Laparoscopy for Abdominal Testes: Nationwide Analysis of German Routine Data

Does the presence of blind-ended vas deferens and spermatic vessels in laparoscopic exploration of non-palpable testes conclusively indicate testicular absence?

Objective

The purpose of this study was to determine whether the presence of blind-ended vas deferens and spermatic vessels (VDSV) during laparoscopic exploration of non-palpable testes (NPT) indicates testicular absence or atrophy.

Materials and methods

A retrospective analysis was conducted on clinical data of patients diagnosed with NPT and treated with surgical intervention at our center from April 2013-April 2023. The dataset encompassed information such as the children's age, affected side, size of the contralateral testis, surgical procedures employed, outcomes, and histopathological examination results. All patients underwent physical examination and ultrasonography preoperatively, followed by a combination of laparoscopic exploration and exploration through inguinal or scrotal incisions during surgery. Long-term follow-up was conducted postoperatively.

Results

A total of 476 cases comprising 504 NPT were included in this study: 302 cases on the left side, 146 cases on the right side, and 28 cases bilaterally. All patients underwent surgical treatment within 6-126 months (median 13 months). During laparoscopic exploration, blind-ended VDSV were found in 90 testes (72 on the left side, 18 on the right side), while exploration through inguinal or scrotal incisions revealed 52 (57.8%) testicular nodules with atrophy, which were excised, leaving 38 (42.2%) without any findings. Histopathological examination of atrophic nodules revealed fibrosis as the most common finding in 41 cases (78.8%), followed by involvement of the vas deferens in 33 cases (63.5%), calcification in 24 cases (46.2%), epididymis in 23 cases (44.2%), and hemosiderin deposition in 7 cases (13.6%). Fibrosis, calcification, hemosiderin deposition, involvement of the vas deferens, and epididymis were found in combination in 47 specimens (90.4%). Seminiferous tubules (SNT) were found in 3 specimens (5.7%), and germ cells (GC) were found in 1 specimen (1.9%).

Conclusion

The presence of blind-ended VDSV during laparoscopic exploration of NPT does not necessarily indicate testicular absence or disappearance. It is possible that atrophic testicular nodules are located within the inguinal canal or scrotum. This understanding contributes to the management of non-palpable testes. Considering their unpredictable malignant potential, we recommend excision.

The epidemiology of funnel chest repairs in Germany: monitoring the success of Nuss’ procedure

Background

In recent years, the Nuss procedure was gaining ground in pectus excavatum repair, but the scientific focus had been on complications compared to conventional repairs. Despite a substantial prevalence of pectus excavatum in population-based studies, the adoption of minimally invasive funnel chest repair and subsequent replacement of conventional procedures has not been assessed on a population-based level.

Methods

We analysed German administrative case-based data on funnel chest repairs separate by age group and operative procedure: conventional or minimally invasive. Changes over time between 2010 and 2018 were analysed by linear regression.

Results

There were x̅ = 256 operations per year, which did not change throughout the study time, but following the introduction of minimally invasive repairs, their usage increased particularly in males aged 15 to 19 years by 8.7 procedures per year (P = 0.0142) and was accompanied by a concomitant decrease in conventional repairs in all relevant age groups. We observed a shift of operations towards the age group of 15 to 19 years, whose numbers increased by 5.3 yearly procedures (P = 0.0222), whereas they decreased in all other relevant age groups. These shifts could not be observed in females in a similar fashion, but in both males and females, the numbers of minimally invasive per conventional repair increased.

Conclusions

In Germany, the introduction of the Nuss procedure did result in a concentration of funnel chest repairs in adolescence and a replacement of conventional repairs. Data from other healthcare systems are missing but are direly needed to assess the current situation in other healthcare systems.

Level of evidence

III.

Inguinal hernia repair in inpatient children: a nationwide analysis of German administrative data

Background

Contrary to adult inguinal hernia surgery, large-scale investigations using registries or administrative data are missing in paediatric surgery. We aimed to fill this gap by analysing German administrative hospital data to describe the current reality of inpatient hernia surgery in children.

Methods

We analysed aggregated data files bought from the German federals statistics office on hospital reimbursement data separately for principal diagnoses of inguinal hernia in children and for herniotomies in inpatients. Developments over time were assessed via regression and differences between groups with nonparametric comparisons.

Results

Principal diagnoses of hernias were decreasing over time with the exception of male bilateral and female bilateral incarcerated hernias in the first year of life which increased. The vast majority of operations were conducted via the open approach and laparoscopy was increasingly only used for females older than 1 year of age. Recurrent hernia repair was scarce. Rates of inguinal hernia repair were higher in both sexes the younger the patient was, but were also decreasing in all age groups despite a population growth since 2012. The amount of inguinal hernia repairs by paediatric surgeons compared to adult surgeons increased by 1.5% per year.

Conclusions

Our results corroborate previous findings of age and sex distribution. It demonstrates that inpatient hernia repair is primarily open surgery with herniorrhaphy and that recurrences seem to be rare. We observed decreasing rates of hernia repairs over time and as this has been described before in England, future studies should try to elucidate this development.

Level of evidence

III.

Pilonidal sinus disease on the rise: a one-third incidence increase in inpatients in 13 years with substantial regional variation in Germany

PURPOSE

Collective evidence from single-centre studies suggests an increasing incidence of pilonidal sinus disease in the last decades, but population-based data is scarce.

METHODS

We analysed administrative case-based principal diagnoses of pilonidal sinus disease and its surgical therapy between 2005 and 2017 in inpatients. Changes were addressed via linear regression.

