[Reoperations in the treatment of caudal teratomas]

The article analyses the experience in the treatment of 49 patients with caudal teratomas for which reoperations had to be conducted. The operations were repeated because of diagnostic errors, inadequate surgical approach, and the development of intraoperative complications. Prolonged epidural anaesthesia with concurrent application of trimecaine hydrochloride and morphine was considered the most adequate type of anesthesia. In cases of fistulas draining the caudal teratomas into the rectum, the surgical tactics is determined by the location and size of the fistulas openings. To improve the results of treatment, all the coats of the teratoma must be removed and the cicatricially changed tissues excised, endolymphatic injection of antibiotics conducted, and the wound treated by the closed method.