Vol 24, No 5 (2020)

Introduction. The endoscopic correction of vesicoureteral reflux in children has become a basic treatment technique. Its effectiveness in the low-grade reflux is high. High-grade refluxes are an indication for antireflux reconstructive plastic surgery. The article analyzes outomes of endoscopic treatment of patients with high-grade retrograde urine reflux. Material and methods. A total number of 307 patients (409 ureters) with IV-V grade of vesicoureteral reflux were treated. 156 girls and 151 boys, aged 4 months - 12 years, had the endoscopic correction with Dextranomer and Copolymer of Polyacrylic Polyvinyl Alcohol (PPC). The renal parenchyma damage was assessed with DMSA scan; urinary tract infection - with clinical and laboratory findings (febrile temperature and bacteriuria). Outcomes of treatment were evaluated with micurating cystography performed six months later. It revealed either no reflux or its lower grade - grade one. Average follow-up period was 5. 5 years. Results. The effectiveness of endoscopic correction of vesicoureteral reflux after the first injection was 68.7%. The second injection was effective in 48.9%. Febrile urinary tract infection after the treatment went down up to 6.2%. Marked bacteriuria remained high - 55.3%. Renal parenchyma structural and functional damage was noted in 38.9% of older children; mild and moderate degrees of damage prevailed (45.6% and 40.8%, respectively). Conclusion. The endoscopic correction of high-grade vesicoureteral reflux is recommended as the first line treatment for retrograde urine reflux. This technique is highly effective and minimally invasive.

Actuality. To date, there are few publications focused on pneumovesicoscopic ureteral reimplantation in young children. The article is devoted to surgical interventions in this age group. Material and methods. Surgical interventions on small volume bladder have significant technical difficulties. The authors assessed potentials for performing pneumovesicoscopic ureteral reimplantation by the Cohen technique in 14 children under 2 with various obstructive uropathies. Results. In all children, surgical interventions were performed according to preoperative plans. There were no conversions to an open procedure. As it has been found out, patient’s age and bladder volume were not limiting factors for this type of intervention. Conclusion. The pneumovesicoscopic ureteral reimplantation in young children is a hi-tech procedure which requires a unique equipment and a highly qualified surgical team. To reduce the procedure duration, further experience and more information are needed.

Introduction. The article background a necessity to timely perform conservative treatment of cervical spine pathologies associated with undifferentiated connective tissue dysplasia in children. Their treatment should consider all structural features of the cervical spine, its blood supply and concomitant pathologies which may be identified by diagnostic algorithms of multidisciplinary approach. Material and methods. In 2018-2020, 177 children with cervical spine pathologies associated with undifferentiated connective tissue dysplasia were conservatively treated in Morozovskaya Children’s City Clinical Hospital. All children were randomized into 3 groups which were prescribed different treatment modalities. In Group I, patients had standard treatment (exercise therapy, isometric gymnastics, massage, apparatus therapy); in Group II, head holders were added to standard treatment; in Group III, medicamentous therapy was added to standard treatment and head holders (magnesium lactate dihydrate and pyridoxine hydrochloride, levocarnitine). The instrumental examination revealed that all studied children had phenotypic signs of syndromes of undifferentiated connective tissue dysplasia and signs of pathology in the cervical spine. The average follow-up period was 24 months (6 months - 2 years). The average age of patients was 10 ± 3 years (5-17 years). Results and discussion. In order to assess the effectiveness of treatment, a comparative analysis of findings obtained at objective examinations was made before treatment and in 6 and 12 months after it. The examinations included: measurements of linear blood flow velocity in the vertebral arteries with ultrasound Doppler of the brachycephalic vessels; X-ray measurements of the cervical spine (Cruvelier joint and various displacements in vertebrae). The analysis performed has shown that the best results were registered in Group III. Conclusion. Findings obtained after catamnestic and instrumental examinations have showed that the complex treatment of cervical spine pathology, associated with undifferentiated connective tissue dysplasia in children, should include not only standard treatment (physical exercise trainings, massage, apparatus therapy) but also cervical orthoses and medicamentous therapy. Such a combined treatment has more pronounced therapeutic effect.

Introduction. Spinal injury in pediatric practice is met relatively rare; spinal fractures in children do not exceed 5%, and the incidence rate does not exceed 5:100000. However, spinal injuries have a high rate of fetal outcomes (up to 5-10%), and have significant long-lasting negative effects. Therefore, to timely detect such injuries is extremely important for determining treatment tactics, preventing secondary damage to nerve structures and preventing the formation of spinal deformity. Purpose. To assess and compare CT and MRI potentials for developing a diagnostic algorithm in children with thoracolumbar spine injury. Material and methods. 4355 patients, aged 6 months - 17 years, with thoracolumbal spine injury were included into the study . All patients had radiography of the thoracic or lumbar spine and MRI of three spinal sections. Multispiral computed tomography ( MSCT) was performed with Brilliance 16 and 64 scanners. Information on the thoracolumbal spine picture obtained by scanning the chest and abdomen was assessed using findings of frontal and sagittal and 3D reformatted images. MRI was performed on Achieva 3 T scanner; multi-planar T1-, T2-weighted images of (WI) TSE and STIR images in axial, frontal and sagittal projections with a slice thickness of 2-4 mm were obtained. A special spinal 32 channel coil was used. Results. To compare the effectiveness of CT and MRI techniques in the diagnostics of thoracolumbar spinal injury, a sampling of 95 patients was selected. The number of injuries (total and their distribution by the type of injury) was defined using the sample findings. The total number of detected injuries was: only by MRI = 325; only by CT = 228; MRI + CT = 199. By the results of McNemar test, it has been found out that MRI detects statistically significantly better explosive fractures of the vertebrae, ruptures of the posterior longitudinal ligament (PLL) and yellow ligament (YL), ruptures of third column ligaments, herniated discs, epidural and sublingual hematomas, hematomyelia, complete and partial ruptures of the spinal cord and its edema; CT has superiority in detecting fractures of posterior vertebral elements. Conclusion. Currently, MSCT remains a key imaging technique in the diagnostics of acute spinal injuries in most cases in children and adults. Our findings confirm that MRI - in the absence of standard absolute contraindications - can serve as a worthy alternative for assessing damages of the vertebral bodies, ligaments, intervertebral discs, spinal cord and its roots in the acute stage of injury, yielding only in detecting injuries in vertebra posterior elements. The absence of ionizing radiation is also one of MSCT advantages which makes its use preferable for spinal injury diagnostics in children, both for primary and for control examinations.

