The role of laparoscopy in suspicious abdomen pain in children

Objective: Abdominal pain is a frequently encountered problem in children. Suspicious right lower quadrant pains are sometimes a problem for pediatric surgeons. In this study, we wanted to evaluate the effectiveness of laparoscopy in diagnosis and treatment of children with suspicion of abdominal pain.

Methods: The files of 84 patients treated with a diagnosis of suspicious right lower quadrant peritonitis between 2005 and 2011 were investigated. Laparoscopic exploration was performed for all cases with right lower quadrant pain where the appendix was not seen on USG/CT and the cause of acute abdomen could not be determined.

Results: In this process, 84 patients consisting of 60 (71%) females and 24 (29%) males were included in the study. The mean age was 10.5 years (7-16 years). Appendicitis was determined during diagnostic laparoscopy in 35 (41.6%) patients. The appendix was normal in the remaining 49 (58.3%) patients. In 36 of these patients, gynecological diseases were encountered on pathology as the most frequent cause of the acute abdomen. The appendix was preserved in patients where the cause of the abdominal pain was explained.

Conclusion: Laparoscopy can be used in the diagnosis and treatment of patients with suspected acute abdomen that imitates acute appendicitis and cannot be differentiated with physical examination and laboratory methods. Delays in diagnosis and unnecessary appendectomy will be prevented in this way.