Results of laparoscopic pelvic and/or para-aortic lymphadenectomy in gynecologic oncology patients in Bangkok Metropolitan Administration Medical College and Vajira Hospital.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the results of laparoscopic lymphadenectomy in gynecologic oncology patients.

MATERIAL AND METHOD: Medical records of 31 gynecologic oncology patients who underwent laparoscopic lymphadenectomy between November 1, 2004 and February 28, 2007 were retrospectively reviewed.

RESULTS: The median age of the study population was 47 years (range 24-77 years). Sixteen patients (51.6%) had endometrial cancer while 15 (48.4%) had ovarian malignancy, with median numbers of resected pelvic and paraaortic nodes of 12 (range 3-30 nodes) and 1 (range 1-3 nodes). The groups of lymphadenectomy only, lymphadenectomy with total laparoscopic hysterectomy, and lymphadenectomy with laparoscopic assisted vaginal hysterectomy had median blood losses of 100 ml (range 30-220 ml), 350 ml (range 100-800 ml), and 200 ml (range 150-400 ml) respectively. Accidental injuries of common iliac artery and large bowel occurred in two patients, all of whom were converted to a laparotomy for correcting the damaged sites. Overall, the median duration for postoperative recovery was three days (range 2-8 days).

CONCLUSION: The results suggest that surgical staging for gynecologic malignancies can be adequately performed through laparoscopic surgery, with benefit in terms of early postoperative recovery.