The safety and efficacy of laparoscopic surgical staging of apparent stage I ovarian and fallopian tube cancers

Objective To compare the safety and efficacy of laparoscopic staging of ovarian or fallopian tube cancers to staging via laparotomy for epithelial ovarian carcinoma. Study design We performed a case-control study of all patients with apparent stage I adnexal cancers who had laparoscopic staging from October 2000 to March 2003. The control group consisted of all patients with apparent stage I epithelial ovarian carcinoma who had staging via laparotomy during the same time period. Results Staging was laparoscopic in 20 patients and via laparotomy in 30. There were no differences in mean age and body mass index. There were also no differences in omental specimen size and number of lymph nodes removed. Estimated blood loss and hospital stay were lower for laparoscopy, but operating time was longer. There were no conversions to laparotomy or complications in the laparoscopic group, compared with 3 minor complications in the laparotomy group. Conclusion In this preliminary analysis, it appears that patients with apparent stage I ovarian or fallopian tube cancer can safely and adequately undergo laparoscopic surgical staging.