymectomy for myasthenia gravis (MG) and to examine the thoracoscopic versus open approaches.

Methods: A retrospective review of all patients who underwent thymectomy for MG at a tertiary referral center between 1992 and 2004 (N = 14). Six patients (42.

Prosthetic patches for congenital diaphragmatic hernia repair: Surgisis vs Gore-Tex.

Purpose: The sequelae of congenital diaphragmatic hernia (CDH) continue well beyond the perinatal period. Up to 50% of these patients have subsequent recurrent herniation or small bowel obstruction (SBO). A recent trend has been toward the use of bioactive prosthetic materials.