PURPOSE: The application of laparoscopic surgery in children has expanded tremendously in recent years. However, the feasibility of the technique is somewhat controversial. We summarize our experience of laparoscopy in children and describe the surgical techniques used in these cases. METHODS: Between June 2001 and May 2004, 58 children (33 male, 25 female) underwent laparoscopic surgery at the Department of Surgery, Daegu Fatima hospital. All the clinical data was collected retrospectively. RESULTS: The laparoscopic procedures for each indications were a laparoscopic reduction for a barium reduction failed intussuception (n=15), laparoscopic appendectomy for acute appendicitis (n=30), laparoscopic splenectomy for symptomatic hereditary spherocytosis (n=4), laparoscopic salphin-go-ophorectomy for torsion of parovarian cyst and ovarian tumor (n=2), laparoscopic diverticulectomy for symptomatic Meckel's diverticulum (n=2), laparoscopic Hellor myotomy and Dor fundoplication for achalasia (n=1), diagnostic purpose for peritoneal tuberculosis (n=2) and the laparoscopic removal of a foreign body in the peritoneal cavity (n=2). The mean age was 7.9 years (range from 4 months to 14 years). In intussusception, the laparoscopic reduction was successful in 12 patients (80%), with a conversion to an open procedure occurring in 3 cases (20%). There were no other open con-versions. There were no postoperative wound complications except for two wound problems in patients with acute perforated appendicitis. The operative time and duration of the hospital stay was suitable. CONCLUSION: The laparoscopic procedure in various disorders of infants and children is safe and avoids the necessity of open surgery under the appropriate indication.
Appendectomy ; Appendicitis ; Barium ; Child* ; Conversion to Open Surgery ; Daegu ; Esophageal Achalasia ; Female ; Foreign Bodies ; Fundoplication ; Humans ; Infant ; Intussusception ; Laparoscopy* ; Length of Stay ; Male ; Meckel Diverticulum ; Operative Time ; Parovarian Cyst ; Peritoneal Cavity ; Peritonitis, Tuberculous ; Retrospective Studies ; Splenectomy ; Wounds and Injuries

In the present study, we identified a Spirometra species of Myanmar origin (plerocercoid) by molecular analysis using mitochondrial cox1 and nad1 genes, as well as by morphological observations of an adult tapeworm. Spargana specimens were collected from a paddy-field in Taik Kyi Township Tarkwa Village, Yangon, Myanmar in December 2017. A total of 5 spargana were obtained from 20 frogs Hoplobatrachus rugulosus; syn: Rana rugulosa (Wiegmann, 1834) or R. tigrina (Steindachner, 1867). The plerocercoids were used for experimental infection of a dog. After 4 weeks of infection, an adult tapeworm was recovered from the intestine of the dog. Morphologically, the distinct features of Spirometra sp. (Myanmar origin) relative to S. erinaceieuropaei and S. decipiens include a uterine morphology comprising posterior uterine coils that larger than the terminal uterine ball and coiling of the uteri diagonally (swirling) rather than spirally. The cox1 sequences (1,566 bp) of the Myanmar-origin Spirometra species showed 97.9% similarity to a reference sequence of S. decipiens (GenBank no. KJ599679) and 90.5% similarity to a reference sequence of S. erinaceieuropaei (GenBank no. KJ599680). Phylogenetic tree topologies were identical and presented high confidence level of values for the 3 major branches of the 3 Spirometra species in cox1 and nad1 genes. These results indicated that Myanmar-origin Spirometra species coincided with those of S. ranarum and may be considered as a valid species.
Adult ; Animals ; Cestoda ; Dogs ; Genes, vif ; Humans ; Intestines ; Myanmar ; Ranidae ; Spirometra ; Trees ; Uterus

The prevalence of liver and intestinal fluke infections was surveyed on residents of Savannakhet Province, Laos. Fecal specimens were collected from a total of 981 residents in 4 Mekong riverside villages and examined by the Kato-Katz thick smear technique. The results revealed that the overall helminth egg positive rate was 84.2%, and the positive rate for small trematode eggs, including Opisthorchis viverrini, heterophyids, or lecithodendriids, was 67.1%. To obtain adult flukes, 38 small trematode egg positive cases were treated with a 20-30 mg/kg single dose of praziquantel and purged. Diarrheic stools were then collected from 29 people and searched for helminth parasites using stereomicroscopes. Mixed infections with O. viverrini and 6 kinds of intestinal flukes were found, namely, Haplorchis taichui, Haplorchis pumilio, Haplorchis yokogawai, Prosthodendrium molenkampi, Phaneropsolus bonnei, and echinostomes. The total number of flukes collected was 7,693 specimens (av. no. per treated person; 265.3). The most common species was O. viverrini, followed by H. taichui, P. molenkampi, echinostomes, H. pumilio, P. bonnei, and H. yokogawai. The results indicate that foodborne liver and intestinal fluke infections are prevalent among residents of Savannakhet Province, Laos.
Adolescent ; Adult ; Aged ; Animals ; Anthelmintics/administration & dosage ; Child ; Child, Preschool ; Feces/parasitology ; Female ; Humans ; Intestinal Diseases, Parasitic/drug therapy/*epidemiology ; Laos/epidemiology ; Liver Diseases, Parasitic/*epidemiology ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Parasite Egg Count ; Population Surveillance ; Praziquantel/administration & dosage ; Prevalence ; Trematoda/classification/*isolation & purification ; Trematode Infections/drug therapy/*epidemiology