Bertram R. Girdany

Traumatic Pseudodiverticulums of the Pharynx in Newborn Infants

Abstract Perforation of the posterior pharyngeal wall during or immediately after delivery produced symptoms of esophageal atresia and traumatic diverticulums of the pharynx in two newborn infants....

Gastric trichobezoars--sonographic and computed tomographic appearance.

We report two young girls with gastric trichobezoars in whom ultrasound, computed tomography and upper gastrointestinal contrast studies were done. Since sonography and, less frequently, computed tomography are usually the first studies obtained in a child, with an abdominal mass it is important to recognize the rather distinctive appearance of a trichobezoar on these images.

Occult Fractures In Preschool Children

Five hundred consecutive radiographic examinations of acutely limping infants and toddlers were analyzed retrospectively. One hundred of the 500 (20%) had a fracture as the underlying etiology. Although the most common sites of involvement were the tibia/fibula (56 cases) and femur (30 cases), fractures in the pelvis and feet, notably the metatarsals (11 cases), also were seen. We therefore recommend obtaining radiographs of the pelvis and both lower extremities including the feet, when occult trauma is suspected and the exact area of injury cannot be pinpointed clinically.

Totol Aganglionosis Coli

Abstract Thirteen infants with total aganglionosis coli (TAC) are described. The data from these and 128 other cases in the English literature are reviewed and summarized. TAC affects more females than males and has a higher incidence of familial rather than the usual forms of Hirschsprungs disease. Most infants (81%) require hospitalization in the first month of life. Mortality is high (68%). Radiographic findings are not diagnostic. Microcolon (38%), normal barium enema (22%), or delayed evacuation of contrast medium (21%) suggest TAC in a full-term newborn infant with signs of low, small bowel obstruction. Open biopsy establishes the diagnosis.

Abnormal intestinal motility in gastroschisis.

The authors describe abnormal intestinal motility with a very slow transit time in eight children with gastroschisis. Other abnormal findings include malrotation, dilatation, and fixation of the loops of the bowel.

Pediatric chest trauma.

Blunt and penetrating chest trauma in children results from many causes but the major cause is motor vehicle accidents. The trauma induces a variety of injuries to the bony thorax, the pulmonary parenchyma, and mediastinal structures. In recent years, a disturbing increase in iatrogenic chest trauma has occurred in patients, particularly small infants, receiving intensive hospital care. Radiologic evaluation plays an important role in documenting and diagnosing these traumatic and iatrogenic injuries. The various radiologic manifestations of these injuries are described and discussed.

Atlanto-axial dislocation in chondrodysplasia punctata. Report of the findings in two brothers.

Abstract Two cases of chondrodysplasia punctata were encountered in brothers with dislocation of C-l on C-2. The base of the occiput was surgically fused to the fourth cervical vertebra. One child died four months later, and autopsy showed marked compression of the cervical cord at the lower part of the fused area. The authors conclude that the cause of sudden death in this patient was damage to the central nervous system.

Pediatric Arteriography in Abdominal and Extremity Lesions: Clinical Experience, Indications, and Technic

Arteriography in children for the diagnosis of abdominal and extremity lesions has received relatively scant interest, in contrast to cardiac and cerebral arteriography. This technic in adults has proved eminently successful for the clinical management of a variety of pathologic conditions involving the solid and hollow viscera and extremities. The value of arteriography in children and adults is predicated on the fact that radiographically demonstrable vascular alterations reflect underlying pathologic processes in the vessels and/or surrounding tissues. Thus, the size and extent of a lesion, the differentiation of benign from malignant tumors, the location of bleeding sources, the detection of anatomical variations, and frequently the specific etiology of a lesion maybe determined from the vascular pattern observed. In surgical lesions this information is invaluable since it may determine the operative approach and significantly reduce the time of exploratory laparotomy. Not merely the positive findings...

The treatment of ileocolic intussusception

Summary We have presented a case of congenital stem-cell leukemia in an infant 28 days of age. The infant was apparently well until the twenty-eighth day of life when he refused his feedings, rapidly deteriorated, and died in a matter of a few hours. The white blood count was extremely elevate, 1,500,000 per cubic millimeter, and all the organs, hemopoietic as well as nonhemopoietic, were markedly infiltrated with leukemic cells. A review of the literature is presented.

Widening of Cranial Sutures in Children with Deprivation Dwarfism

Widened cranial sutures were noted in 8 children with deprivation dwarfism. In 4, the sutures were abnormally wide before treatment was begun. In one, the sutures widened during observation and before growth was accelerated. Ventriculography showed normal findings and offered no explanation for the widened sutures. Deprivation dwarfism should be included in the differential diagnosis of increased intracranial pressure, particularly when there are signs of bizarre behaviour, emotional deprivation and growth retardation.