Clinical Characteristics of Adnexal Masses in Korean Children and Adolescents: Retrospective Analysis of 409 Cases

Study Objective: To analyze the clinical characteristics of young Korean female children and adolescents who underwent surgery because of adnexal masses during the last 14 years. Design: Retrospective cohort study (Canadian Task Force classification II-2). Setting: University hospital. Patients: Three hundred ninety-six young female patients aged 20 years or younger who underwent surgery because of adnexal masses between January 1995 and March 2009. Interventions: None. Measurements and Main Results: For over 14 years, 396 young patients underwent 409 operations because of adnexal masses (13 patients underwent 2 separate operations). Abdominal pain (n = 184 [45.0%]) was the most common initial symptom and was more frequent in group 1 (<11 years of age; n = 26 [70.4%]) than in group 2 (11-20 years of age; n = 370; [ 43.2%]) (p <.01). In group 2, menstrual problems were the second most common initial symptom (n = 80 [20.9%]), followed by incidental detection (n = 57; [14.9%]). In patients with malignant neoplasms, the incidence of menstrual problems was lower (p <.01) and abdominal distention was more common (p <.01) than in patients with benign neoplasms. The incidence of malignant neoplasms in our study was 14.9% and was correlated with increased mass size (p <.01). Conclusion: Knowing the clinical characteristics of young Korean females with adnexal masses will provide insight into the evaluation and surgical management of children and adolescents.