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We report a case of a neonate with tetralogy of Fallot with aneurysmal dilatation of the pulmonary artery, complicated by bilateral relapsing pneumothorax. The relapsing air leak made it necessary to place up to five chest drains and to switch from conventional ventilation to high frequency ventilation. In the course of 30 days, all drains were removed. Once other anatomical and functional malformations of the respiratory system had been appropriately excluded and reasonable haemodynamic stability had been achieved, the patient underwent successful radical corrective heart surgery in hypothermia and cardioplegia. We emphasize the advantage of resolving respiratory failure preoperatively to guarantee the success of corrective heart surgery and treatment of other surgically severe cases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Osteonecrosis (ON) is a critical complication in the treatment of childhood leukemia and lymphoma. It particularly affects survivors of acute lymphoblastic leukemia and non-Hodgkin lymphoma reflecting the cumulative exposure to glucocorticosteroid therapy. ON is often multiarticular and bilateral, specially affecting weight-bearing joints. A conventional approach suggests a surgical intervention even if pharmacological options have also recently been investigated. We reported two cases of long time steroid-treated patients who underwent Bone Marrow Transplantation (BMT) for hematological disease. Both patients developed femoral head osteonecrosis (ON) that was diagnosed by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and the ON was also accompanied with pain and a limp. Despite of the conventional strategies of therapy, we successfully started a short-term treatment with bisphosphonates in order to decrease the pain and the risk of fracture. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fetal gallstones were visualized sonographically in two cases at 30 and 37 weeks' gestation; follow-up scans at 2 and 3 months, respectively, disclosed their spontaneous resolution. The hypotheses advanced to explain the formation of echogenic material in the fetal gallbladder are reviewed, and the clinical utility of postnatal long-term sonographic follow-up is stressed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]