[Pelvic and para-aortic lymphadenectomy in primary cancer of the ovary].

The results of pelvic and para-aortic lymphadenectomy performed in 24 patients with primary ovarian cancer are reported. The lymph node invasion rate was 20 percent in stages where the disease was apparently limited to the pelvis, and 73 percent in more advanced stages. Invasion was as frequently found at postoperative second-look laparotomy (54 percent) as at initial exploratory laparotomy (46 percent). Retroperitoneal expansion equally involved the pelvic and para-aortic lymph nodes: among 12 patients with positive lymphadenectomy, 8 had combined pelvic and para-aortic invasion, 2 had exclusively pelvic invasion and 2 had exclusively para-aortic invasion. We would therefore recommend to perform lymphadenectomy during the first operation, particularly in presumed stage I or II cancer, and to dissect the lymph nodes in both the pelvic cavity and the lumbo-aortic region.