Bernard I. Blumenthal

Gastric teratoma: First reported case in a female

Gastric teratoma is a benign tumor that occurs rarely, is found most frequently in male infants, and is best treated by excision. Following is a report of such a case in a female patient.

Intervertebral disc calcification in children

Calcification of cervical intervertebral discs in children is due to an uncommon, but distinct, disease of unknown etiology. Signs and symptoms of nerve root or spinal cord compression are unusual and acute symptoms are followed by a benign course and spontaneous recovery. We describe a 5-year-old patient with symptomatic cervical disc calcification and discuss the relevant clinical and radiographic features.

Congenital kyphosis and subluxation of the thoraco-lumbar spine due to vertebral aplasia

Vertebral body aplasia or hypoplasia leads to rapidly progressive spinal deformity and neurologic defects when unrecognized in infancy. Four patients with this unusual defect are described.

Retroperitoneal lipoma in children

A case of retroperitoneal lipoma in a 23-mo old girl is reported together with a brief review of the 11 previously documented cases. It has been encountered through age 8 yr and twice as frequently in girls. The majority had an enlarged abdomen of long duration. The others were asymptomatic and found incidentally or at the time of examination for abdominal pain. Most lipomata were large. The possibility of their being congenital cannot be excluded. None have recurred.

A child with immunoblastic sarcoma: Over five years disease-free survival

A 12-year-old girl with disseminated immunoblastic sarcoma, a rare tumor in childhood, was treated with the Pediatric Oncology Group (POG) protocol for non-Hodgkins lymphoma (POG #7905) using (1) vincristine, prednisone, adriamycin, cyclophosphamide, (2) cranial radiation and intrathecal methotrexate and hydrocortisone for central nervous system prophylaxis, (3) rotating agent pulse therapy of adriamycin, vincristine cyclophosphamide, 6-mer-captopurine and methotrexate for maintenance. No bulk disease was present at exploratory laparotomy done at the end of induction, although microscopic tumor was present. No radiation to abdomen or thorax was given. Treatment was stopped three years after diagnosis. Two years and nine months later she is disease-free and presumed cured.