Diagnostic versus therapeutic second-look surgery in patients with ovarian cancer

Between August 1982 and January 1988, 82 patient with epithelial ovarian cancer underwent second-look laparotomy. Before second-look surgery, 37 patients (45%) were in clinical complete remission. Eleven of these women who had previously received complete surgery received a diagnostic second-look operation. Whereas the clinical diagnosis of a complete response was confirmed by second-look procedure in eight of these patients, positive tumour findings were still evident in four women. The other 26 women who did not have clinical evidence of disease underwent staging second-look laparatomy to complete primary surgery. However, 11 patients revealed macroscopic evidence of tumour. In addition, the second-look operation was classified as a staging procedure in two women despite progressive disease classified preoperatively, but with negative intra-abdominal tumour findings. A therapeutic second-look laparotomy was performed in 37 patients with clinical evidence of disease to remove as much tumour as possible. Second-look laparatomy as a palliative procedure was necessary in six patients. Considering the type of second-look procedure, the 39 patients (48%) who underwent a diagnostic or staging procedure revealed a significantly longer median survival time of 62 months compared with the 43 women (52%) who underwent therapeutic or palliative second-look surgery and had a median survival of 19 months (P less than 0.0003, Log Rank Test). In patients with positive tumour findings at the time of second-look surgery, therapeutic cytoreduction was not associated with an improved survival time. We conclude that second-look surgery should be performed only in patients who are clinically free of disease to evaluate their intraperitoneal tumour status.