Fetus-in-fetu: report of a case and a review of the literature.

A 2-week-old girl was found to have an asymptomatic abdominal mass on routine examination. Surgical removal revealed the mass to have 4 limb buds situated relative to a palpable vertebral column. Karyotyping revealed the mass to be 46 XX.

Diagnosing Hirschsprung's disease: increasing the odds of a positive rectal biopsy result.

Background/purpose: Rectal biopsies are performed as a definitive means of diagnosing Hirschsprung's Disease (HD) in children presenting with constipation. The authors hypothesized that key features in the history, physical examination, and radiographic evaluation would allow us to avoid unnecessary rectal biopsies.

Methods: A retrospective analysis was conducted on patients undergoing rectal biopsy between 1995 and 2001.