A reappraisal of the Mikulicz enterostomy in infants and children.

We performed the Mikulicz procedure in 46 pediatric patients. Thirty-five were high-risk patients, 20 of whom had necrotizing enterocolitis. High risk was defined by the presence of peritonitis, intestinal perforation, poorly demarcated intestinal gangrene, or severe associated systemic illness. The remaining 11 patients had the procedure performed for technical reasons, most commonly a discrepancy in the size of the proximal distal limb ratio greater than 4:1. The procedure consisted of intestinal resection with double-barreled enterostomy, crushing of the spur between stomas, and subsequent lateral closure of the enterostomy. The mortality rate of 30% was due to the underlying disease and in no instance was death caused by a complication of the procedure. Complications (13%) were stricture or prolapse of the stoma and wound infection. Subsequent enterostomy closure in 32 patients had no mortality rate and a 3% complication rate. Because the risk of fatal anastomotic leak and peritonitis is very low, we prefer the Mikulicz procedure to all other intestinal anastomotic techniques for high-risk pediatric patients.