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Tympanoplasty is a surgical procedure which includes eradication of disease from the middle ear and reconstruction of the hearing mechanism with or without tympanic membrane repair. The purpose of this article was to compare the clinical and audiological outcomes of Type 1 underlay tympanoplasty with or without anterior tucking of the temporals fascia graft. This is a prospective interventional study which included 100 patients between 15 and 60 years of age, diagnosed with chronic otitis media, mucosal disease inactive stage. 100 patients were divided into two groups 50 each, who underwent type 1 underlay tympanoplasty, group A underwent anterior tucking of the temporals fascia graft and group B without anterior tucking of the temporals fascia graft. Analysis of data was made of the demographic details, graft uptake status and audiological outcomes following surgery. Among the 100 patients included in the study, majority were seen between 21 and 40 years of age group. In our study successful graft uptake was seen in 93.4% in group A temporalis fascia with anterior tucking which was better than group B which showed 84% results. However hearing outcome was almost similar in both the groups. In conclusion, graft uptake in tympanoplasty with anterior tucking was found to be better than without anterior tucking. There is significant hearing improvement following underlay technique of tympanoplasty both with and without anterior tucking. There is no significant difference in the hearing improvement with anterior tucking when compared to without anterior tucking of the temporalis fascia graft.

Facial teratomas are uncommon tumours in children that distort the face and may be associated with functional problems. They are less common than cervical teratomas though they are often grouped together and considered an emergency due to their tendency to cause respiratory compromise. They tend to be large and cause cosmetic issues; hence usually noticed early and medical help sought promptly by parents. The close proximity of facial teratomas to structures like eyes, parotid gland, facial nerve, vessels and brain makes them challenging and requires a patient and meticulous exploration during surgery. We present a case of an 11 month old girl with left sided temporal teratoma. Well planning of the incision and complete excision of the tumour with careful sparing of the facial nerves and parotid gland yielded good result.

Wooden foreign body (WFB) injuries in children are common. They may report with acute presentation or be delayed as retained foreign body giving rise to complications. Cases with superficial skin penetration by these foreign bodies and acute presentation may be convenient to diagnose and remove. However, localising deeply impacted and chronically retained WFB is challenging, as they are usually not radiopaque and have a tendency to move deeper into the surrounding soft tissues with time. Foreign body retained for prolonged duration may present with either cellulitis, deep tissue infections, sinus, restriction of joint movements, necrotising fasciitis, osteomyelitis or tumour-like mass. We present an 8-year-old boy with discharging sinuses in the right iliac fossa and medial aspect of the right upper thigh, due to an impacted WFB for 3 months. Prompt radiological imaging and surgical removal helped him recover completely.

Background: Coronavirus disease Pandemic has affected the health-care delivery at all institutions worldwide. Analysis of multi-institutional data would reflect the impact and challenges of this pandemic in managing pediatric surgical cases. To assess the impact of lockdown due to coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) on the pediatric surgical cases operated at four tertiary care institutions. Materials and Methods: Retrospective data of all patients operated at four tertiary care centers in North India in three different states during the imposition of lockdown due to COVID-19 were collected and compared to the immediate prelockdown period. The impact of following the guidelines for surgery during this period was studied. Results: All the institutions involved in the study showed a significant fall in the number and nature of patients treated during the lockdown period when compared to the prelockdown data. No elective cases were operated; 100 children were operated during this period of which neonates (56%) formed the major group; most of them were cases of congenital anomalies which could not be deferred; solid tumours (3/100) were operated on semi-emergency basis; number of trauma patients fell down drastically (1/100); one patient had bronchoscopic foreign body removal; other patients were operated for different causes of acute abdomen. Several measures in the outpatient, intraoperative, and in-patient care were adopted to lessen the spread of virus to the patient and health-care team. Conclusion: Corona pandemic severely impacted both the number and types of patients operated. Strict adherence to the protocol delayed emergency treatment and increased the cost of definitive management.

