YOLK-SAC TUMOR IN A CASE OF TESTICULAR FEMINIZATION SYNDROME

A 17 month old who had been diagnosed as having testicular feminizatio n syndrome (noted during inguinal herniorrhaphy) was operated on becau se of an abdominal mass that had a high serum level of alpha-fetoprote in. Histologically, the lesion was a yolk sac tumor, The alpha-fetopro tein level normalized within 2 months of the surgery, through the admi nistration of adjunctive chemotherapy containing cisplatinum. The pati ent is disease-free 4 years postoperatively. When performing inguinal herniorrhaphy in a girl, the surgeon should be prepared to deal with t esticular feminization syndrome, If gonadal neoplasm is deniable at th e time of diagnosis, careful follow-up examinations are needed until c ompletion of the development of secondary sex characteristics. Copyrig ht (C) 1995 by W.B. Saunders Company