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Background and objectives: Soave transanal procedure for Hirschsprung disease (HD) is most commonly performed at early age with good outcome. In our center we adopted this technique in many patients in different age groups without assisted laparoscopic abdominal approach. We herein aim to describe different technical aspects, outcome and success rate of Soave procedure among our patients. Methods: We retrospectively reviewed our series of HD patients who underwent the Soave transanal approach, for postoperative stricture, anastomotic leak, enterocolitis, and subsequent bowel functions. Patients were divided into two groups: group 1: the early neonatal group (0-1month) and group 2: the late presentation group(3-14years). Results: Among the 17 patients with HD operated in our center, 13 underwent Soave transanal resection, 1 was lost from follow up, 2 had a levelling colostomy prior to referral and 1 had ileostomy. The average length of resection was 20±10.5 cm. The mean follow-up period was 12.2 months (range 5-22 months). Seven patients were 3-14 years old. At follow-up none had fecalincontinence or constipation requiring laxatives. All patients had voluntary bowel movements. Conclusions: Our results support the fact that a single stage Soave approach without transabdominal dissection is an excellent technique for patients presenting with late HD with an excellent outcome. A multicenter prospective study with larger number of patient is essential to validate our results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: To determined the accuracy of ultrasound in diagnosis of acute appendicitis in children keeping histopathology as gold standard., Methods: A prospective evaluations of all ultrasound for appendicitis from January 1, 2014, to June 15, 2017, was conducted at our hospital. A diagnostic protocol was implemented to reduce radiation exposure employing US as the initial imaging modality followed by CT for non-diagnostic US studies in patients with an equivocal clinical presentation. The imaging, operative findings, and pathology of 223 patients (females 80, males 143, age less than 14years) with diagnosed appendicitis were collected. The sensitivity, specificity, predictive value, and negative appendectomy rate were also analyzed. All those patients which had subjected to surgery were included to evaluate the true result of ultrasound in diagnosis of appendicitis., Results: Of the 223 pediatric appendectomies performed in this time period, a total of 192 (86%) were diagnosed by ultrasound. The histopathology of 8 was normal (3.6%), CT done in 11 and three was normal. The negative appendectomy rate was 3.6%. US were the sole imaging modality in all patients., Conclusions: In the diagnosis of acute appendicitis in children, ultrasound is useful and accurate mode, which results in a significant decrease in negative appendectomies with no increase in the number of CT scans. This has important implications in the reduction of childhood radiation exposure., Study Design: cross sectional validation.

Background: Biliary atresia (BA) is a progressive inflammatory destructive process of the bile ducts occurring in about one of every 20.000 live births. If left untreated, biliary atresia can lead to liver failure., Aim: This is the first study on biliary atresia from Africa. The Aim of our study is to describe the clinical and prognostic aspects of biliary atresia in a Tunisian medical centre, where integrated medico-surgical management of children with liver diseases is lacking and liver transplant is not available., Methods: Patients who were diagnosed with BA and underwent portoenterostomy between January 1985 and December 2010 at a tertiary regional hospital in Tunisia were included in this analysis., Results: 74 patients were diagnosed with BA. The patients included 34 boys (45.9%) and 40 girls (54.1%). All patients received Kasai operation as the primary treatment and the median patient age at Kasai operation was 60 days (range 3-180 days). The median followup time for the patients was 72 months (range 2 months-23 years 6 months). Out of the 74 patients who received Kasai operation, 49 patients are being followed regularly in the outpatient clinic. Eight patients died immediately after Kasai operation by either hepatocellular decompensation or by cholangitis. Seventeen patients were lost to follow-up. Fifteen out of 49 patients who underwent portoenterostomy for BA are alive at median six years following Kasai intervention. Ten patients out of the 49 who are being followed regularly were Jaundice free. Two patients had portal hypertension. All these patients had survived. Five patients survived with signs of liver failure in four cases. Two of them had received a liver transplant abroad. Survival with the native liver was 6.7 % at 5 years with Kasai operation alone., Conclusion: BA still has a very severe prognosis in Tunisia Reducing the age at Kasai operation remains the most important target to reduce the need for LT in infancy and childhood. Centralised care will help to build surgical expertise.