Abstract

AIM: Intraabdominal mass is seen fequently. The first sign of the chilhood diseases. Especially, ignorant parents may not be aware of the abdominal mass in their children even if it is large. For this reason every children even the ones who come to the physician for upper respiratory tract infection, a detailed systemic physical examination must be performed. MATERIAL and METHOD: In this retrospective study all properties of seven cases who were diagnosed as intraabdominal masses after their systemic physical examination who came to our clinic from emergency deparment between 01.01.1990 and 01.01.2000 were evalmated. FINDINGS: Five of the patients were male and two were female. Four of them referred us as trauma, one incarcerated hernia, one acute abdomen and one after a varicosel operation. In their physical examination three of them had right, two left renal masses. One had a mass in right suprarenal region and one in liver. In their operations, Wilms tumor was diagnosed in four ganglioneuroblastoma in one hydronephrotic kidney in one and hydatid eyst of liver in one. One of the cases with Wilms tumor died in postoperative period. Five patients are stili in our follow up except for the patient with ganglioneuroblastoma. CONCLUSION: To any child coming to a health care unit, a detailed systemic pysical examination must be performed, by this way many diseases ineluding tumors may be diagnosed at an earlier stage.