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Purpose: We describe 2 cases of laparoscopic nephrectomy for unilateral Wilms tumor in children who underwent preoperative chemotherapy., Materials and Methods: Two children with unilateral nonmetastatic Wilms tumor included in the International Society of Pediatric Oncology 2001 protocol were preoperatively treated with vincristine/actinomycin D and subsequently underwent laparoscopic nephrectomy and lymph node sampling. A 5 and 10 mm trocar transperitoneal approach was used in each case. The tumor was extracted without morcellation through a 4 cm Pffannensteil incision., Results: The 2 tumors were completely removed as well as lymph node samples. Intraoperative bleeding was minimal (50 ml). The postoperative period was free of complications and patients were discharged home after 3 days., Conclusions: Laparoscopic nephrectomy for Wilms tumor is feasible in children after chemotherapy. It is a safe procedure and it allows the complete surgical approach required to treat this tumor. Longer followup is necessary to evaluate long-term results and more cases are necessary to compare the results of laparoscopic techniques with those of open surgical procedures.

Purpose: We assessed clinical and surgical results in renal transplantation candidates with voiding dysfunction and end stage renal disease who underwent bladder augmentation., Materials and Methods: We analyzed 8 patients 3 to 30 years old with dilated ureters, voiding dysfunction and end stage renal disease who underwent renal transplantation following bladder augmentation from 1995 to 2003. The etiology of bladder dysfunction was neurogenic bladder in 3 patients, posterior urethral valves in 3 and vesicoureteral reflux in 2. All cases were assessed by ultrasonography, voiding cystourethrography and urodynamic studies., Results: Mean followup was 50 months (range 4 to 93). Previous urodynamic evaluation revealed a bladder capacity of 75 to 294 ml (mean +/- SD 167.38 +/- 77.32) and an intravesical pressure of 28 to 100 mm H2O (mean 51.25 +/- 22.17). Urodynamic study after augmentation and kidney transplantation showed a bladder capacity of 191 to 400 ml (mean 335.25 +/- 99.01) and an intravesical pressure of 15 to 35 mm H2O (mean 28 +/- 9.45). Mean serum creatinine was 1.65 mg/dl (range 0.8 to 2.5). All patients remained continent. Three patients with neurogenic bladder empty the bladder by clean intermittent catheterization and the others empty by the Valsalva maneuver. None of the grafts were lost and the most common complication was asymptomatic urinary tract infection., Conclusions: Bladder augmentation is a well-known procedure for low capacity and poorly compliant bladders even in candidates for a renal transplant. Ureterocystoplasty combines the benefits common to all enterocystoplasties without adding to complications or risks.

Purpose: Transplant nephrectomy has been considered a hazardous procedure throughout transplantation history. Better surgical techniques and clinical treatment of patients have improved the results of this surgery in the last decades. We report the surgical complications of nephrectomy of early and late failed kidneys performed at a referral center., Materials and Methods: The charts of 70 consecutive patients who underwent graft nephrectomy between May 1994 and April 2002 were reviewed regarding surgical complications. Patients were divided into 2 groups according to the timing of graft removal. Early nephrectomy group 1 included 23 procedures performed in the first 60 days after transplantation and late nephrectomy group 2 included 47 performed after that interval. Groups were compared concerning outcome, blood loss and amount of blood transfused in the perioperative period, and the incidence of surgical complications according to the surgical technique, immunosuppressive regimen and timing of surgery., Results: Mean blood loss was 434 ml (range 20 to 3,000) in group 1 and 546 (range 60 to 2,200) in group 2 (p = 0.02). Nine group 1 patients (39.1%) and 22 in group 2 (46.8%) received blood transfusion in the perioperative period (p = 0.62). The mean amount of blood transfused was 516.7 ml in group 1 and 436.3 ml in group 2 (p = 0.36). Four and 2 minor surgical complications occurred in groups 1 and 2 (17.4% and 4.3%, respectively, p = 0.09). Seven major complications were noted in group 2 (14.9%), while there were none in group 1 (p = 0.05). Three complications (25%) occurred in patients who received antirejection globulins or methylprednisolone and 1 (9.1%) developed when these agents were not administered (p = 0.33). The incidence of surgical complications after intracapsular and extracapsular nephrectomy was 20% and 17.6%, respectively (p = 0.58). Mean blood loss and the mean amount of blood transfused was 638 and 525 ml for intracapsular nephrectomy and 383 and 350 ml for extracapsular nephrectomy, respectively, respectively. Surgical complications occurred in 3 patients who received mycophenolate mofetil (23.1%) and in 6 (17.6%) who did not received this drug (p = 0.48)., Conclusions: Blood loss and surgical complication rates were higher in late failed graft nephrectomies. Surgical complications in intracapsular vs extracapsular nephrectomies were similar but blood loss and transfusions were higher for intracapsular nephrectomy. Acute rejection treatment, or prophylaxis with methylprednisolone or globulins increased the incidence of surgical complications.

