Comparison of laparoscopy and laparotomy in the surgical management of early-stage ovarian cancer.

OBJECTIVE

The aim of this study is to investigate the safety and efficacy of laparoscopy in the treatment of early-stage ovarian cancer (EOC).

METHODS

We retrospectively analyzed the clinical data of patients who underwent laparoscopy (35 patients) or laparotomy (40 patients) for the comprehensive surgical staging of EOC in Zhujiang Hospital during the period of 2002 to 2010 and compared the 2 surgical approaches in operative time, intraoperative blood loss, number of dissected lymph nodes, tumor rupture rate, length of hospital stay, time of gastrointestinal function recovery, wound healing condition, complication rate, upstaging rate, rate of postoperative chemotherapy, and postoperative follow-up condition.

RESULTS

The laparoscopy group had significantly shorter hospital stay and time of first postoperative flatus and had significantly lower rate of poor wound healing than the laparotomy group. The 2 groups did not show significant differences in operative time, intraoperative blood loss, number of dissected lymph nodes, tumor rupture rate, complication rate, upstaging rate, and rate of postoperative chemotherapy.

CONCLUSIONS

Laparoscopy is safe and effective for the comprehensive surgical staging of EOC and has the advantages of shorter hospital stay, faster recovery of gastrointestinal function, and good wound healing.