Cystogastrostomy: a valid option for treating pancreatic pseudocysts of children in developing countries

Twelve children with pancreatic pseudocysts were managed for over 10 years at our institute that is a tertiary referral center of our country. A majority of them had posttraumatic pancreatic pseudocysts. Six of them were early referrals and presented within 1-2 weeks of pancreatic injury while the remaining six were referred later than 6 weeks with thick cyst walls. An initial conservative management and observation (with serial ultrasounds) led to a resolution of the pseudocysts in three patients (25% resolution rate). All the remaining subjects were treated using surgical modality (cystogastrostomy). In all the subjects where cystogastrostomy was done, the pseudocysts resolved completely, except in one child, who required the procedure to be repeated. The authors encountered no complications of the pancreatic pseudocyst disease in children i.e. infection, rupture, etc, that have been frequently described for adults. The authors conclude that pancreatic pseudocyst is a comparatively benign entity in children with a better outcome than in adults. Though various sophisticated treatment modalities are in vogue in the developed countries for managing pancreatic pseudocysts in children, cystogastrostomy is still a valid option for this purpose in the developing countries with suboptimal infrastructure and gives good results.