Pediatric open partial nephrectomy: analysis of contemporary outcomes with a supracostal-12 approach.

Objective: Reports in the literature increasingly have demonstrated a shorter length of stay (LOS) with the laparoscopic approach to partial nephrectomy compared to historic open partial nephrectomy. We present data from the largest open series to date, to provide a more contemporary perspective.

Methods: A retrospective review was performed on all pediatric patients who underwent upper pole partial nephrectomy from 1999 to 2011.

Rib head protrusion into the central canal in type 1 neurofibromatosis.

Background: Intraspinal rib head dislocation is an important but under-recognized consequence of dystrophic scoliosis in patients with neurofibromatosis 1 (NF1).

Objective: To present clinical and imaging findings of intraspinal rib head dislocation in NF1.

Materials And Methods: We retrospectively reviewed clinical presentation, imaging, operative reports and post-operative courses in four NF1 patients with intraspinal rib head dislocation and dystrophic scoliosis.

Giant cystic abdominal masses in children.

In this pictorial essay the common and uncommon causes of large cystic and cyst-like abdominal masses in children are reviewed. We discuss and illustrate the following: mesenchymal hamartoma, choledochal cyst, hydrops of the gallbladder, congenital splenic cyst, pancreatic pseudocyst, pancreatic cystadenoma, hydronephrosis, multicystic dysplastic kidney, multilocular cystic nephroma, adrenal hemorrhage, mesenteric and omental cysts, gastrointestinal duplication cyst, meconium pseudocyst, ovarian cysts and cystic neoplasms, hematocolpos, urachal cysts, appendiceal abscess, abdominal and sacrococcygeal teratoma, and CSF pseudocyst. We also describe imaging features and clues to the diagnosis.

Paraneoplastic limbic encephalitis in a teenage girl with an immature ovarian teratoma.

Paraneoplastic limbic encephalitis (PLE) is an unusual disorder that is characterized by the association of clinical limbic system abnormalities with neoplasia, usually malignancy. It has rarely been reported in children and then manifests during the teenage years. Diagnosis is often delayed, especially when the tumor has not been recognized.

Orbital granulocytic sarcoma: an unusual presentation of acute myelocytic leukemia.

Granulocytic sarcoma is an unusual manifestation of acute myelogenous leukemia in children and presents a diagnostic dilemma when it precedes the development of systemic disease. We present CT and MRI findings of an extraconal mass proven to be granulocytic sarcoma in a 6-year-old otherwise healthy boy with several months' history of worsening unilateral proptosis. This case is unique in providing exquisite CT and MRI correlation and in demonstrating rapid response to therapy.

Duplication of the cervical esophagus: a case report and review of the literature.

This report describes a newborn with a cervical esophageal duplication cyst, a rare developmental anomaly of the neck. Only a few cases of this cystic entity have been described in the literature to date. This case is unique in that the patient had an air-fluid level within the lesion as a result of communication of the duplication cyst with the native esophagus.