The morbidity of open tumor biopsy for intraabdominal neoplasms in pediatric patients

NSQIP-P database analysis of 454 pediatric patients undergoing open laparotomy for intraabdominal tumor biopsy reveals 12.1% complication rate, with postoperative infection (6%) and bleeding (4.2%) most common. Findings support comparative evaluation of percutaneous image-guided biopsy as lower-morbidity alternative.