Required surgical therapy in the pediatric patient with dermatomyositis
E. C. Downey Jr, M. M. Woolley and V. Hanson
Department of Surgery, Childrens Hospital, Los Angeles, CA 90027.
A review of 96 patients with the established diagnosis of childhood
dermatomyositis revealed that 15 patients required surgical therapy in
addition to diagnostic biopsy. Four of the patients had perforation of the
esophagointestinal tract, and 11 required surgical therapy for abscesses,
calcific deposits, or treatment of pneumothorax. The life-threatening
lesions were perforations of the esophagus and intestine. The best surgical
therapy is closure, resection, and adequate drainage. Prognosis depends on
treatment of the underlying medical disease.