Purpose: We compared the efficiency, side effects and effects on spermatogenesis of sclerotherapy with phenol and surgical treatment for hydrocele., Materials and Methods: A total of 67 patients (80 hydroceles) were randomly divided into 2 groups of 40 hydroceles each. One group underwent phenol sclerotherapy and the other underwent hydrocelectomy. Spermiograms were done before, 6 and 12 months after treatment in patients able to ejaculate., Results: In the sclerotherapy group 47.5%, 30%, 12.5%, 5% and 2.5% of the hydroceles were cured with 1 to 5 injections, respectively, but 2.5% were not cured even with 6 injections. There were no complaints of localized pain or infection in these cases. All patients returned to normal activity on the same day. In the hydrocelectomy group 97.5% and 2.5% of hydroceles were cured with 1 and 2 operations, respectively. There was pain postoperatively in 73.5% of the patients and localized infection in 5%, while 62.5% required an average of 4.5 days of rest and were absent from work for 10 days. There was no significant statistical alteration in spermatozoid concentration in the preoperative, and 6 and 12-month postoperative counts in the groups (p = 0.385)., Conclusions: Sclerotherapy for hydrocele with phenol is as efficacious as hydrocelectomy, while causing less morbidity and similar effects on spermatogenesis.

Purpose: The laparoscopic approach to the adrenal gland was first reported in 1992. Since then, more than 400 studies have been published, comprising hundreds of adults. There are few reports of laparoscopic adrenalectomy in the pediatric population. We reviewed our experience with laparoscopic adrenal surgery in children., Materials and Methods: Laparoscopic adrenalectomy was performed in 8 girls and 5 boys 15 years or younger (mean age 6.3) between December 1994 and August 2001. The clinical diagnosis before surgery was virilizing tumor in 5 cases, nonfunctioning solid adrenal tumor in 3, Cushing's syndrome in 2, pheochromocytoma in 2 and Cushing's pituitary disease in 1. Unilateral adrenal lesions were 15 to 80 mm. at the longest axis (mean 41.4) on computerized tomography., Results: Two of the 13 procedures (15.4%) were converted to open surgery. No deaths occurred. No patients presented with postoperative complications. Average operative time in unilateral nonconverted procedures was 107 minutes (range 25 to 195). Blood transfusion was required in 1 case (7.7%). Average hospital stay was 5.5 days (range 1 to 17). Average postoperative followup was 16 months (range 1 to 60). The final clinicopathological diagnosis was virilization in 4 cases, Cushing's syndrome in 2, pheochromocytoma in 2, neuroblastoma in 2, Cushing's pituitary disease in 1, teratoma in 1 and primary carcinoma in 1., Conclusions: Laparoscopic adrenalectomy is feasible and shows positive results in select pediatric patients.

Purpose: We evaluate the incidence of incisional hernia after kidney transplantation, predisposing factors and the results of surgical repair with polypropylene mesh., Materials and Methods: We reviewed the records of 371 consecutive kidney transplants performed between April 1995 and February 2000. Patients with clinical signs of hernia at the transplant incision site were included in the study. Predisposing factors for incisional hernia were also reviewed. A prospective protocol of surgical correction was established using polypropylene mesh and patient outcome was studied., Results: We identified 14 patients (3.8%) with an incisional hernia at the transplant incision site. Hernias developed 3 to 840 days after transplant surgery and were significantly more common in white (p = 0.019) and cadaveric graft (p = 0.02) recipients. Predisposing factors in 11 cases included complications of transplant surgery in 7, bladder obstruction in 2, large polycystic kidneys in 1 and chronic pulmonary disease in 1. Surgical repair was performed by primary fascial approximation and polypropylene mesh reinforcement in 13 cases and by pre-peritoneal mesh placement in 1. Minor subcutaneous wound infection developed in 1 patient. No relapses were noted at a mean followup of 17.8 months., Conclusions: In the majority of cases incisional hernia develops in the first 3 months after transplant surgery. The incidence is significantly higher in white patients and after cadaveric donor transplantation. Surgical complications of transplant surgery are important predisposing factors for incisional hernia after kidney transplantation. Surgical repair using polypropylene mesh is safe and effective in this group of patients.

