Minimally invasive esophagectomy and gastric pull-up in children.

Purpose: Minimally invasive esophagectomy and gastric pull-up is a widely accepted method in adults. However, the experience in the pediatric population is limited. Minimally invasive esophagectomy represents a new alternative technique to the conventional open approach.

Combined laparoscopic and thoracoscopic esophagectomy and gastric pull-up in a child.

Severe caustic burns to the esophagus may necessitate esophagectomy with replacement, if stictures form which are not amenable to dilation. Traditionally, the operation is performed via open transabdominal and/or thoracic approaches. Here we describe our minimally invasive approach, combining laparoscopy and thoracoscopy for esophagectomy, stomach tubularization and a cervical esophagogastrotomy.

What are the true advantages of a pediatric appendicitis clinical pathway?

Multiple protocols have been described for pediatric appendicitis, but few have been compared with off-protocol treatment. We performed such a comparison. Children treated for appendicitis by three pediatric surgeons over a 28-month period were studied.

Emergent vs urgent appendectomy in children: a study of outcomes.

Background: Emergent appendectomy (EA) in children is still considered surgical dogma and continues to be recommended as a standard of care. This study examined whether emergent operation has any outcome advantages over urgent operation.

Methods: The charts of children treated for appendicitis during a recent 28-month period at 2 children's hospitals, where appendectomies are not performed between midnight and 7 am, were reviewed.

Staphylococcal rib osteomyelitis in a pediatric patient.

Osteomyelitis in children commonly occurs in the long bones such as the femur, tibia, and humerus. It is rarely found in the ribs, occurring in less than 1% of children with osteomyelitis. Thirteen cases of rib osteomyelitis were reported in the literature, of which, 11 were caused by Staphylococcus aureus.