title: Laparoscopic ovarian surgery in children and adolescents.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Although laparoscopy is widely used in gynecologic surgery in adults, few studies have been undertaken to examine its use in young and adolescent patients. This study was conducted to investigate the safety and feasibility of laparoscopic surgery for the treatment of benign ovarian disease in children and adolescents.
  
  
  METHODS
  A retrospective chart review was conducted on 106 patients (age, <20 years) who underwent laparoscopic surgery at Kangnam Sacred Heart Hospital from 2006 through 2012.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The mean patient age was 17.1 years, and the youngest one was 8. Pathologic analyses revealed that 32 (30.2%) patients had dermoid cyst, 30 (28.3%) had simple cyst, and 15 (14.2%) had endometrioma. Conservative procedures, such as cystectomy (48.1%), aspiration (5.7%), fulguration (4.7%), and detorsion (3.8%), were performed in 65.1% of all cases. A subanalysis revealed that the surgical outcomes of children (age, ≤15 years), including operative time, estimated blood loss, postoperative hemoglobin decrease, and postoperative length of hospital stay, were comparable to those of adolescents (age, 16-19 years), despite significant differences in mean height between the 2 groups (156.1 ± 10.71 cm in children vs. 162.1 ± 5.14 cm in adolescents; P < .0001). (The age break between the study groups was set at 15 years, because most girls reach their adult height between the ages of 15 and 16 years.) No intra- or perioperative complications were noted. In a comparison study of surgical outcomes in 433 women (age, 20-50 years) and the 106 young and adolescent girls in our sample (age, <20 years), those in our patients were not inferior.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  In children and adolescents, laparoscopic surgery can be successfully performed with conventional instruments designed for use in adults.
authors: Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Hallym University Sacred Heart Hospital, Seoul, Korea.
authors: Hong-bae
authors: HB
authors: Kim
authors: Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Hallym University Sacred Heart Hospital, Seoul, Korea.
authors: Hye-yon
authors: HY
authors: Cho
authors: Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Hallym University Sacred Heart Hospital, Seoul, Korea.
authors: Sung-ho
authors: SH
authors: Park
authors: Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Hallym University Sacred Heart Hospital, Seoul, Korea.
authors: Sung-taek
authors: ST
authors: Park
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D002648:Child; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D010535:Laparoscopy; D007902:Length of Stay; D061646:Operative Time; D010049:Ovarian Diseases / Q000601:surgery*; D010052:Ovariectomy / Q000379:methods*; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Adolescents; Laparoscopy; Ovarian cyst