Complications by the surgical treatment of sacrococcygeal teratoma and ways of its prevention

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.15574/PS.2025.3(88).112116

Keywords:

sacrococcygeal teratoma, complications, endovascular embolization, laparoscopy

Abstract

Sacrococcygeal teratoma (SCT) is the germ-cell tumor that originated from the sacrococcygeal region and contained all three germ layers. Surgery is the cornerstone of the management of this tumor. By that, surgical removing of giant hypervascular SCT accompanied by the high risk of pre- and intra-operative complications, first the bleeding.

Аim - to analyze the possible complications on the surgery of SCT and ways of its prevention.

The presence of giant highly vascularized SCT is the main predisposing factor of the arising of bleeding during surgery. Early closure of the feeding arteries of the tumors is essential for the prevention of uncontrollable bleeding. Laparoscopic ligation of the median sacral arteria consisted as the method of prevention of intra-operative bleeding in children with SCT, which performed directly before the main stage of tumor removing. Another method that can prevent significant blood loss is the endovascular intervention - preoperative embolization of tumors’ feeding vessels. However, both methods included limited number of patients and required further investigations.

Conclusions. Intra-operative bleeding is the life-threating complication in case of removing of giant sacrococcygeal teratoma. Preoperative embolization and laparoscopic ligation of feeding vessels of tumor considered as the main methods for the bleeding prevention during surgery. By that, these methods required further study, due to the limited case reports.

No conflict of interests was declared by the authors.

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Published

2025-09-28