Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 13, 2026
Robot-Assisted Laparoscopic Splenectomy In Children: A Case Report with Literature Review
Published on: March 27, 2026
Lung resections in children for congenital and acquired lesions
Subhasis Roy Choudhury1, Rajiv Chadha, Atul Mishra
1Department of Pediatric Surgery, Kalawati Saran Children's Hospital and Lady Hardinge Medical College, New Delhi 110001, India. roychouin@yahoo.co.in
Insights
Pediatric lung resections for congenital and acquired lung conditions are safe and effective. Accurate preoperative diagnosis is crucial to prevent complications like intercostal tube insertion.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Surgery
- Thoracic Surgery
- Pediatric Pulmonology
Background:
- Congenital and acquired lung lesions are significant causes of respiratory morbidity in children.
- Surgical intervention is often necessary for definitive management.
Purpose of the Study:
- To review the single-center experience with pediatric lung resections.
- To evaluate the safety and outcomes of these procedures.
- To highlight discrepancies in preoperative diagnosis and their impact.
Main Methods:
- Retrospective review of 35 pediatric lung resections performed between 1998 and 2006.
- Analysis of patient demographics, presenting symptoms, imaging, surgical procedures, histopathology, and outcomes.
- Comparison of preoperative radiological diagnosis with postoperative histopathological findings.
Main Results:
- Common diagnoses included congenital lobar emphysema, congenital cystic adenomatoid malformation, and bronchiectasis.
- Significant discrepancies were noted between imaging and histopathological diagnoses.
- Postoperative complications occurred, but most patients recovered well; mortality was 8.6%.
Conclusions:
- Pulmonary resections in children can be performed safely in a pediatric setting.
- Accurate preoperative diagnosis is vital to avoid complications, especially in congenital cystic lung lesions.
- Emergency resections for respiratory distress yield satisfactory outcomes, even in neonates.
Abstract:
We reviewed a single-center experience of pediatric lung resections for various congenital and acquired benign lung conditions. Thirty-five children underwent lung resections between 1998 and 2006, their age ranging from 8 days to 12 years (mean 3 years), with a male:female ratio of 4:1. Twelve patients were neonates. Antenatal diagnosis was available in only one patient. The presenting symptoms were respiratory distress and respiratory tract infections. Imaging with chest X-ray with/without a CT scan picked up the lesion in all cases. Preoperative ventilation was required for five patients. One patient had pneumothorax at presentation; however, ten patients had inadvertent intercostal tube insertion before surgical referral. The surgical procedures performed included lobectomy (28), segmentectomy (3), and pneumonectomy in 4 cases. Twenty-one patients underwent emergency surgery. Six patients required postoperative ventilation. The histopathological diagnosis was congenital lobar emphysema (CLE) (9), congenital cystic adenomatoid malformation (CCAM) (9), bronchiectasis (9), sequestration (3), atelectasis (1), lung abscess (1), unilobar tuberculosis (1), hydatid cyst (1), and foreign body with collapse (1). There was considerable discrepancy between the preoperative diagnosis based on imaging and the postoperative histopathological diagnosis. Postoperative complications included atelectasis (2), pneumothorax (2) and fluid collection (4 cases). Three patients died, one from compromised cardiac function, one from overwhelming sepsis and one from respiratory failure due to severe bilateral CCAM; the rest of the patients made a satisfactory recovery. At short-term follow-up all patients were doing well. Pulmonary resections are necessary for various congenital and acquired lung lesions in children and can be done safely in a pediatric hospital setup. Proper preoperative diagnosis can avoid inadvertent intercostal tube insertion in patients with congenital cystic lung lesions. The histopathological diagnosis often differs from the radiological diagnosis. Emergency lobectomies for acute respiratory distress, even in neonates, result in a satisfactory outcome.
