Çağatay Evrim Afşarlar

Treatment of adolescent pilonidal disease with a new modification to the Limberg flap: Symmetrically rotated rhomboid excision and lateralization of the Limberg flap technique

BACKGROUND/PURPOSE Pilonidal disease is a common and frustrating problem among adolescents due to its high recurrence rate. The rhomboid excision and Limberg flap techniques promise successful results, but the lower part of the incision left on the intergluteal sulcus is prone to recurrences. Consequently, we have developed a new modification to this technique and have designed a descriptive prospective study to evaluate its efficiency. METHODS We conducted this prospective study between March 2011 and March 2012. All of the patients who were operated on for sacrococcygeal pilonidal disease were included in this study. The surgical procedure primarily consisted of symmetrically rotated (clockwise) rhomboid excision and lateralization of the Limberg flap in order to keep the inferior corner of the suture line apart from the intergluteal sulcus. RESULTS A total of 15 adolescents (8 boys and 7 girls) were included in the study group. Of the patients, 47% were normal, 13% were overweight, and 40% were obese. Five patients were operated on under general anesthesia, and 10 were operated on under spinal anesthesia. The length of the flap margins ranged from 2.5 to 7 cm (median=4 cm). The median duration of hospitalization was 5 days, and the median duration of suction drainage was 4 days. The median postoperative follow-up period was 4 months (ranging from 1 to 12 months), and we did not encounter any wound infection or recurrent disease during this period. Only one patient had wound hematoma as a result of drain breakdown and was treated with wound care without any additional complications. CONCLUSION Although the number of patients in this study was small and the follow-up period was short, we obtained satisfactory results without any recurrence by performing a symmetrically rotated rhomboid excision and lateralized Limberg flap procedure.

Are Neutrophil CD64 Expression and Interleukin-6 Early Useful Markers for Diagnosis of Acute Appendicitis?

BACKGROUND/PURPOSE The aim of the study is to evaluate the diagnostic value of interleukin-6 (IL-6) level and neutrophil cluster of differentiation 64 (CD64) expression in diagnosis of acute appendicitis (AA). METHODS A prospective controlled trail was performed. Children who were hospitalized with a diagnosis of right lower quadrant pain were our cohort. Serum samples for white blood cell, C-reactive protein (CRP), leukocyte CD64 expression, and IL-6 were obtained from the patients just after their admission. Operation was performed if appendicitis seemed probable, others were observed actively. Patients who had noncomplicated appendicitis were Group 1, patients who had complicated appendicitis were Group 2, and patients who had discharged after observation without operation with a diagnosis of nonspecific abdominal pain and had negative appendectomy without another surgical disease were Group 3. RESULTS In this study, 49 patients were enrolled. CRP and CD64 levels were found higher in Group 2. IL-6 levels were found to be lower in Group 3 than Groups 1 and 2. CONCLUSIONS There was a difference between Group 2 and the other groups about CD64 levels. The CRP level and expression of leukocyte CD64 level did not effectively predict the diagnosis of noncomplicated appendicitis, but it predicted well the patients with complicated appendicitis. However, IL-6 levels are statistically significantly different between Group 3 and Groups 1 and 2. According to this result, IL-6 levels predicted well the patient with appendicitis. Applying additional diagnostic methods such as IL-6 levels seems to be helpful in reducing the numbers of false-positive diagnosis of AA.

Evaluation of 968 children with corrosive substance ingestion

Background and Aims: The aim of the study was to evaluate the etiology, treatment, and prognosis in children who had presented at our clinic with corrosive substance ingestion and comparison of our results with the literature. Materials and Methods: The patients were put on nil by mouth and broad-spectrum antibiotics were administered. Oral fluids were started for patients whose intraoral lesions resolved and who could swallow their saliva. Steroids were not given, a nasogastric catheter was not placed, and early endoscopy was not used. Results: A total of 968 children presented at our clinic for corrosive substance ingestion during the 22-year period. The stricture development rate was 13.5%. Alkali substance ingestion caused a stricture development rate of 23%. A total of 54 patients required 1–52 sessions (mean 15 ±12) of dilatation. Conclusion: We do not perform early endoscopy, administer steroids, or place a nasogastric catheter at our clinic for patients who had ingested a corrosive substance. This approach has provided results similar to other series. We feel that determining the burn with early esophagoscopy when factors that prevent or decrease the development of corrosive strictures will be very important.

