Antenatal appendicular perforation leading to localized meconium peritonitis and intestinal obstruction is reported in a premature neonate. The baby was successfully treated by a limited ileocaecal resection.

Forty cases of lymphoma were categorized as Burkitt-type lymphoma in a study of fine needle aspiration (FNA) smears. These constituted 14.3% of all cases of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma diagnosed between 1974 and 1982. The median age was 22 years in these cases, 81.8% of which had extranodal tumors. The majority of the cells in the smears (59.8% +/- 8.32%) were in the 11 micron to 15 micron size range and 60.3% +/- 10.3% had noncleaved nuclei. An average 71% of the cells contained cytoplasmic and/or nuclear vacuolizations. Nonneoplastic macrophages were present in the smears in 87.5% of the cases. A study of paraffin-embedded sections in 17 cases revealed the characteristic "starry-sky" appearance in 11; in 5 it was not clearly appreciated and in 1 the nonneoplastic macrophages were absent. FNA cytology was found to be quite reliable for arriving at a diagnosis of Burkitt-type lymphoma. More than 50% of the cases were managed without resort to subsequent surgical biopsy. Exploratory laparotomy was avoided in 69% of the cases having abdominal tumors.

We describe a child with a multilocular renal cyst who presented with a renal mass and pain due to haemorrhage into the cyst. This type of presentation has not been reported previously.

Pattern of neoplasms in children under 15 years is reviewed. Of 1424 lesions, 57 per cent were benign. The common malignant tumours in order of frequency were; lymphoma, central nervous system (CNS) tumors, soft tissue sarcomas, bona sarcomas, retinoblastoma, Wilms' tumour and carcinomas. Males were affected more often than females (ratio of 2·6∶1). Malignant tumours were commonest in the first five year of life.

We report a case of covered exstrophy and sequestration of a segment of bowel on the surface of the abdomen, which is a rare variant of the exstrophic complex. The external genitalia and urinary continence were normal. Simple excision of the ectopic bowel was curative.

A rare case of giant hydronephrosis due to ureterovesical junction obstruction is presented.

Seven cases of hemangiopericytoma in infants and children were managed in the past 10 yr at our Institute. All the children were males and presented with a painless tumor of varying duration, over the extremities or head and neck region. Five of them had the tumors present since birth. Five patients were treated by surgical excision, one received radiotherapy and an other received chemotherapy as the primary treatment. These children were followed for period varying from 1–10 yr. One child died and another had local recurrence in this series. Wide local excision of the tumor is the choice of treatment of these rare tumors. If the histology is suggestive of malignancy or if the tumor is incompletely excised, postoperative radiotherapy is advocated, Chemotherapy is not effective for these tumors.