Characterization of neoplastic and cystic abdominal masses in children, reporting to the government tertiary care center in Vishakhapatnam – A longitudinal, prospective study

The child with an abdominal mass remains to be a challenging problem for the clinicians. It is more often that apart from parent’s observations that the child is “acting funny” or is “tired,” few symptoms can be elicited. The end result is that the children are brought to the attention of physicians at relatively advanced stages of their diseases. The majority of children who present with abdominal masses do not have surgical disease but rather hepatomegaly due to leukemia or splenomegaly of portal hypertension. In those needing surgical intervention, the majority of masses are retroperitoneal. The retroperitoneum is a unique inaccessible space in the infant and child, wherein all benign and malignant tumors of the kidneys and adrenal glands