Search PubMedSearch

Biomedical subjects

H C Filston

Publications and source records attributed to H C Filston.

18 recordsLinked to original sources

Treatment of infantile subglottic hemangioma with electrocautery.

Laryngeal subglottic hemangioma is a rare but potentially life-threatening congenital lesion that can compromise that infant airway. A multitude of medical and surgical modalities have been used in the treatment of this lesion but no single approach has received universal acceptance. Three infants with subglottic hemangiomas were treated successfully with electrocautery; each was managed without tracheostomy. Bronchoscopic electrocautery appears to be a safe, effective, inexpensive way to manage infantile subglottic hemangioma.

Bronchoscopy

Diagnosis and management of common bile duct stones in patients with sickle hemoglobinopathies.

Nine of 35 patients with sickle hemoglobinopathies and cholelithiasis were found to have concomitant common bile duct (CBD) stones. We describe the diagnosis and management of these patients with CBD stones. Historical information, physical examination, and routine laboratory tests were unable to identify accurately the patients with CBD stones. Similarly, ultrasonography of the hepatobiliary system was an insensitive method for detecting CBD stones, as only 3 of 8 patients were correctly identified. In contrast, both an intraoperative cholangiogram and endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography were sensitive procedures for detection of CBD stones. We conclude that CBD stones are relatively common in patients with sickle cell disease and cholelithiasis, and clinicians should have a high index of suspicion for their presence.

Adolescent

Fluid and electrolyte management in the pediatric surgical patient.

The following is a quick guide to the perioperative fluid program discussed 1. Always assess the state of fluid repletion in any patient presenting for surgical management (Note: This does not necessarily mean operative management). 2. If the patient is hypovolemic or if there is the possibility of hypovolemia and you are uncertain, restore volumes equal to 25% of the patient's blood volume with a fluid push made up of an osmotically active electrolyte solution modified for the additional requirements of red cell carrying capacity or clotting factors. If this results in a urine output and correction of hypoperfusion or hypotension, maintain an increased fluid administration program until a stable urine output and good perfusion are achieved. If the patient is normovolemic at the time of presentation, particularly if the patient is having an elective operative procedure and does not have an intravenous line in place, calculate the insensible losses that will occur during the time of fluid restriction before surgery and correct at least 50% of these during the operative procedure. 3. Develop the postoperative fluid program as a combination of 24-hour insensible loss replacement (maintenance fluid), restoration of measured losses, and an estimate (guess) as to the volume requirements for third-space fluid shifts. Restore blood losses if appropriate or administer additional volumes of balanced electrolyte solution at a 3-to-1 ratio to replace measured blood loss. 4. Total the insensible loss measurement, the measured losses, and the estimate of third-space requirement and divide this volume by 24 to get an initial hourly fluid administration rate. 5. Select the most osmotically active fluid that you intend to use and administer it first at the calculated rate. Carefully monitor the patient's urine output. 6. Increase or decrease the fluid administration rate to bring the hourly urine output within the guidelines for the appropriate hourly urine output (milliliters) for the particular patient based on size (kilograms). 7. When the urine output falls within the appropriate range, maintain that rate of fluid administration, and recalculate the volumes required because of insensible loss, measured loss, and third-space shifts by subtracting the amount of fluid already administered from the volume that will be required in the remainder of the 24 hours; this will yield the volumes of additional maintenance, measured loss, and third-space fluids that will make up the remainder of the fluids needed for the 24 hours.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)

Child, Preschool

Surgical management of children with hemoglobinopathies.