Langerhans cell histiocytosis is an uncommon disease of childhood. Intrathoracic transposition flaps have been described for a management of number of conditions. We discuss our experience of the use of serratus anterior flap for the obliteration of a pulmonary bulla with a communicating airway, in a 1½-year-old pediatric patient with multisystem Langerhans cell histiocytosis who presented with recurrent pneumothorax with empyema due to rupture of bullae.

Prune belly syndrome is an extremely rare congenital condition occurring predominantly in males. This triad syndrome comprises of partial or complete deficient abdominal wall muscles, undescended testes and dilated urinary collecting system. We present the case of a 2-year-old male patient, who presented with classic prune belly syndrome, operated with modification in classical Monfort technique of abdominoplasty. The basis of this approach was to save and use the supraumbilical abdominal wall which has better tensile strength. The infraumbilical skin was mostly discarded. The outcome was better in terms of cosmetic appearance as the scar was limited to the lower abdomen and better anterior abdominal wall strength.

Background Context Spinal deformities are very challenging to treat and have a great risk of neurologic complications because of hardware placement during corrective surgery. Various techniques have been introduced to ensure safe and accurate placement of pedicle screws. Patient-specific screw guides with predrawn and prevalidated trajectory seem to be an attractive option. Purpose We have focused on developing three-dimensional (3D) printing technique for complex spinal deformities in India. This study also aimed to compare the placement of pedicle screw with 3D printing and freehand technique. Study Design/Settings This is a retrospective comparative clinical study in an academic institutional setting. Patient Sample A total of 20 patients were enrolled during the study: 10 were operated on with the help of 3D printing (Group 1) and 10 were operated on with freehand technique (Group 2). Group 1 included six patients with congenital scoliosis, three patients with adolescent idiopathic scoliosis (AIS), and one patient with post-tubercular kyphosis, and Group 2 included five patients with congenital scoliosis, four patients with AIS, and one patient with post-tubercular kyphosis. Outcome Measures Primary outcomes were measured in terms of screw violation, and secondary outcomes were measured in terms of surgical time, blood loss, radiation exposure (number of shoots required), and complications. Materials and Methods MIMICS Base v18.0 software was used for 3D reconstruction from computed tomography scan images of all the patients. 3-Matic software was used to create a drill guide. A 3D printer from Stratasys Mojo with ABS P430 model material cartilage (a thermoplastic material) was used for the printing of the vertebra model and jigs. A two-sample test of proportion was used to compare correctly and wrongly placed pedicle screws with 3D printing and freehand technique. t Test with equal variance was used for operating surgical time and blood loss. Results No superior or inferior screw violation was observed in any of our patients in either group. We found a significant difference (p=.03) between the two groups regarding perfect screw placement in favor of 3D printing. There were 13 Grade 2 medial perforations in the freehand group and 3 in the 3D printing group. There was no Grade 3 medial perforation in either group. Six Grade 2 lateral perforations in the freehand group and seven in the 3D printing group were observed. Three Grade 3 lateral perforations in the freehand group and two in 3D printing group were observed. Analysis showed a statistically significant (p=.005) medial violation in the freehand group. Surgical time was significantly less (p=.03) in the 3D printing group compared with the freehand group. Mean blood loss was higher in the freehand group but was not statistically significant (p=.3) in the 3D printing group. Fluoroscopic shots required were less in number in the 3D printing group compared with the freehand group. There was no neurologic deficit in any of the patients in the two groups. Conclusions In our study, focusing on spinal deformities with statistically significant higher rates of accurate screw positioning and higher numbers of inserted screws with 3D printing was possible because of enhanced safety, particularly at apical levels. As such, spinal deformities are difficult to treat worldwide. In India, these deformities are often neglected and present at a very late and a much more deformed state when their treatment becomes even more challenging. Developing these patient-specific drill templates will enable an average spine surgeon to treat these patients with much ease and safety.

