Advancements in Ovarian Cancer Surgery
- Ovarian cancer surgery has come a long way in recent decades
- A robotic method — which is incredibly valuable for both surgeons and their patients — is now available for many women
- Doctors are now able to sit for much of the surgery, which can make a big difference when the procedure lasts 6-8 hours
Dr. Allan James (“A.J.”) White, a gynecologic oncologist at the START Center for Cancer Care in San Antonio, Texas, has been treating women with ovarian cancer for years, and has seen these improvements first hand.
Read More Back in the 60s, ovarian cancer surgery almost always involved opening up a woman’s abdomen and using scissors and knives to remove all visible cancer, says Dr. White. Now, there is a remarkable new method called a “da Vinci Robot,” which can be used to perform a minimally-invasive surgery for about half of women with ovarian cancer. The robotic surgery presents high costs for the medical system, but Dr. White says “it’s so good for the patients that, around the country and really around the world, most of us have been shifting to using the robotic technique when it’s appropriate.” Importantly, surgeons are now able to sit down for much of the procedure, which makes a big difference for surgeries that can last for a long time. “And after six or eight hours of surgery, it’s fairly tiring,” says Dr. White.
Assistants can also be tremendously valuable during one of these long procedures, Dr. White says. “They’re a very good help for us.”
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