Some for of surgery is usually part of ovarian cancer treatment
- Ovarian cancer is usually treated with surgery. The type of surgery you'll have depends on the stage of your cancer.
- Minimally invasive surgery may be appropriate if your cancer is early stage, or it may be used as a diagnostic tool to help oncologists determine the extent of the tumor.
- Many ovarian cancers tend to be diagnosed at a later stage, where more extensive surgery is required to try to remove all the tumor.
The complexity of your ovarian cancer surgery, as well as how long the operation will take, generally depends on the stage of the disease and how widely the cancer has spread. For women who are diagnosed with early-stage, localized ovarian cancer (meaning the cancer has not yet spread beyond the ovaries), doctors may suggest a minimally-invasive robotic surgery to remove the ovaries and uterus. If the cancer has spread beyond the ovaries, however, a patient may need to have more extensive surgery, where the surgeon removes neighboring organs or tissues in addition to the ovaries and uterus.
Read More"Ovarian cancer has a tendency to spread throughout the abdomen, along the diaphragm, behind the liver, into the omentum [an apron of fatty tissue that covers and supports the intestines and organs], and sometimes into spaces that are very difficult to assess laparoscopically," Dedmond explains. Minimally invasive surgery can limit an oncologist's exposure to places where ovarian cancer can hide.
"Our goal for ovarian cancer surgery is to completely remove all present disease that we can see or that we can feel. And, oftentimes, minimally invasive surgery prevents us from being able to see in the nooks and crannies in the upper abdomen, behind the liver and the spleen, and other areas where it’s difficult to be able to assess unless you actually have your hand in there.”
So while the appeal of minimally invasive surgery is understandable, for many women with ovarian cancer more traditional surgery provides the best prognosis. "There are many reasons with ovarian cancer, especially with upfront surgery, where minimally invasive surgery wouldn’t be as helpful," says Dr. Dedmond.
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