Purpose: We evaluate whether urodynamic evaluation can determine preoperatively the clinical prognosis of patients treated with transurethral prostatic resection as measured by urinary symptom score and quality of life index., Materials and Methods: A total of 253 patients who previously elected transurethral prostatic resection based on clinical symptoms completed the American Urological Association symptom score and quality of life index, and underwent urodynamic evaluation before and after operation. The patients were divided into 7 groups in accordance with detrusor pressure at maximum urinary flow rate. The preoperative and postoperative symptom score and quality of life index were analyzed in each group., Results: Of the patients 42% were not obstructed and could not be distinguished from those who were obstructed preoperatively based on total urinary symptoms (p = 0.95) or subjective impression measured by the quality of life index (p = 0.96). The entire obstructed group demonstrated marked improvement compared to the nonobstructed group (p = 0.018). Analysis of severity also revealed a clear relationship with clinical outcome and subjective satisfaction with obstruction grade, that is the more severely obstructed cases had greater clinical benefit compared to those with little or no obstruction. Furthermore, the nonobstructed subjects did not show any clinical or subjective improvement after transurethral prostatic resection (p = 0.24)., Conclusions: Urodynamic studies provide great predictive value of clinical improvement after prostatic relief but they also properly predict the poor clinical results in nonobstructed patients.

Purpose: Animal bites to the external genitalia are rare. We retrospectively evaluated our experience with treating genital trauma caused by animal attacks., Materials and Methods: We studied the medical records of 10 patients treated in the surgical emergency department at our hospital who presented with genital injury caused by an animal bite from 1983 to 1999. Special attention was given to the severity of injury, surgical treatment, antibiotic prophylaxis and outcome., Results: Of the 2 men and 8 boys 8 were attacked by dogs, 1 by a horse and 1 by a donkey, respectively. In all cases initial local treatment involved débridement and copious wound irrigation with saline and povidone-iodine solution. Five patients who presented with minimal or no skin loss underwent primary skin closure, including 2 in whom urethral lacerations were surgically repaired. There was moderate to extensive tissue loss in 5 patients, including degloving penile injury in 2, traumatic spermatic cord amputation in 1, complete penile and scrotal avulsion in a 5-month-old infant, and partial penectomy in 1. Reconstructive procedures provided satisfactory cosmetic and functional results in 8 cases. Antibiotic prophylaxis was administered in all patients and no infectious complications developed., Conclusions: Animal bite is a rare but potentially severe cause of genital trauma and children are the most common victims. Morbidity is directly associated with the severity of the initial wound. Because patients tend to seek medical care promptly, infectious complications are unusual. Management involves irrigation, débridement, antibiotic prophylaxis, and tetanus and rabies immunization as appropriate as well as primary wound closure or surgical reconstruction. Good functional and cosmetic results are possible in the majority of cases.

Purpose: We present our experience with kidney transplantation in children weighing 20 kg. or less. Surgery was done via extraperitoneal access while preserving the peritoneal cavity intact with special attention given to technical feasibility and the complication rate., Materials and Methods: Included in our study were 46 children with a median age of 7 years weighing 20 kg. or less (mean 16.6), of whom 16 weighed less than 15 kg. (median 13.2). The 25 boys and 21 girls underwent a total of 49 kidney transplants, including 2 in 3 during the study. Donors were living related in 44 cases and cadaveric in 5. Surgical access was obtained by making a J-shaped pararectal incision in a curvilinear fashion from the symphysis pubis to near the costal border., Results: Mean hospital stay was 22.9 days (range 6 to 83) and mean followup was 55.8 months (range 12 to 131). All patients received water on day 1 and food on day 2 postoperatively. In 6 patients 7 surgical complications developed, including urinary fistula in 2, superficial wound infection in 2 and vascular complications in 3 (renal vein thrombosis, stenosis and renal artery kinking in 1 each). Only 1 graft was lost due to a surgical complication., Conclusions: There are many advantages to using extraperitoneal access without an increase in surgical complications or technical difficulty. Absent gastrointestinal complications, an easier way to perform percutaneous biopsy, treatment of any surgical complication with no need for repeat laparotomy and the possibility of using the peritoneal cavity when dialysis is needed postoperatively are attractive justifications for extraperitoneal access.