Lipomas are benign soft tissue tumors; the most common ones present in subcutaneous planes distributed throughout the body. However, there are few sites which are unusual location for lipomas. Here, we discuss the presentation of 4 cases of head and neck lipomas at unusual subsites. Though its prevalence is high in the body, lipomas are rarely seen in upper aerodigestive tract and these lesions can cause severe deglutition and respiratory distress problems in addition to cosmetic deformities. In the head and neck, most common location of lipoma is the cheek, followed by the tongue. Tonsillar lipomas are very rare. The mainstay treatment for lipomas is complete surgical excision and recurrence following complete removal is rarely known. We are here discussing a series of 4 cases of lipomas, presenting at uncommon subsites in head and neck region. These include lesions over neck, tongue, palate and tonsillar fossa. Lipomas are benign mesenchymal tumors, that are initially non bothersome. However, with increasing size they can cause severe aerodigestive problems with functional compromise and need complete surgical excision.

Aim and Objectives: Despite the significant advancements in the management of anorectal malformations (ARMs), there are various surgical and functional complications reported. Complications are closely related with the surgical techniques adopted and the types of malformations. In this article, we present our experiences with ARM patients who required reoperation after unsuccessful previous surgeries or who had developed complications related to the previous surgical techniques. Materials and Methods: We retrospectively reviewed clinical and electronic records of all the patients with ARM who were operated for ARMs in our institute from June 2010 to May 2016. All ARM patients who needed reoperation were included in the study. These patients were previously operated outside our institute and referred to us with ongoing problems of constipation, stool impaction with overflow incontinence, perineal soiling, and difficult urination. Results: There were 31 patients (M:F = 2.1:1) of ARM, reoperated for 38 indications during the above-mentioned period. Five patients had more than one problem. Presentation included neoanal stenosis (11), complete obliteration of neoanus (2), malpositioned neoanus (2), persistent/recurrent rectourethral fistula (3), iatrogenic rectovaginal fistula (4), rectal prolapse (5), large widened neoanus with soiling (2), and urethral stricture (2), which required revision interventions. Six patients had megarectum. All patients showed improvement in their symptoms after revision surgery, but 10 (41.7%) patients required further regular bowel management program (BMP) to avoid the soiling and constipation. Fourteen (58.3%) patients stayed clean without regular BMP. Conclusion: All these complications had clear explanations and are well described in the literature. Revision surgery in such patients had fair outcome, but some sort of BMP was required. Both posterior sagittal anorectoplasty and anterior sagittal anorectoplasty are excellent techniques for revision surgery with few simple modifications.

The two cornerstones of management for Extrahepatic portal vein obstruction (EHPVO) are endotherapy and surgery [Porto-systemic shunts (PSS)/Mesorex bypass (MRB)]. Endotherapy is the mainstay of treatment for acute variceal bleed control and has also been used extensively for secondary prophylaxis till variceal eradication is achieved. However, long-term follow-up beyond endoscopic eradication of esophageal varices (EEEV) indicates that there are numerous delayed bleed and non bleed sequelae of EHPVO, which merit surgery as a definitive procedure to decompress the hypertensive portal venous system. While endotherapy obliterates natural porto-systemic collaterals in the gastroesophageal region, persistently raised portal pressures manifest as an increase in secondary isolated gastric varices, ectopic varices, portal hypertensive vasculopathy, issues related to massive splenomegaly, portal biliopathy, growth retardation and hence impaired quality of life (QOL). An ideal management strategy should address both bleed and non-bleed consequences of EHPVO and translate into a near normal QOL. Further, MRB has opened up new dimensions to the management philosophy of EHPVO. This review article critically evaluates the role of surgery and endotherapy based on available literature and authors' own experience.Surgery and endotherapy are complementary. However, with increasing duration of follow-up post EEEV, it is evident that there is resurgence in the role of surgery (PSS/MRB) as a single one time definitive procedure for alleviating all bleed and delayed non bleed sequelae of EHPVO.Surgery for EHPVO (PSS/MRB) should not be allowed to become a dying art and future generations of surgeons should continue to receive training in this specialized area of surgery.

