[Is there a chronic appendicitis in childhood? Analysis of pediatric surgical patients from 1993-1997].

The right lower quadrant abdominal pain and the "chronic" appendicitis in childhood and adolescence are frequently connected with a lot of different diagnostical problems for the treating physician. Since the introduction of diagnostical laparoscopy and laparoscopical appendectomy in our hospital the rate of appendectomy has been increased to 35% in case of the histological diagnosis of "chronic" appendicitis. A special problem in childhood and adolescence is the request of the parents for clarification of chronic recurrent pain in their children and therefore the demand of laparoscopy and not seldom appendectomy. After appendectomy with the pathological-histological findings of "chronic" appendicitis children are in 83% without any abdominal pain. Therefore the question arises whether there exists a "chronic" appendicitis in childhood justifying surgery in these cases. Although the rate of complications and conversions (3.8%) in diagnostical laparoscopy and laparoscopical appendectomy is quite low the indication should only be made after careful examination considering differential diagnostical problems. In our hospital 56.5% of the children with the histological diagnosis of "chronic" appendicitis suffered retrospectively on other diseases, that had been caused the symptoms of appendicitis. Before operation the patients should be informed on the complications in detail.