Congenital hemiscrotal agenesis: Report of a rare entity

Congenital scrotal agenesis is the rarest anomaly of scrotal development disorder and is characterized by the absence of scrotal rugae in the perineum between the penis and anus. We report here a case of hemiscrotal agenesis in a 2-year-old boy. To the best of our knowledge, our patient is the second reported case of hemiscrotal agenesis in the English literature.

A rare case of multiple skip segment Hirschsprung’s disease in the ileum and colon

As a rare form of Hirschsprung’s disease, skip segment Hirschsprung’s disease (SSHD) involves a “skip area” in normally ganglionated intestine, surrounded by aganglionosis. We report a case of multiple SSHD in the ileum and colon with total colonic aganglionosis. To our knowledge, this is the 27th case of SSHD, the third paper on multiple-segment SSHD, and the second patient with SSHD in the ileum to be reported in the English literature.

Coexistence of Liver Hydatid Cyst and Brucellosis in an Adolescent

A 15-year-old girl, who was evaluated for arthralgia of knees, was diagnosed as having brucellosis by serum agglutination and enzyme linked immunosorbent assay tests. Physical examination of the patient revealed massive hepatomegaly. Abdominal ultrasonography and computerised tomography showed a single large cystic lesion of the liver. The echinococcus indirect haemagglutination was positive at a titre of 1/1280. A giant hydatid cyst was removed with surgical intervention; in addition, she was treated with albendazole and antibrucellosis drug combination with success. Here, an immunocompetent adolescent case with brucellosis and concomitant hydatid cyst disease was reported to emphasise that the coexistence of both entities are infrequent but may occur due to increased prevalence of the diseases.

Cutaneous Ciliated Cyst in an Unusual Location: Between Two Scapulas

Cutaneous ciliated cyst is defined as a rare, painless lesion frequently encountered on the lower extremities of young girls after puberty. The cyst is surrounded by the columnar ciliary epithelium. Apart from the lower extremities of girls, they may be localized on the scalp, scapula, thumb, abdomen, umbilicus, thigh, heel, knee, and gluteal region. There are two theories to explain this localization. The first is that they are mullerian heterotrophy, while the other is that they are ciliated metaplasia of eccrine glands. In this paper, we described a cutaneous ciliated cyst, which was observed with a previously undescribed localization on the back of a 13-year-old female patient.

Wandering Spleen with Niemann-Pick Disease

Wandering spleen is a rare entity that develops as a result of splenic hypermobility caused by congenital absence or acquired laxity of splenic suspensory ligaments that hold the spleen in its normal position. It is usually described in women of childbearing age and rare in children. Symptoms include acute or chronic intermittent abdominal pain due to the torsion of the pedicle. It may also be asymptomatic and discovered incidentally on clinical or radiological examination done for other reasons. Niemann-Pick disease is a lipid storage disorder. It is characterized by sphingomyelin and cholesterol accumulation in many organs and predominantly the liver and spleen. Hepatosplenomegaly may develop due to the disease. A 16-year-old girl with Niemann-Pick disease has admitted to our hospital with complaint of amenorrhea. A 10 cm pelvic mass possibly related to the left ovary was detected in her examinations. Laparotomy was performed and a 12 cm wandering spleen was discovered at the left lower quadrant of abdomen. And 5 cm faint, solid mass was found to be fused with the spleen at hilus. Splenectomy was performed. Histopathological examination revealed ceroid histiocytosis throughout spleen. The hilar mass was found to be a necrotic and sclerotic tissue. Although Niemann-Pick disease is reported as an etiological factor for splenomegaly as a cause of wandering spleen in the literature, their association is not reported yet. Asymptomatic wandering spleen can be regarded as abdominal or ovarian mass as in our case. We discussed this case to point out the differential diagnosis of wandering spleen and its rare association with Niemann-Pick Disease.