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Biomedical subjects

C W Wesselhoeft

Publications and source records attributed to C W Wesselhoeft.

18 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1992

Chordoma presenting as a posterior mediastinal mass in a pediatric patient.

Chordomas are slow-growing malignant tumors that arise from fetal notochord cells. They are commonly found at the cranial or caudal ends of the spinal cord, but can be seen infrequently in other areas of the cord. Thoracic chordomas can present as either a posterior mediastinal mass or with cord compression symptoms. The tumors present most frequently in the 4th to 5th decade of life. It is extremely rare to see thoracic chordoma in a child. The treatment of choice for chordomas is surgery. The tumors should be totally excised when possible. If the tumor is large or invasive, debulking is indicated. Adjuvant therapy is controversial. Chordomas are very resistant to radiotherapy but there have been several reports of increased survival with high-dose radiotherapy (7,500 rad). Chemotherapy is unproven in the treatment of chordomas. Chordomas tend to recur locally quite frequently and occasionally with distant metastases. Survival ranges from 10% to 30% at 5 years.

Child↗
PubMed1988

Infected urachal cysts: a review of 10 cases.

Disorders of urachal remnants are uncommon. While a urachal cyst usually is asymptomatic, infection may mimic a variety of acute intra-abdominal or pelvic processes. We describe 10 patients in 2 distinct age groups (the young child and the young adult) with an infected urachal cyst. The presenting symptoms and signs in most patients included dysuria, severe lower abdominal pain and fever. In 7 patients the correct preoperative diagnosis was made. Diagnoses at referral included Crohn's disease, bladder carcinoma and pelvic inflammatory disease. A single procedure was performed in 7 cases and a staged technique was used in 3. The differential diagnosis of acute abdominal and pelvic pain or a midline lower abdominal mass in the pediatric or young adult age group should include infection of a urachal remnant.

Adult↗
PubMed1986

Surgical problems and outcome in infants less than 1000 grams at birth.

This study was undertaken to identify the pathologic processes in premature infants weighing less than 1000 gm who require surgery, and the outcome of such operations. These neonates required surgery for NEC and PDA. Congenital anomalies were not encountered in our series. No increased mortality due to surgery was observed, and overall mortality was comparable for infants less than 1000 gm and for premature infants with similar diseases. We conclude that surgery in premature infants less than 1000 gm is performed for acquired diseases, and mortality is not increased by the need for surgery.

Birth Weight↗
PubMed1979

A home program of long-term total parenteral nutrition in children.

Three children--ages 4 months, 5 months, and 14 years--have been on a program of total parenteral nutrition at home for ten, 23 and 44 months respectively, as of January, 1978. Using a specially designed silicone rubber catheter, placed in the right atrium, total nutritional needs of these children were delivered nightly by family members; the children carried out normal activity during the day with the catheter line maintained by a heparin lock. Normal skeletal development and weight gain have been achieved while allowing these children normal social and psychlogic development outside the hospital. During the course of the therapy the patients had multiple metabolic abnormalities which were successfully treated by replacement therapy. The duration of catheter patency ranged from three to 22 months. Catheter sepsis or mechanical failure occasionally required catheter removal and replacement.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1979

Neonatal necrotizing enterocolitis: review and current concepts.

Necrotizing enterocolitis poses a serious threat to the increasing number of "at risk" neonates. Its clinical picture is characterized by abdominal distension, gastric retention, bile vomitus, and bloody stools. Abdominal roentgenograms demonstrate loops of intestine with intramural gas. Many of the neonates with necrotizing enterocolitis have been successfully managed by aggressive medical treatment. A review of the clinical course of 64 neonates with necrotizing enterocolitis in the acute phase suggests that either persistence of abdominal distention, development of edema and erythema of the abdominal wall, or pneumoperitoneum are indications for surgical intervention. Seven neonates presented with colonic stenosis several months after the management of the acute phase of necrotizing entercolitis.

Constriction, Pathologic↗