Journal of pediatric surgery
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Between November 1993 and September 1994, 12 primary laparoscopic colon pull-through procedures were performed in infants and children. The patients' ages ranged from 3 days to 6 years. The primary diagnosis in all 12 patients was Hirschsprung's disease. ⋯ Laparoscopic pull-through requires no more time than similar open procedures, averaging just over 2 hours. The morbidities associated with colostomy formation and closure and the inconvenience of colostomy care are avoided with a one-stage technique. These benefits combined with the advantages of minimally invasive surgery make primary laparoscopic pull-through a potential advance in the surgical treatment of Hirschsprung's disease.
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Comparative Study
Early postoperative alterations in infant energy use increase the risk of overfeeding.
Energy needs in infants are decreased after surgery because of growth inhibition (resulting from catabolic stress metabolism), decreased insensible losses, and inactivity. Using standardized formulas that account for growth, activity, and insensible losses during this stress period can lead to overfeeding in excess of 200% of the actual measured requirement. Overfeeding during this acute injury period can result in increased CO2 production from lipogenesis. This study determined the effects of a reduced rate of mixed caloric repletion on infant energy use during the early postoperative period. ⋯ Lipogenesis with increased CO2 production is substantial, even at reduced caloric delivery rates that exceeded MEE by only 50%, during the early postoperative acute metabolic stress period in infants. These data suggest that caloric requirements during stress are likely equal to or only minimally in excess of actual MEE. Intersubject variability, especially in more severely stressed infants, underscores the importance of serial measurements of energy expenditure to enable precise caloric delivery and avoid overfeeding. In the absence of calorimetric measurement, the data suggest that PBMR (predicted basal metabolic rate) should be used to estimate caloric delivery until CRP values are < or = 2.0 mg/dL.