Minimal incision laparoscopy assisted open pediatric pyeloplasty

Transumbilical single-incision hybrid pyeloplasty for infant ureteropelvic junction obstruction

Ureteropelvic junction obstruction (UPJO) can be treated by various pyeloplasty techniques. We present a hybrid technique incorporating elements of laparoendoscopic single-site surgery and open pyeloplasty through a single umbilical incision. As a result, seven infants with UPJO underwent the hybrid pyeloplasty smoothly. The mean operative time was 131.9 min. At a follow-up of 11.8-50.0 months, all infants showed significant improvement and no symptoms except for one febrile urinary tract infection. The cosmetic results were very satisfactory without obvious visible scars. Therefore, the hybrid pyeloplasty appears to be a simple and effective minimally invasive surgery for treating infant UPJO.

Single-port laparoscopic surgery in children: A new alternative in developing countries

BACKGROUND

Single-incision laparoscopic surgery (SILS) is a technique in laparoscopic surgery, which is based on the idea that all the laparoscopic trocars are inserted through a single umbilical incision. This paper documents a single-centre experience, which performed the single-port surgery in children using an improvised trans-umbilical glove-port with conventional rigid instruments.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

We prospectively studied the outcomes of SILS procedures between January 2013 and June 2014. Materials required making our homemade trans-umbilical port consisted on: A flexible ring, a rigid larger ring, one powder-free surgical glove, a wire-to-skin and standard standards laparoscopic trocars.

RESULTS

A total of 90 consecutive procedures had been done in our institution: 15 girls and 75 boys (mean age: 7.5 years). We used SILS on 59 appendectomies with an average operative time of 48 minutes. We needed conversion to conventional surgery in three cases (two with perforated appendicitis and one for difficulty to mobilize the appendix). SIL cholecystectomy was performed for four patients with symptomatic cholelithiasis; mean operative time was 60 min. All patients were discharged on postoperative day 2. Eighteen boys with non-palpable testis were explored and treated. Other procedures included: Varicocelectomy (n = 2), intra-abdominal lymph node biopsies (n = 2), ovarian cystectomy (n = 1), ovarian transposition (n = 1), aspiration of renal hydatid cyst (n = 1), explorative laparoscopy in research to Meckel's diverticulum (n = 1) and intestinal intussusceptions (n = 1). No post-operative complications were seen in all cases.

CONCLUSIONS

SILS in the paediatric population using conventional rigid instruments is feasible, safe and effective. It may be an alternative to the costly commercially available single-port systems especially in a developing country like Tunisia.