Ovarian surgery in premenarchal girls

This study was undertaken to assess the indications, procedures, and pathology in premenarchal girls undergoing ovarian surgery.

Retrospective chart review.

University of Michigan Medical Center 1980-1996.

Premenarchal girls, who underwent ovarian surgery.

None.

All available charts (n = 52) had information extracted concerning age at time of surgery, presenting symptoms, preoperative and postoperative diagnosis, procedure, and pathology report.

Of the 52 patients, 50% were less than 1 year old, 31% were between 1 and 8 years old, and 19% were between 8 and 12 years old. Presenting complaints in 31 patients included structural and or endocrinologic abnormalities, and the other 21 patients presented with abdominal or systemic complaints. The most common preoperative diagnosis was an abdominal/pelvic mass (n = 24). The postoperative diagnoses revealed 18 torsions and 16 ovarian masses without torsion, 8 chromosomal abnormalities, 5 hernias, and 5 malignancies. Procedures included 37 salpingo-oophorectomies (28 unilateral and 9 bilateral), 7 oophorectomies, and 7 cystectomies. One patient underwent a staging procedure. Pathology reports confirmed hemorrhagic infarctions (n = 19), dysgenic gonads (n = 8), simple cysts (n = 7), teratomas (n = 6), theca lutein cysts (n = 4), fibroma (n = 1), stromal tumor (n = 1), mucinous cystadenoma (n = 1), granulosa cell tumor (n = 1), uterine neuroblastoma (n = 1), mixed germ cell neoplasm (n = 1), metastatic Wilms' tumor (n = 1), and gonadoblastoma (n = 1).

Torsion was the most common diagnosis in our study group and was usually unsuspected. Premenarchal ovarian surgery usually included removal of the entire ovary. However, because malignancies are uncommon in this population (9.6%), a cystectomy should be considered when appropriate and technically feasible.