The best time and treatment for pediatric syringomyelia

  Compared to adults, pediatric syringomyelia has its own characteristics in terms of both the mechanism of occurrence and treatment, leading to different treatment options. In terms of mechanism of occurrence, almost all syringomyelic sacs in children, whether in the spermatic cord or testicular region, are connected to the abdominal cavity (what is medically referred to as an unclosed sphincter).  Therefore, the treatment of pediatric syringomyelia relies mainly on surgical ligation of the unclosed sphincter to avoid leakage of abdominal fluid into the syringomyelia, with the distal syrinx being more tense and the syringe being used to draw fluid or open the syrinx, and the less tense syrinx being absorbed and closed without treatment. This makes the surgery simple and easy, without stripping the sphincter, and reduces the chance of bleeding and structural damage to the spermatic cord, resulting in a better prognosis.  The best time for treatment: 1. If the sphincter is not large and the tension is not high, surgical treatment may not be urgent, especially for infants within 1 year of age who still have the chance to recede on their own.  2, after 1 year of age, syringomyelia observed for a period of time (generally 3 months to 6 months) without signs of self-healing should also be operated early.  3.If the syringomyelia has a high tension (hard mass), which may affect the blood circulation of the testis and lead to testicular atrophy, early surgery should be performed (age is not a major factor).  4. Generally, the age of surgical treatment should be 1-2 years old.  The best treatment method: 1.Conservative treatment: If you don’t want to operate for the time being, observation is enough, no treatment is needed, and there is really no effective method.  2, special attention: do not simply puncture to extract fluid, because the unclosed sphincter canal is not treated, of course, can not achieve the purpose of cure; moreover, you can not use the sphincter cavity to extract fluid after the injection of drugs. Because the study found that the injection of drugs into the sheath cavity may cause long-term damage to the testicular tissue.  3, surgical methods: (1) laparoscopic minimally invasive surgery, the advantage is that the efficacy is certain, the surgery is simple and easy, the scar is hidden and less traumatic, the recovery is fast, the complications are few, and the recurrence rate is low. (2) traditional open surgery can also be used if there is no condition, and it is recommended to perform a high ligation of the unclosed sphincter through the small incision at the inner ring along the skin line, because the wall of the pediatric sphincter is as thin as paper, and although the inguinal canal is short (about 1 cm), it is still difficult to separate the sphincter upward through the scrotal incision and the subcircumferential incision and It is easy to tear and rupture, and there is a possibility of leakage and recurrence. Of course, for skilled surgeons, the scrotal incision and subcircular incision are more advantageous and the incision is more concealed.