Management of children with pancreatic head mass

The management of children with a mass in the head of the pancreas is not well defined. The medical records of 3 children with obstructive jaundice because of a mass in the head of the pancreas over a 4-year period were reviewed retrospectively. Abdominal ultrasonography and computed tomography showed intrahepatic and extrahepatic ductal dilatation and a pancreatic mass. Intraoperative frozen section revealed no evidence of malignancy. These patients were separately managed by pylorus-preserving pancreaticoduodenectomy, cholecystectomy and Roux-en-Y choledochojejunostomy, common duct exploration, and T-tube drainage. The final pathology of the pancreatic head mass in all cases demonstrated chronic pancreatitis. Follow-up at an average of 7 months postoperatively showed no recurrence of obstructive jaundice. Unlike adults with a mass in the head of the pancreas, it is recommended that children with similar presentation should undergo biopsy and biliary diversion rather than resection as the primary therapy. Adults presenting with similar radiologic and clinical features would be treated by a pancreaticoduodenectomy in the absence of histologic evidence of malignancy. This series would suggest histologic conformation should be obtained before radical surgery in children.