Diagnosis and therapy of mediastinal tumors in children

43 mediastinal tumours differing by genesis, operability, and localisation and handled between 1970 and 1985 are reported in this paper. They called for differentiated diagnosis and therapy. Most of them (21) were of neurogenic origin. Their survival rate (86 per cent) was much higher than that recorded from abdominal tumours, probably because of a higher percentage of benign and semi-malignant processes among them. Their absolute number was 13. While computed tomography could effectively replace invasive methods of investigation, its informative potential was limited when it came to patients in infancy. Definite diagnosis was quite often obtainable only from histological examination. Diagnosis should be made soon and thoracotomy not delayed in view of potential malignancy.