Intestinal surgery in patients with ovarian carcinoma

Twenty patients affected with ovarian carcinoma underwent intestinal operations between 1979 and 1987 during the course of the disease. The patients were divided into two groups on the basis of the time and the aim of the adopted surgery. The first group had intestinal surgery during the initial laparotomy for debulking of the tumour and amelioration of bowel function, while the patients of the second group underwent re-exploration at different times from the first laparotomy for symptomatic intestinal involvement by tumour, with the aim of palliation for obstruction. In all the cases the intestinal obstruction, complete or incomplete, was caused by tumoral involvement of the loops histologically proven. The patients were affected with ovarian carcinoma at stage III (80%) and IV (20%) FIGO. The survival at the intestinal surgery, correlated to the FIGO stage and the kind of surgery performed are presented.