[The place of second-look laparoscopy in monitoring treatment of advanced malignant ovarian neoplasms].

The role of second-look laparotomy in management of advanced ovarian cancer is still controversial. One of the arguments against this method is the risk of this wide operation. Replacement of second-look laparotomy by laparoscopy maybe the way to minimize that risk. The aim of this report is the comparison of second-look laparotomy and laparoscopy. The prospectively gathered material consists of 56 women with ovarian cancer, 17 of them were qualified for second-look procedures. Laparoscopy was the first step in this procedure. In 5 patient the residual malignancy in abdominal cavity was found. In 11 there were no evidence of the disease, and in 1 case laparoscopic inspection was impossible. When the laparoscopy was negative or impossible the second-look laparotomy was performed. Only in one case after negative laparoscopy the evidence of malignancy during laparotomy was found. In our opinion: 1) Positive second-look laparoscopy is equivalent to laparotomy and permits to avoid it. 2) The negative second-look laparoscopy with its contemporary technique still requires the subsequent laparotomy.