Sickle hemoglobinopathies include sickle cell disease, sickle-C disease, and sickle-beta thalassemia. Patients with these disorders commonly suffer a multitude of destructive events to vital organs, especially to the central nervous system, the spleen, the kidney, the lung, and the heart as a result of microvascular plugging by the sickled erythrocytes. Thoughtful preparation for anesthesia and operation, especially when directed by experienced individuals, can greatly reduce the hazard of inducing the sickle crises that formerly plagued individuals with sickle hemoglobinopathies who faced major operations under general anesthesia. The patient must be free of any acute illness, especially one involving the respiratory system. Adequate hydration preoperatively combined with avoiding perioperative hypoxia, hypothermia, and acidosis, the triggers for sickling, will go far toward avoiding sickle-induced complications. Modern transfusion therapy, consisting of multiple small transfusions of Hb A erythrocytes administered over several weeks prior to the operation, not only corrects the chronic anemia but suppresses erythropoiesis of cells containing Hb S in the patient's bone marrow and leaves him or her with a majority of cells containing Hb A. This provides a safety net in case a sickle-inducing insult occurs despite the best efforts to avoid one. Individuals with sickle hemoglobinopathies may require any of the operations common to all children, for example, herniorrhaphy, appendectomy, tonsillectomy, and circumcision, but a significant number will develop calcium bilirubinate cholelithiasis and possibly cholecystitis as a result of the continual increased load of bile salts resulting from the shortened lifespan of the cells containing Hb S. Also, although most individuals with Hb S will gradually suffer splenic infarction by late childhood, a significant number of infants will experience acute splenic sequestration crisis, a life-threatening entity, the recurrence of which is prevented by splenectomy. Several publications have demonstrated that such surgical procedures can be performed in large numbers of patients with sickle hemoglobinopathies without deaths and with minimal morbidity.

Adolescent

Review of head and neck lesions in infancy and childhood.

Common congenital and infectious lesions of the head and neck in infancy and childhood have been discussed. Those that are present at birth, asymptomatic, and frequently cystic are clearly benign lesions that require operative management for the potential complications of enlargement and infection. Solid lesions, particularly those of the lymph nodes, must be differentiated from neoplasms, particularly Hodgkin's disease and non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. Suppurative lymphadenitis is obvious from its local inflammatory signs, but the subacute and chronic adenopathies may be difficult to distinguish from neoplasia. An attitude that unless the benign nature of a lesion is clearly demonstrated, early excisional biopsy for histopathologic evaluation must be the rule will avoid delays in diagnosing those neoplastic lesions that can be treated successfully if managed early and aggressively.

Branchioma

Occult spinal dysraphism in patients with anal agenesis.

Recent reports have suggested an association between congenital anorectal anomalies and occult spinal dysraphism. Eighty-seven patients with anal agenesis have been treated at this institution over the last 14 years. Two of these patients had spinal cord anomalies recognized at birth (a myelomeningocele and a tethered spinal cord). Two additional patients presented with progressive neurologic deficits in early childhood and were each found to have a tethered spinal cord. To further assess the magnitude of this problem, we have used magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the spine to survey prospectively 23 infants with anal agenesis. Twenty-one former patients who were asymptomatic were recalled and also studied. Four of 44 patients (9%) were found to have significant occult spinal dysraphism; each child had undergone neurosurgical operation without morbidity. MRI found each child to have a tethered spinal cord, either as an isolated lesion (2) or in association with a syrinx (1) or lipomyelomeningocele (1). One of these patients had a neurologic deficit detected on careful preoperative evaluation. The other three, two of whom were less than 2 years old, had no detectable deficit. Neither the extent of the anorectal malformation, the absence of associated congenital anomalies, nor the demonstration of normal vertebral anatomy on plain radiographs of the spine precluded the presence of occult spinal dysraphism. Therefore, we recommend that all patients with anorectal anomalies undergo MRI imaging of their spines during initial evaluation to screen for occult spinal dysraphism. In addition, consideration should be given to recalling older patients for MRI evaluation.

Abnormalities, Multiple

A safer system for percutaneous subclavian venous catheterization in newborn infants.

