Mesenteric cysts in childhood

5 children with mesenteric cysts, 3 boys and 2 girls, aged 2 to 10 years, were admitted with acute abdominal pain. In adults the most common symptom is chronic abdominal pain whereas in children the onset of symptoms is acute due to intestinal obstruction. Sonography, performed in two patients, is the diagnostic method of choice. Excision of the cyst required resection of the small intestine in 2 patients, while simple enucleation was possible in 3. All 5 patients survived, and there have been neither complications nor recurrences. Early recognition and appropriate resection of these occasionally life-threatening malformations are associated with a good prognosis.