Oropharyngeal teratoma in association with a diaphragmatic hernia

Pediatric germ cell tumors (GCT) rarely occur in the head and neck region and they are rarely associated with congenital anomalies. A 17 month old girl presented with a history of cough and change in voice for one month. Her chest x-ray and cross sectional imaging was suggestive of a mediastinal mass, right diaphragmatic hernia, and rib abnormality. Serologic and biomarkers were all negative for tumors. Surgical resection occurred with clear margins revealing a mass arising from the left hypopharnx via a pedunculated stalk. Histopathology was consistent with a mature teratoma including significant amounts of parathyroid tissue. She remains tumor free at 18 months follow up. To the best of our knowledge our patient is the third case in which a diaphragmatic hernia was reported in association with hypopharyngeal teratoma and our patient is the first to survive; this provides an opportunity to counsel families when this association is encountered

A new, simple operative approach for bilateral inguinal hernia repair in girls: A single transverse supra-pubic incision

Background: Inguinal hernia repair remains one of the most common operations performed by pediatric surgeons. We described a new surgical approach for treating bilateral inguinal hernias in girls through a small single transverse supra-pubic incision. Materials and Methods: A new approach was performed on female children 12-years-old and younger with bilateral inguinal hernias between January 2005 and April 2012. Technique: A single transverse suprapubic incision (1-1.5 cm) was made. Using sharp and blunt dissection bilateral hernias were exposed and repaired using a standard high ligation. Results: Ninety-nine girls with a preoperative clinical diagnosis of bilateral inguinal hernia were included. Median age was 2 years (range: 1 month to 12 years). All patients underwent general anesthesia. Median operative time was 12 minutes (range 5-22). There were no intra-operative complications or misdiagnosis. Two patients had bilateral sliding hernias and the remainder had indirect hernias. Post-operatively two patients developed non-expanding small hematomas, both treated non-operatively without sequelae. There were zero hernia recurrence and median follow-up was 5 years (range: 1-8 years) on 99% of patients. Conclusion: We described a new, safe, simple, and rapid approach for bilateral inguinal hernia repair in female pediatric population. A single transverse suprapubic skin incision was adequate for exposing both inguinal regions with excellent postoperative results

Absent inferior mesenteric vein as a cause of lower gastrointestinal bleeding: The first reported case in the literature

To date, absent inferior mesenteric vein (IMV) has not been reported in the literature as a cause of or being associated with lower gastrointestinal (GI) bleeding. We describe a case of 13 year-old girl who presented with hematochezia and was subsequently found to have widespread colonic varices involving the ascending, transverse and proximal descending colon. The upper GI tract, small bowel, and rectum were not involved. Delayed venous phase of mesenteric angiography revealed an absent inferior mesenteric vein. The patient underwent laparoscopic extended right hemicolectomy with ileosigmoid anastomosis. No bleeding from recurrent varices occurred during a 1-year period of follow up. We conclude that extended right hemicolectomy is a potential curative surgical option in patients presenting with lower GI bleeding from colonic varices caused by absent IMV. Upper GI and small intestinal involvement should be excluded to prevent future bleeding from missed varices these sites