title: [Laparoscopic staging in abdominal tumors in children: an alternative to staging laparotomy].
abstract: BACKGROUND
  In abdominal tumors in childhood, staging laparotomy is usually an essential diagnostic tool to obtain information about the histology and the extension of the tumor, when less invasive methods do not reach to clarify the process.
  
  
  METHODS
  In fourteen children between 3 months and 17 years a laparoscopical procedure was performed.
  
  
  METHODS
  Only in patients without a clear diagnosis after noninvasive exploration were submitted to an explorative laparoscopy in order to define the histology, the extension of the illness or to locate it. The laparoscopical instrumentarium used was from Dufner, adapted to children.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The patients tolerated well this procedure, the posoperative period was short (mean 2.07 days), no complications after the operation are reported. Only one case of hemorrhage lead to a conversion after biopsy of a neuroblastoma. In all cases the diagnosis and staging was achieved.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  When non invasive diagnostic methods are not conclusive an explorative laparoscopy should be performed because it offers a lot of advantages over a laparotomy.
authors.affiliation: Servicio de Cirugía Pediátrica, Hospital Universitario de Münster, Alemania.
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Schleef
authors.forename: J J
authors.initials: JJ
authors.lastname: Morcate
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Wagner
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Becker
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Steinau
authors.forename: G H
authors.initials: GH
authors.lastname: Willital
mesh_terms: D000008:Abdominal Neoplasms / Q000473:pathology* / Q000601:surgery*; D000293:Adolescent; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D006689:Hodgkin Disease / Q000473:pathology* / Q000601:surgery*; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D010535:Laparoscopy / Q000379:methods*; D007813:Laparotomy; D008297:Male; D009367:Neoplasm Staging; D012189:Retrospective Studies