Percutaneous infraclavicular cannulation of the subclavian vein in even the tiniest infants can be performed with safety and ease using a plastic cannula metal needle stylet and following plastic catheter. This route for achieving superior vena caval catheterization provides a most satisfactory method for central pressure monitoring, long term antibiotic administration, total parenteral nutrition, and exchange transfusion. Few serious complications have been noted in over a hundred infant cannulations. The procedure can be performed in the intensive care nursery with a success rate of over 95%. Sepsis rates in clean cases are acceptably low. Most sepsis is due to other clearly identifiable sources of infection in these already critically ill infants.

Catheterization

Arteriographic embolization for control of recurrent severe gastric hemorrhage in a 10-yr-old boy.

Severe stress ulceration or stress gastritis may occasionally produce uncontrollable gastric hemorrhage in the pediatric age group. Modern arteriographic techniques utilizing selective embolization to occlude demonstrated bleeding arteries can successfully control such hemorrhage and avoid emergency destructive surgical resection. A 10-yr-old boy, in whom a previous 80% gastric resection failed to control life threatening hemorrhage, is presented, with roentgenographic demonstration of the procedure and the successful control of his gastric bleeding.

Angiography

Asymptomatic cecal stenosis after necrotizing enterocolitis.

Survival of infants with necrotizing enterocolitis may be complicated by intestinal stricture(s) as a result of healing of ischemic segments of bowel. An asymptomatic cecal stenosis not visible on barium enema was identified at operation for reestablishment of intestinal continuity. Infants recovering from acute necrotizing enterocolitis deserve continued surveillance for mechanical and functional abnormalities of the gastrointestinal tract. Patency of the intestinal lumen distal to the ostomy site should be clearly demonstrated by the surgeon when continuity is reestablished.

Cecal Diseases

Infant tracheostomy. A new look with a solution to the difficult cannulation problem.

Although most infant airway and ventilatory problems will be best solved by the use of endotracheal tubes, clear-cut indications for tracheostomy exist. Past reticence to use tracheostomy for infants has been due mainly to the fear of decannulation problems. Recognition of obstructive airway lesions, particularly the lumen-narrowing tracheal stomal granuloma, has been facilitated by the routine use of the newer infant bronchoscopes with optical telescopes. Successful decannulation begins with proper tracheostomy technique, and continues through tracheostomy management and a well-conceived decannulation program. Decannulation should include evaluation of the structure and function of the airway endoscopically and it may include translaryngeal endoscopic resection or formal surgical removal of any obstructing lesions. Experienced nursing personnel are essential to the entire program.

Airway Obstruction

Rupture of a renal cell carcinoma in a child: five-year tumor-free survival and literature review.

The third case of presumably spontaneous rupture of a hypernephroma in a child is reported. This patient remains free of disease more than 5 years following radical nephrectomy, radiation and chemotherapy. Although renal adenocarcinoma in children remains a rare disease, more than 80 cases have appeared in the literature, making it necessary now to consider this tumor in the differential diagnosis of all childhood abdominal masses. Equally significant is the observation that presentation as an acute abdominal crisis in a child can occur, making it important that diagnostic considerations in such situations include hypernephroma, as well as Wilms' tumor. Review of the literature shows that occasional cures from spontaneous retroperitoneal rupture of hypernephromas have been reported in adults, but not in children, although this child has survived in spite of tumor spillage in the free peritoneal cavity.

Abdomen, Acute

Translocation of the umbilical artery to the lower abdomen: an adjunct to the postoperative monitoring of arterial blood gases in major abdominal wall defects.

A technique is presented for preserving the umbilical arteries for postoperative monitoring of arterial blood gases after repair of giant omphaloceles and gastroschisis. Translocation of the arteries to the lower abdominal wall removes them from the operative field and allows cannulation and long-term blood sampling. Complications have been minimal and the improved application of modern pulmonary support mechanisms has materially contributed to better patient management. The technique is a simple one and may prove applicable to other major newborn medical and surgical diseases involving respiratory insufficiency.

Abdomen