Introduction. The obstruction of pyeloureteral junction is the most common cause of hydronephrosis in neonates and infants. Indications for surgical treatment include: decrease in differentiated renal function less than 40%, continued decrease in differentiated renal function for more than 10% in subsequent examinations, poor excretory function at diuretic renography (T ½ more than 20 min), increase in the anteroposterior diameter of the pelvis over 20 mm or dilatation of degrees III and IV by the classification of the Society of Fetal Urology (SFU). Material and methods. Treatment options for this condition include a wide range of approaches - from active observation to minimally invasive methods, including laparoscopic or robotic pyeloplasty. The main goal of treatment is to alleviate symptoms as well as to improve and / or to maintain renal function. The most common technique for removing obstruction of the pyeloureteral junction is dismembered pyeloplasty which is also called Anderson-Hynes operation. The Anderson-Hynes laparoscopic pyeloplasty is not widely spread what reflects the complex nature of this surgery in newborns and infants. A surgical access aiming to provide a minimally invasive correction of the obstruction in the pelvic-ureteric junction can be achieved equally by laparoscopic pyeloplasty, retroperitoneoscopicpyeloplasty and robot-assisted laparoscopic pyeloplasty. Results. Currently, there is a limited number of reports on the application of laparoscopic techniques for treating pyeloureteral segment obstructions in newborns and infants. The reasonability of such an approach in children under one year of age remains a matter of debate. It has been found out that postoperative results after laparoscopy are similar to those after a conventional open intervention. Conclusion. This literature review demonstrates that a surgeon - before performing reconstructive operations on infant’s kidneys must have a good experience in many other advanced laparoscopic procedures with endosurgical suturing . Laparoscopy offers many more benefits than simply reducing the patient’s hospital stay or less drug use. The magnification inherent to high-definition (HD) or ultra-high-resolution television (UHD or 4K) technology makes these surgical interventions more accurate due to better visualization of such microobjects and their layers at the baby’s ureter, which has a diameter slightly exceeding 2 mm. Another advantage of laparoscopy lies in more adequate assessment of the situation in case of hydronephrosis than that in the open surgery.

Introduction. A rare disease in pediatric population - acute hematogenous osteomyelitis of the patella - is presented in the article by the authors. Diagnostic approaches and specificity in choosing a curative modality are described as well. A purulent focus in the patella was treated arthroscopically. Satisfactory outcomes in the shortest possible period were achieved due to the combined curative modality: antibiotic therapy, flow-lavage drainage of the joint and early rehabilitative measures. Purpose. To demonstrate potentials of modern diagnostic and endosurgical techniques for treating acute hematogenous osteomyelitis of the patella of rare location. Material and methods. In February 2017, a 12-year-old boy with acute hematogenous osteomyelitis of the right patella was examined and treated at the department of purulent surgery of the Research Institute of Emergency Pediatric Surgery and Trauma (CRIEPST). A complex of diagnostic techniques included laboratory (clinical analysis of blood and urine, biochemical blood test) and instrumental (ultrasound diagnostics of knee joints, computed tomography) examinations. Conservative treatment included antibacterial, anti-inflammatory and symptomatic therapy . Surgical debridement of the osteomyelitis focus in the knee joint was made arthroscopically. Results. Given the obtained data, the diagnosis of acute hematogenous osteomyelitis of the right patella was put. Location of the process, purulent effusion in the joint cavity and damaged articular surface of the patella urged surgeons to decide on the endosurgical treatment: arthroscopic cleansing of the purulent-necrotic focus of the patella and sanitation of the knee joint cavity. In the postoperative period, the child had medicamentous therapy, apparatus therapy, hyperbaric oxygenation therapy. The right lower limb was immobilized with a posterior plaster cast for 7 days. The joint was washed with physiological saline solution for 5 days, after which the drainage was left for passive aspiration for another two days. Standing-up position with crutches and emphasis on the low legs were achieved on the 7th postoperative day. On the 14th postoperative day, the child was discharged home in a satisfactory state. Catamnestic examination 4 months later revealed that the right knee joint was not externally changed, movements in the joint were in full range. Ultrasound examination did not reveal any pathology either. MRI examination revealed an area with reparative signs at the site of operated purulent focus which looked like a partial replacement of the bone defect. Conclusions. The arthroscopy is a minimally invasive and effective technique for surgical treatment of intra-articular purulent foci in acute hematogenous osteomyelitis of the patella.