RESULTS

The mean rate of inpatient episodes of pilonidal sinus disease per 100,000 men increased from 43 in 2005 to 56 in 2017. In females, the mean rate of inpatient episodes per 100,000 women rose from 14 in 2005 to 18 in 2017. In the whole population, for every case per 100,000 females, there were 3.1 cases per 100,000 males, but the numbers were highly variable between the age groups. There was considerable regional variation within Germany. Rates of inpatient episodes of pilonidal sinus disease were increasing in almost all age groups and both sexes by almost a third. Surgery was dominated by excision of pilonidal sinus without reconstructive procedures, such as flaps, whose share was around 13% of all procedures, despite recommendations of the national guidelines to prefer flap procedures.

CONCLUSION

Rates of inpatient episodes of pilonidal sinus disease in Germany rose across almost all age groups and both sexes with relevant regional variation. The underlying causative factors are unknown. Thus, patient-centred research is necessary to explore them. This should also take cases into account that are solely treated office-based in order to obtain a full-spectrum view of pilonidal sinus disease incidence rates.

Utility of Laparoscopic Approach of Orchiopexy for Palpable Cryptorchidism: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Background: Traditional open orchiopexy is still a standard of treatment for palpable undescended testicles. Recently several authors reported successful results using a laparoscopic approach in the treatment of palpable cryptorchidism. The present systematic review and meta-analysis investigated the utility of laparoscopic orchiopexy for palpable cryptorchidism. Methods: Scientific databases (PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, and EMBASE) were systematically searched for relevant articles using the following terms: (palpable cryptorchidism or palpable undescended testes) AND (laparoscopic orchiopexy or laparoscopic orchiopexy). The inclusion criteria were all children with unilateral or bilateral palpable undescended testes who underwent laparoscopic orchiopexy (LO) compared to children who underwent conventional open orchiopexy (CO). The main outcomes were the proportion of children requiring redo-orchiopexy and the incidence of postoperative complications. Secondary outcomes were duration and the cost of surgery. Results: The final meta-analysis included five studies involving 705 children; LO, n = 369 (52.3%) and CO, n = 336 (47.7%). The majority of the included patients had unilateral palpable cryptorchidism. No significant differences were found in regard to average age at the time of surgery and follow-up periods between the investigated groups. No statistically significant differences were found in regard to redo-orchiopexy rates (RR = 0.22, 95% CI 0.03–1.88, p = 0.17), early complications (RR = 0.66, 95% CI 0.21–2.08, p = 0.48) and incidence of testicular atrophy (RR = 0.36, 95% CI 0.03–3.88, p = 0.40). No significant differences in the operative duration were observed among the groups. Laparoscopy was associated with higher costs in most of the studies. Conclusion: LO is safe and effective in children with palpable cryptorchidism. The rates of redo-orchiopexy as well as an incidence of early complications and testicular atrophy rates are comparable to CO.

The incidence of infantile hypertrophic pyloric stenosis nearly halved from 2005 to 2017: analysis of German administrative data

PURPOSE

Some paediatric surgical diseases showed a declining incidence in recent years, among which hypertrophic pyloric stenosis has been particularly striking shortly in the years after the millennium. We aimed to assess whether this development continued over the following decade, as it might offer the chance to better understand the underlying reasons.

METHODS

We analysed data files obtained from the German federal statistics office for principal diagnosis of hypertrophic pyloric stenosis and pyloromyotomies from 2005 to 2017. Changes over time were assessed via linear regression for incidences per 1000 live births.

RESULTS

In the respective time interval, there were a mean of 1009 pyloromyotomies (95% CI 906-1112) per year, of which a mean of 835 (95% CI 752-917) were performed in boys. The incidence of hypertrophic pyloric stenosis per 1000 live births almost halved between 2005 and 2017: it decreased by 0.12 pylorotomies annually (95% CI 0.09-0.14; P < 0.0001) in boys-from a maximum of 2.96 to a minimum of 1.63-and 0.03 pyloromyotomies annually (95% CI 0.02-0.04; P < 0.0001) in girls-from a maximum of 0.64 to a minimum of 0.28. There was considerable regional variation in incidences between the German länder.

CONCLUSION

The decreasing incidence of hypertrophic pyloric stenosis noted around the millenium continued into the following decades. The underlying reasons are unclear, which should prompt further research on the subject matter.

Circumcision and its alternatives in Germany: an analysis of nationwide hospital routine data

BACKGROUND/PURPOSE

Circumcisions are among the most frequent operations in children. Health service data on circumcision in the United States has documented an increase in neonatal circumcisions since 2012. We investigated whether a similar effect could be found in Germany, which does not endorse neonatal circumcision.

METHODS

We analysed German routine administrative data for operations conducted on the preputium in order to analyse the frequency, age distribution, and time-trends in hospital-based procedures on a nationwide basis.

RESULTS

There were 9418 [95% confidence interval (CI) 8860-10,029] procedures per year, of which 4977 (95% CI 4676-5337) were circumcisions. Age distributions were highly different between both circumcisions (van der Waerden's χ² = 58.744, df = 4, P < 0.0001) and preputium-preserving operations (van der Waerden's χ² = 58.481, df = 4, P < 0.0001). Circumcisions were more frequent in the first 5 years of life and above 15 years of age, whereas preputium-preserving procedures were preferred in the age groups between 5 and 14 years of age. The number of circumcisions and preputium-preserving operations decreased in absolute and relative numbers.

CONCLUSIONS

The increasing trend towards neonatal circumcision observed in the United States is absent in Germany. The majority of patients were operated after the first year of life and absolute and relative numbers of hospital-based procedures were decreasing. Other factors such as increasing use of steroids for the preferred non-operative treatment of phimosis may play a role. As operations in outpatients and office-based procedures were not covered, additional research is necessary to obtain a detailed picture of circumcision and its surgical alternatives in Germany.

LEVEL OF EVIDENCE

III.