PURPOSE: Animal bites to the external genitalia are rare. We retrospectively evaluated our experience with treating genital trauma caused by animal attacks. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We studied the medical records of 10 patients treated in the surgical emergency department at our hospital who presented with genital injury caused by an animal bite from 1983 to 1999. Special attention was given to the severity of injury, surgical treatment, antibiotic prophylaxis and outcome. RESULTS: Of the 2 men and 8 boys 8 were attacked by dogs, 1 by a horse and 1 by a donkey, respectively. In all cases initial local treatment involved débridement and copious wound irrigation with saline and povidone-iodine solution. Five patients who presented with minimal or no skin loss underwent primary skin closure, including 2 in whom urethral lacerations were surgically repaired. There was moderate to extensive tissue loss in 5 patients, including degloving penile injury in 2, traumatic spermatic cord amputation in 1, complete penile and scrotal avulsion in a 5-month-old infant, and partial penectomy in 1. Reconstructive procedures provided satisfactory cosmetic and functional results in 8 cases. Antibiotic prophylaxis was administered in all patients and no infectious complications developed. CONCLUSIONS: Animal bite is a rare but potentially severe cause of genital trauma and children are the most common victims. Morbidity is directly associated with the severity of the initial wound. Because patients tend to seek medical care promptly, infectious complications are unusual. Management involves irrigation, débridement, antibiotic prophylaxis, and tetanus and rabies immunization as appropriate as well as primary wound closure or surgical reconstruction. Good functional and cosmetic results are possible in the majority of cases.

Purpose: A shortage of organs for transplantation has forced surgeons to optimize the use of marginal organs, such as kidneys with arterial disease. We present a retrospective study of the outcome of donors with renal artery disease and recipients of kidneys from living related and unrelated donors., Materials and Methods: Kidneys with vascular abnormalities from healthy living donors were grafted into 11 recipients. These kidney transplants comprised 1.8% of those performed at our institution. The vascular abnormalities were aneurysms in 3 cases, atherosclerotic lesions in 4 and fibromuscular dysplasia in 4. After nephrectomy all abnormalities were corrected under hypothermic conditions during bench surgery except in 3 cases of ostial atherosclerotic plaque, which was left in the donors. The renal artery was anastomosed to the external iliac artery in 5 cases and to the internal iliac artery in 6. The ureter was reimplanted using an extravesical technique., Results: All patients had immediate diuresis and no delayed post-transplant graft dysfunction was observed. One patient died of an unrelated cause and 3 had post-transplant graft function loss due to acute vasculopathy in 1, post-diarrhea with acute arterial thrombosis in 1 and recurrence of the hemolytic-uremic syndrome in 1. All remaining patients are well with median serum creatinine of 1.4 mg./dl. (normal 0.4 to 1.4). All donors are well and normotensive with normal renal function., Conclusions: The use of kidneys with arterial disease from living donors with unilateral disease is safe. Complete informed consent regarding the risks and benefits by donor and recipient is mandatory.

Purpose: We studied the clinical picture, sensitivity of the biochemical tests and imaging studies, pathological findings, surgical results and followup of patients with pheochromocytoma., Materials and Methods: The records of 50 patients with pheochromocytoma were identified. Hyperadrenergic symptoms and signs; urinary dopamine, epinephrine, norepinephrine and vanillylmandelic acid levels; serum dopamine, epinephrine and norepinephrine levels; ultrasonography; computerized tomography; magnetic resonance imaging and 131iodine-metaiodobenzylguanidine images were analyzed. The size, weight and malignancy of the tumors, as well as the operative mortality, survival rate and clinical condition of the patients were also studied., Results: The hyperadrenergic syndrome alone was found in 90% of the patients, Cushing's syndrome alone in 2%, both syndromes in 4%, a palpable abdominal tumor only in 2% and incidental tumors in 2%. The sensitivities of the urinary evaluation in the diagnosis were metanephrines 97%, vanillylmandelic acid 90%, epinephrine 64%, norepinephrine 93% and dopamine 66%. For serum assessment the sensitivities were epinephrine 67%, norepinephrine 93% and dopamine 63%. The sensitivities of the localization examinations were 89, 94, 100 and 88% for ultrasonography, computerized tomography, magnetic resonance imaging and 131I-metaiodobenzylquanidine, respectively. There was only 1 operative death. Of the patients with benign tumors 88% were cured and 12% remained hypertensive with no clinical or biochemical evidence of a hyperadrenergic profile. Of the 8 patients with malignant pheochromocytoma 1 was lost to followup and 3 died of widespread disease (1 without surgery and at 2, 24 and 78 months postoperatively). Of the 4 living patients 3 had no evidence of disease and 1 was well, although with pulmonary metastases.

