APSA papersRetroperitoneal teratomas—potential for surgical misadventure
Section snippets
Aim
We wish to report our experience with these tumors, specifically concentrating on the anatomy of the tumors encountered at operation.
Methods
A retrospective review of the operative findings in 6 patients who underwent resection of RPTs by the senior author (EK) since 1999 was carried out.
Results
Four of the 6 children were girls, and 5 were 6 months or younger at the time of operation (Table 1). All 6 tumors enveloped and displaced the inferior vena cava (IVC) and the abdominal aorta. The major branches of these vessels were often so attenuated and thinned that they appeared insignificant. In addition, renal arteries frequently were displaced posteriorly, whereas the corresponding veins ran over the anterior aspect of these tumors.
In the youngest child, aged 3 weeks, the tumor arose
Discussion
Few pediatric surgeons will encounter large numbers of children with RPTs. Recent reports in the literature contain small numbers. Luo et al [4] reported 10 patients who underwent excision of this tumor at a single institution over a 5-year period. Contrary to our experience, they found surgical excision easy. This is explained by the lack of adherence of the tumors to the retroperitoneal organs except by areolar tissue—so-called “unattached retroperitoneal tumors” as described by Hansmann and
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Cited by (0)
Presented at the 38th annual meeting of the American Pediatric Surgical Association, Orlando, Florida, May 24-27, 2007.