Abstract: Objective To evaluate the diagnosis and treatment of the primary retroperitoneal tumor based on experience with 30 cases. Methods The clinical manifestations, image examinations and operations of 30 cases with primary retroperitoneal tumor that were diagnosed and treated in our department from January 2007 to July 2009 were Retrospectively analyzed and discussed. Results Of the 30 cases, 8 were male and 22 were female, the age range was 15~82 years, average 44.8 years. Nine of the cases were asymptomatic, 7 had abdominal pain or fullness, 4 had back pain, 5 had abdominal mass, 4 had lower extremity pain or numbness, and 1 case had body weight loss. All the 30 cases were treated with surgical operations, 14 received laparoscopic surgery and the rest laparotomy. The average operation time was 205 minutes. There were no major complications in any of the patients. Twenty-seven cases were followed-up for an average of 18 months. Conclusion The image examinations are the main methods to detect the primary retroperitoneal tumors and the operations to remove the tumor are the main treatment. For benign or less malignant neoplasmas, laparoscopic surgery can be attempted.

Key words: retroperitoneal tumors, laparoscopy, diagnosis, treatment