Seminars in pediatric surgery
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Semin. Pediatr. Surg. · May 2004
ReviewThe diagnosis and management of children with blunt injury of the chest.
Thoracic trauma remains a major source of morbidity and mortality in injured children, and is second only to brain injuries as a cause of death. The presence of a chest injury increases an injured child's mortality by 20-fold. ⋯ Injuries to the great vessels, esophagus, and diaphragm are rare. Failure to promptly diagnose and treat these injuries results in increased morbidity and mortality.
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Injuries to the solid abdominal viscera (spleen, liver, kidney, pancreas) are common in children sustaining trauma by blunt mechanisms. Success with nonoperative management of these injuries has led to recent extensions of this approach to the management of higher-grade more complicated injuries typically treated operatively. This review will discuss the current status of evaluation, management and outcome of children sustaining blunt injury to solid abdominal organs.
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Semin. Pediatr. Surg. · Feb 2004
Intestinal ischemia reperfusion injury and multisystem organ failure.
Intestinal ischemia-reperfusion is a common pathway for many diseases in infants, children, and adults, and this may lead to multiple organ dysfunction syndrome and death. While several studies have investigated reperfusion injury in cardiac, cerebral, and hepatic disease, limited work has been published on intestinal ischemia-reperfusion and its multiorgan effects. The authors have developed models of intestinal ischemia-reperfusion in rats and have demonstrated that intestinal reperfusion causes liver energy failure at normothermia. ⋯ Moderate hypothermia (32 degrees C to 33 degrees C) induced throughout ischemia and reperfusion prevents liver energy failure, intestinal damage, and neutrophil infiltration in the lungs. Moderate hypothermia in this model of intestinal ischemia and reperfusion prevents mortality. Further studies are needed to establish whether therapeutic hypothermia is a useful intervention in the treatment of infants and children with intestinal injuries caused by ischemia and reperfusion.
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The subject of malrotation and midgut volvulus in infancy and childhood is reviewed from the perspective of experience with 138 patients evaluated in a published series and a further 82 cases seen since. Embryology, historical aspects, clinical presentation, investigation, surgery, and outcome are discussed. The diagnosis of malrotation and volvulus should always be kept in mind when assessing any infant or child with symptoms of vomiting and pain, particularly when the vomiting is bile-stained. ⋯ Ultrasound examination may be helpful but is not secure enough to exclude the diagnosis. Laparotomy or laparoscopy is the only way to be sure. Malrotation with its propensity for volvulus is truly a time bomb lying within.
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Fetal surgery is a rapidly growing and evolving area. Fetal surgery is based on years of animal and clinical research. In contrast, anesthesia techniques for fetal surgery are based on clinical experience. ⋯ Epidural analgesia, with general anesthesia as back-up, is the primary technique used for fetoscopic cases in which anesthetic care is required. Because of the myriad of anesthetic and surgical issues these cases generate, it is essential to have good communication and cooperation between surgeons and anesthesiologists from the preoperative period to the postoperative period. This will allow development of a cohesive anesthetic and surgical plan that can be used for the safe perioperative management of the fetal surgery patient.