Laparoscopic staging of early ovarian cancer.

The relevance of staging in early ovarian carcinoma is reviewed in light of the advances in surgical laparoscopy. Data from the literature suggest that a lymphadenectomy should be performed instead of a sampling. We have realized the former through laparoscopy. In this paper we propose a detailed surgical technique, similar to the laparotomy approach, that ensures an adequate nodal evaluation. Ten patients underwent a completion of staging by laparoscopy, including peritoneal washings for cytology, peritoneal and ovarian biopsies, an infracolic omentectomy, and a lymph node dissection. The use of laparoscopy for staging of early ovarian carcinoma appears to be a valuable alternative to traditional surgical staging.