Laparoscopic Treatment of Mixed Malignant Ovarian Germ Cell Tumor in a 16-Year-Old Female Adolescent

BackgroundMalignant ovarian germ cell tumors are rare entities, although they account for a large proportion of ovarian masses in young women. These tumors have traditionally been removed via laparotomy, because of their large size and solid nature. The use of laparoscopy for treatment of adnexal masses in adolescents has been heavily debated and poorly studied to date.CaseA 16-year-old female patient presented with abdominal pain and an 11-cm adnexal mass on ultrasound. An emergent laparoscopic salpingo-oophorectomy was performed without complication. Pathology revealed a mixed malignant ovarian germ cell tumor.Summary and ConclusionLaparoscopic fertility-sparing surgery offers many benefits over laparotomy, and should be considered in cases of young women with large adnexal masses, even if potential for malignancy exists.