Ovarian Cancer Surgical Staging, Laparoscopy Versus Laparotomy: A Comparative Study

Background: There are many concerns regarding using laparoscopically assisted staging surgery for ovarian cancer. In this study, we aimed to compare between conventional open laparotomy and laparoscopically assisted surgical staging of relatively early stage ovarian cancer regarding the surgical (operative and postoperative) and oncologic patients outcomes. Patients and Methods: We included 60 patients with ovarian cancer and divided them into two groups: the first group included 30 patients who underwent laparoscopic surgical staging and the other group included 30 patients who underwent open abdominal surgical staging. Results: We showed that patients who underwent laparoscopy have longer operative time, shorter time of hospital stay, and a shorter time interval between operation and starting chemotherapy than patients who underwent open surgery (p < 0.001). We found that patients who underwent laparoscopy have higher number of dissected pelvic and para-aortic lymph nodes than patients who underwent open surgery (p < 0.001). Conclusions: We showed the feasibility of laparoscopy in surgical staging of ovarian cancer performed by a qualified surgical team for selected ovarian cancer patients as it contributed to decreased intraoperative blood loss, earlier recovery, and shorter hospital stay than laparotomy. (J GYNECOL SURG 36:179).