Objective Surgery is still indicated as the treatment of choice in subset of patients with unilateral multicystic dysplastic kidney (UMCDK) because of its potential complications and malignant change. The purpose of this study is to present our observation that early nephrectomy may cure hypertension early in children with UMCDK and review the literature. Materials and Methods We report here four children (two males and two females) with antenatally diagnosed UMCDK with hypertension, treated in the past 4 years. All have antenatal diagnosis of UMCDK and referred to us after their birth. Diagnosis of hypertension (blood pressure > 95th percentile) was made after 3 months of follow-up in all patients. Nephrectomy was performed in all children in variable time duration. Hypertension, urinary tract infection, and desire of parents were the main indication of surgery. Results All children showed decrease in the size of their dysplastic kidney with time, but hypertension was persistent and needed antihypertensive drugs; even increase in the doses in successive follow-up. After nephrectomy, three children who were operated early got cured having normal blood pressure within variable time duration, while a child, operated late, still had high blood pressure and needed antihypertensive drugs. Conclusion Early nephrectomy in recently diagnosed hypertension in UMCDK is advisable and can cure hypertension early. Levels of Evidence The level of evidence is IV (case series with no comparison group).

Back ground. Oral Cavity Cancers are most common cancers in our country, India. After undergoing wide excision they all require reconstruction. Radial forearm free flap in one of the reliable free vascularised flap. Material and methods. In this study we have retrospectively analyzed results of 38 patients who underwent reconstruction by Radial forearm free flap. Patients underwent primary reconstruction following reconstruction. Results: The Total Number of 38 patients underwent reconstruction in which 8 were females and 30 were males. In 27 patients primary site was buccal mucosa, 6 were lip, tongue were 4 and 1 patient had floor of mouth cancer. Overall success rate was ( 89.4% ). Flap failures were in 4 cases(10.5%). 2 patients required reexploration due to venous thrombosis. one patient had late graft failure. Donor site healed well in all patients except one where partial loss of skin graft was present . Conclusion. Its pliable skin, relatively less hair makes RFFF a reliable flap for reconstruction for intra oral Cancers.

Summary Introduction Wilms tumor is the most common pediatric renal malignancy. While developed countries have had excellent survival, it remains poorer by comparison in developing countries. The aim was to analyze the clinical outcome of children with Wilms tumor managed in a developing country from 2004 to 2014 by the SIOP WT 2001 protocol. Methods Fifty-nine children with Wilms tumor managed by a SIOP WT 2001 regimen from 2004 to 2014 were analyzed. Results The median age at presentation was 36 months, and 59% were boys. The average size of the tumor at presentation was 523 mL. Inferior vena cava thrombus was present in 11, distant metastases in 18, and bilateral tumors in six. Preoperative chemotherapy was given to all children after a diagnostic core needle biopsy. Preoperative chemotherapy reduced the tumor size to a mean of 208 mL and resolved venacaval thrombus in eight. Fifty-five children underwent definitive surgery while two children died during preoperative chemotherapy and two remained inoperable. All surviving children received adjuvant chemotherapy with 17 receiving radiotherapy as well. The overall survival (OS) was 80% and the event-free survival (EFS) was 73% after a mean follow up of 42 months after completion of therapy. Discussion The tumor volumes at presentation and the incidence of venous tumor thrombosis in our cohort were much higher than those reported from developed countries. The incidence of metastatic disease at diagnosis (30.5%) was significantly higher than the 10–12% reported in Western data, but similar to that reported from various developing countries (14.1–31%). The OS in our cohort was 80% and the EFS was 73% with there being no events after 28 months. Although the survival rate for localized disease is similar to that in developed countries, the OS for metastatic disease was significantly less (50% vs. 75%). We also found that using an upfront posterior flank core biopsy was safe and beneficial for differentiating Wilms tumor from other pediatric renal tumors that are less chemosensitive. Conclusion In a resource-restricted environment such as ours, the SIOP WT 2001 protocol has been found to show excellent results. Download : Download high-res image (205KB) Download : Download full-size image Figure Summary of the cases treated from 2004 to 2014.