Surgical treatment of primary mediastinal tumors in children

: Twenty children with primary mediastinal tumor underwent surgical treatment. Ten patients had benign tumor and the other patients were malignant. Seven of ten patients with malignant tumor were neurogenic, and 3 patients were of germ cell tumor. In the clinical manifestation, 11 patients were asymptomatic. All of benign tumors were resected completely, but in a few patients with malignant tumors, the complete resection not possible. However, except for one patient with immature teratoma, all patients with malignant tumor have been surviving following postoperative chemotherapy and radiotherapy. Two infants with bronchogenic cyst were operated on their respiratory distress syndrome in emergency, and have been salvaged.