Publications by authors named "Melissa Spevak"

The "drooping lily" sign is identified on intravenous urography or voiding cystourethrography in patients with a duplicated renal collecting system and refers to inferolateral displacement of a functioning lower pole moiety by an obstructed upper pole collecting system. In this case, a 2-month-old girl with a prenatal diagnosis of hydronephrosis was found to have a "scintigraphic drooping lily" sign on Tc-dimercaptosuccinic acid renal scan. Evaluation with ultrasound and voiding cystourethrography confirmed a duplicated collecting system and obstructed upper pole moiety.

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Sensitive, specific, and safe bedside evaluation of brain perfusion is key to the early diagnosis, treatment, and improved survival of neonates with hypoxic ischemic injury. Contrast-enhanced ultrasound (US) imaging is a novel imaging technique in which intravenously injected gas-filled microbubbles generate enhanced US echoes from an acoustic impedance mismatch. This article describes contrast-enhanced US imaging in 2 neonates with hypoxic ischemic injury and future directions on developing quantitative contrast-enhanced US techniques for improved characterization of perfusion abnormalities.

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Orthotopic multicystic dysplastic kidney with crossed fused ectopia is a rare congenital anomaly. This congenital anomaly may give an appearance of a solitary kidney morphology during the initial imaging evaluation. A solitary kidney should be carefully evaluated for the presence of duplication, horseshoe configuration, or crossed renal ectopy.

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Child abuse and neglect is a serious clinical and socioeconomic problem that is sometimes underestimated. One of the most devastating forms is abusive head trauma. This review addresses the radiological workup in cases of suspected child abuse.

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Renal papillary necrosis in sickling hemoglobinopathies can lead to significant complications, including hemorrhage, obstruction, and infection. Despite its frequency, there are limited therapies for protracted hemorrhage. In the past, massive hemorrhage was managed with nephrectomy.

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Most patients with renal medullary carcinoma (RMC) have advanced disease at presentation and rarely respond to radiation or chemotherapy. We describe two adolescents with metastatic disease who had significant responses to cisplatin or carboplatin in combination with gemcitabine and paclitaxel.

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Ultrasound of the adolescent female pelvis is the imaging method of choice for most medical problems presenting with symptoms and signs referable to this area. Recognizing the transition from child to mature female and its manifestations are crucial in directing the workup and interpreting the sonographic findings. A description of the normal anatomy and physiology of the pelvic organs is followed by a discussion of the clinical and imaging findings in primary and secondary amenorrhea, pelvic pain, and pelvic masses.

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Bone fractures in children without a history of injury are highly suspicious for child abuse. Biliary atresia is a disorder associated with metabolic bone disease, and there are numerous reports of osteopenia, rickets, and/or fractures in this population. We report 3 cases of children with biliary atresia who had bony fractures as well as osteopenia whose caretakers were investigated for child abuse.

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Purpose: To assess the diagnostic performance of digital radiography using charge-coupled device (CCD) technology in the detection of rib fracture in infant abuse.

Materials And Methods: Four fractured posterior rib arcs and eight normal ribs removed at autopsy from a 10-month-old abused infant were radiographed using a CCD prototype, four clinical film-screen systems, and direct-exposure film. Each rib was viewed with these six systems in nine different projections.

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Objective: The objective of our study was to determine the prevalence, distribution, and thickness of physiologic subperiosteal new bone formation in neonates and infants.

Materials And Methods: High-detail postmortem skeletal radiologic surveys of 101 neonates and infants who had died from sudden infant death syndrome were reviewed. The average age at the time of death was 2.

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