Introduction Sinus pilonidalis (SP) is an acquired inflammatory disease, which is relatively common in the paediatric population. Surgery is indicated in symptomatic patients. In 2017, minimally invasive pilonidal sinus treatment (EPSiT) was adapted to the paediatric population. Aim To evaluate the first experience with minimally invasive endoscopic treatment of SP (PEPSiT) in children and adolescents in the Czech Republic. Material and methods A retrospective review of all consecutive paediatric patients who underwent PEPSiT from November 2018 to February 2020. The monitored parameters were demographics, perioperative course of the disease, surgery, length of hospitalisation, postoperative complications, healing, disease recurrence, and follow-up. Results Seventeen patients were enrolled in the study. The median age at surgery was 17.1 years (range: 12.5–18). The subjects comprised 76% males, and the median body mass index was 25.6 kg/m 2 (range: 17–30.3 kg/m 2 ). Thirteen patients underwent previous surgical treatment (76%) under local anaesthesia. The median duration of PEPSiT was 50 min (range: 30–85 min). The subjective evaluation of pain by patients on the VAS scale was 0 on the day of discharge. There were no postoperative complications up to the 30 th postoperative day. Two disease recurrences were successfully managed by re-PEPSiT. By the end of follow-up, 14/15 patients had healed. Two patients are still within 3 months of surgery, which is too soon to definitively evaluate possible recurrence of the disease. Conclusions These preliminary results show that PEPSiT is a highly promising method. It is safe and well-tolerated by patients (short hospital stay, quick return to normal life, low pain and analgesic consumption). Two recurrences of disease were treated by re-PEPSiT.

Introduction The number of patients with necrotizing pneumonia has increased in recent years. The aim of this study is to review the incidence, management, and outcome of pediatric necrotizing pneumonia requiring surgical therapy and to prove that lung resection results in favorable development of patients. We hypothesize that overall lung function in children after lung resection does not differ from that of the healthy population. Materials and Methods A retrospective tertiary referral center study with a prospective follow-up spirometric study of patients with necrotizing pneumonia managed between January 2010 and December 2019 was performed. Results The study cohort consisted of 1,295 patients admitted to the pediatric department for community-acquired pneumonia; 47 patients developed necrotizing pneumonia, 36 of whom underwent parenchymal lung resection. A 5-year rise in the occurrence of necrotizing pneumonia requiring resection was 77%, with a significant increase in the last 3 years (p < 0.05). The median age at the time of surgery was 32.5 (interquartile range [IQR]: 32.25) months. Streptococcus pneumoniae was the most prevalent pathogen (83%), although 53.3% of these patients were vaccinated against the agent. In 67% of patients, preresection procedures were performed: drainage of pneumothorax (17%), drainage of empyema (46%), drainage of empyema with use of alteplase (25%), and thoracoscopic decortication (12%). Surgical procedures included lobectomy (72.2%), wedge resection (13.9%), bilobectomy (8.3%), and pneumonectomy (5.6%). The postoperative complication was bronchopleural fistula in three patients. There were two (5.5%) postoperative deaths due to multiple organ failure. The follow-up spirometry was performed 43.3 (median, IQR 23.8–66.7) months after surgical intervention. Normal lung function was detected in 35 (64.8%) patients, restrictive pattern in 6 (11.1%) patients, obstructive pattern in 11 (20.4%) patients, and combined in 2 (3.7%) patients. Conclusion The number of patients with necrotizing pneumonia requiring resection has increased significantly in the last 3 years (p < 0.05). Aggressive surgical treatment results in significant clinical improvement in most cases and favorable lung function outcome. Long-term follow-up showed normal spirometry in 64.8% of cases.

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Introduction The incidence of Crohn's disease (CD) within the pediatric population is increasing worldwide. Despite a growing number of these patients receiving anti-tumor necrosis factor α therapy (anti-TNF-α), one-third of them still require surgery. There is limited data as to whether anti-TNF-α influences postoperative complications. We evaluated postoperative complications in patients who were or were not exposed to anti-TNF-α therapy in our institutional cohort. Materials and Methods A retrospective review of CD patients who underwent abdominal surgery between September 2013 and September 2018 was performed. The patients were divided into two groups based on whether they were treated with anti-TNF-α within 90 days before surgery. Thirty-day postoperative complications were assessed using Clavien–Dindo classification (D-C); this examination included surgical site infections (SSIs), stoma complications, intra-abdominal septic complications, non-SSIs, bleeding, ileus, readmission rate, and return to the operating room. Mann–Whitney U-test, Fisher's exact test, and multivariate logistic regression analyses were used for statistical analysis. Results Sixty-five patients (41 males) with a median age of 16 years (range: 7–19) at the time of operation were identified. The most common surgery was ileocecal resection in 49 (75%) patients. Forty-three (66.2%) patients were treated with anti-TNF-α preoperatively. Seven patients (11%) experienced postoperative complications. There was no statistically significant difference in postoperative complication in patients who did or did not receive anti-TNF-α before surgery (D-C minor 2.3% vs. 4.6%, p = 1; D-C major 7% vs. 9.1%, p = 1). Conclusion The use of anti-TNF-α in pediatric CD patients within the 90 days prior to their abdominal surgery was not associated with an increased risk of 30-day postoperative complications.

Ingestion of a foreign body is a frequent diagnosis in the pediatric population. In a small percentage of cases, foreign bodies themselves are strong magnets, and swallowing of multiple magnetic bodies can lead to serious complications in the gastrointestinal tract. Two consecutive case reports of patients who swallowed two magnetic beads are presented. In both cases, the abdominal radiograph described two magnets in contact, one in the area of the left hypochondrium and one in the right hypogastrium. Attempts of endoscopic localization and removal were unsuccessful. Due to the failure of magnet progression, laparoscopic revision of the abdominal cavity was indicated in both patients on the 25th and 4th day after swallowing. Using the magnetic forces between the magnets and the laparoscopic instruments, the foreign bodies were localized in the appendix of the first patient and in the cecum of the other one. The magnets were extracted together with the removal of the appendix in both patients. This is one of the first articles describing the successful extraction of foreign magnetic bodies from the gastrointestinal tract via laparoscopic appendectomy.