Abdominal lymphangiomas in children: interest of the laparoscopic approach

Background: Lymphangiomas are rare benign lesions of the lymphatic system. The most common symptoms are abdominal tumor or "acute abdomen" in children. The treatment of choice is complete surgical resection, but the recurrence rate with incomplete resection is high, and laparotomy exposes the patient to adhesions. The authors report their experience with the lymphangioma laparoscopic approach. Methods: This retrospective study examined 15 consecutive operations for lympliangiomas in children, ages 5 months to 14 years, treated during the 5-year period from 1999 to 2004. Results: Six patients were treated using the primary laparotomy approach, and nine patients underwent the laparoscopic procedure, six successfully. Three conversions were necessary (1 case requiring partial colectomy, 1 retroperitoneal case with adherence on the aorta and vena cava. 1 case with partial volvulus). Morbidity included two cases of acute occlusion caused by adhesions after laparotomy. There was no recurrence of lymphangioma during a mean follow-up period of 35 months. Conclusion: The laparoscopy procedure could be used successfully for abdominal lymphangioma, even in an emergency. When the laparoscopic resection is impossible, laparotomy or sclerotherapy can be discussed.