Poland syndrome is a rare congenital anomaly described by Sir Alfred Poland over 170 years ago. Combination of unilateral aplasia of the sternocostal head of musculus pectoralis major, and an ipsilateral hypoplastic hand with simple syndactyly and short fingers is typical for this condition. It occurs more frequent among males, and is usually situated on the right hemithorax in the unilateral form. The pathogenesis of Poland syndrome is not clear. Most of the authors assume that the etiologic insult is vascular in nature. During the sixth week of gestation, not only the pectoral mass splits (future muscles of the thorax) and intervening tissue between the finger rays of hands starts to disappear but also the vascular differentiation from six aortic arches begins. In our paper we report two cases of children with Poland syndrome, who underwent surgical procedure in the Department of Pediatric Surgery, Comenius University in Bratislava, Slovakia. Our case reports are focused on pre-operatively and also post-operatively imaging (RTG, CT, and 3D CT imaging) of the affected thorax and arm, as well as the operative reconstruction technique of abnormal ribs. We also discussed the possible embryonic backgrounds of this anomaly as well as the importance of plastic surgery resulting in patients' normal life.

Fetus in fetu is a rare congenital anomaly, when the malformed monozygotic twin is found within the body of a living child or sometimes in an adult. We report a case of fetus in fetu diagnosed during the early third trimester of pregnancy, in the medial and inferior portions of anterior mediastinum of the dominant twin. The diagnosis was suspected by prenatal ultrasound and fetal magnetic resonance imaging. It was postnatally confirmed by CT and RTG, surgically removed after birth and histologically examined. Histologically we found well-developed organs and tissues derived from all germ layers. To our knowledge, we describe the fourth case of fetus in fetu located in the thorax, and the second case located in the anterior mediastinum. This case highlights the usefulness of prenatal ultrasound and MRI in the diagnosis of mediastinal masses, and the usefulness of complete histological examination for confirmation of diagnosis of fetus in fetu. We also reviewed the possible embryologic backgrounds of this congenital anomaly.

Anthropometry provides feasible and non-invasive method of pectus deformities evaluation. Based on the study results, anthropometry should be performed prior to CT examination in order to select patients for surgical treatment. Anthropometric measurements are helpful in accurate documentation of growth, longitudinal observation of the patient, and can support decision concerning the type of surgery.

In 95 children (age 6-18 y) treated for gallstones between 2002-2010, 95 laparoscopic cholecystectomies were carried out. Symptomatic cholecystolithiasis was the indication for laparoscopic cholecystectomy in most of the cases. In three patients, there was a conversion to open cholecystectomy. Postoperative complications due to failure of bile drainage arose in three patients. Restored bile drainage was secured for two biliodigestive anastomosis. Bile leak in a third patient solved a temporary biliary stent. Laparoscopic cholecystectomy is the gold standard for gallstones (Ref. 8). Full Text in PDF www.elis.sk.

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