A 29-year-old man born with bladder exstrophy presented with end stage renal failure many years after ileal conduit diversion. Bilateral nephrectomy and continent external urinary diversion were performed, and 1.5 months later a cadaveric kidney was grafted into the right iliac fossa. The patient was well at 18 months with a serum creatinine level of 1.2 mg./dl. and he was completely dry with 4 or 5 daily catheterizations. Although followup is still short, renal transplantation with drainage into an external continent urinary diversion permits excellent quality of life and good renal function. Therefore, this alternative is worth consideration whenever other reconstructive alternatives are not possible in candidates for renal transplantation.

Between April 1991 and February 1992 we obtained 87 percutaneous core needle biopsy specimens from 60 patients with the automatic biopsy gun. In 78 cases (89.7%) enough renal tissue was obtained for histological analysis. Acute rejection was present on 35 biopsies (40.3%) indicating antirejection therapy. No pathological signs of rejection were detected on 43 biopsies (49.4%). In 38 instances (43.7%) biopsy diagnosis differed from clinical presumptive diagnosis, affecting patient management, while in the remainder it was helpful to confirm clinical impressions. The only complication of the procedure was gross hematuria (requiring vesical irrigation in 1 patient). Due to its simplicity and low morbidity rate, renal biopsy with the automated needle system is the procedure of choice for evaluation and management of renal allograft dysfunction.

The existence of synchronous bilateral adrenal masses is an uncommon condition except in the relatively more frequent cases of pheochromocytoma or metastatic tumors. Two cases of synchronous nonfunctioning bilateral adrenal cortex carcinoma, removed during the same operation, are described. The patients currently are receiving hormonal supplementation, and were well 16 and 12 months postoperatively.

Bilateral adrenalectomy followed by immediate transplantation of adrenal slices into muscular tissue was performed in 7 patients with Cushing's disease and 1 with bilateral pheochromocytoma. Patients were followed for 1 to 7 years and only 1 had evidence of a functional graft (serum cortisol level at the lower limit of normality). Low levels of dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate, aldosterone and cortisol were found in the remaining patients. Acute stimulation with adrenocorticotropichormone did not increase either cortisol or aldosterone levels in any patient. We conclude that prospective studies are needed to elucidate factors that could improve the success of adrenal implantation, since the literature shows examples of functional grafts, while the majority of the cases are unsuccessful.

We describe a child with dermatomyositis and calcified necrosis in the middle third of both ureters. Histopathological examination showed vasculitis associated with ureteral necrosis and calcification. These findings together with a similar previous report in the literature have prompted us to correlate dermatomyositis in childhood with ureteral necrosis and to anticipate specifically a lesion in the middle third of the ureter because of the relative lack of blood flow in that segment.

We review 38 cases of surgically corrected incontinent epispadias with a followup of 5 months to 18 years. In 20 cases the Leadbetter, in 8 the Tanagho and in 8 the Young-Dees techniques of bladder neck reconstruction were used. Of 3 patients with minimal (15 to 25 ml.) bladder capacity the Arap procedure was performed in 1, while small constriction of the bladder neck to improve the bladder capacity and compliance was done in 2. In 1 of the latter patients a 60 ml. capacity was achieved and a secondary Leadbetter operation provided an excellent result. Continence was attained after the initial operation in 18 patients, followup is too short to determine the result in 3 and 15 did not acquire urinary control. Revision of the bladder neck plasty was performed in 11 patients, which resulted in continence in 4 and partial continence in 2. Among 34 patients with an adequate followup 22 (73.3 per cent) are continent and 8 (26.4 per cent) are incontinent. The results were similar with the 3 techniques.

Meatal advancement with glanuloplasty is indicated in cases of distal hypospadias. The principles of this operation are safe. Incorporation of urethroplasty with meatal advancement and glanuloplasty enables treatment of the more severe cases of distal hypospadias. We have used this modified operative technique in 10 boys with only 1 complication, which probably was related to the wrong choice of urinary diversion.

We report an unusual case of a ureterocele in a duplex system, which was associated with an ectopic (vulval) upper moiety ureter. This is the second case reported in the literature of a ureterocele arising from the lower pole ureter. Surgical treatment consisted of removal of the upper segment of the kidney and its ureter. The ureterocele was excised and the lower pole ureter was reimplanted in the bladder. At followup 14 years postoperatively the patient was cured and free of urinary infection.