Cysts of Gastrointestinal Origin in Children: Varied Presentation

PURPOSE: Abdominal cysts of gastrointestinal origin are rare. Their rarity and varied clinical presentations make their pre-operative diagnosis difficult. METHODS: Fourteen patients with histological diagnosis of cysts of gastrointestinal origin admitted between 2009 and 2015 were retrospectively analyzed with respect to age, sex, clinical presentation, diagnostic modality, site and type of cyst, management, outcome and follow-up. RESULTS: The mean age at presentation was 4 years and there were six males and eight females. Abdominal pain was the most common presenting symptom. Five patients had an acute presentation-three had distal ileal mesenteric cysts and two had ileal duplication cyst sharing a common wall with ileum. Six patients presented with chronic abdominal pain and lump—three patients had omental cysts and three had mesenteric cysts—two of these in distal ileum and one in sigmoid colon. Two patients presented with antenatally diagnosed palpable abdominal lump. One had a mesenteric cyst of the ileum and the other had a distal ileal duplication cyst which required excision with resection and anastomosis. One patient had an atypical presentation. He was a known case of sickle cell trait and had presented with vague abdominal pain, recurrent cough and multiple episodes of haemoptysis over a period of one year. At laparotomy, gastric duplication cyst was found which was excised completely. Histopathology confirmed the diagnosis. CONCLUSION: Cysts of gastrointestinal origin are rare and have varied presentation. Surgical excision is the mainstay of treatment. The results and prognosis are good.