Completeness of salpingectomy intended for ovarian cancer risk reduction

Prophylactic salpingectomy has been heavily promoted based on the theory that serous tubal intraepithelial carcinoma is a precursor lesion for serous ovarian carcinoma. However, the validity of prophylactic salpingectomy has yet to be proven through adequate research. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the completeness of salpingectomy intended for ovarian cancer risk reduction.

Women without a history of ovarian cancer who were undergoing salpingoophorectomy at a single institution in Honolulu, Hawaii were enrolled in this study. Salpingectomy was performed prior to oophorectomy. A blinded pathologist then examined the ovaries for the presence of residual salpingeal tissue. Data collected included type of surgery (minimally invasive or laparotomy) and level of surgeon (attending or resident). Data were analyzed using Fisher's exact test.

A total of 107 ovaries were examined. Following salpingectomy, 5.6% (n = 6/107) of ovaries had residual salpingeal tissue present and 94.4% (n = 101/107) of ovaries were absent of salpingeal tissue. Of the ovaries with residual salpingeal tissue, there was no difference in level of surgeon (attending n = 3/107, resident n = 3/107, p = 1.0) or type of surgery (minimally invasive n = 5/107, laparotomy n = 1/107, p = 0.42).

This is the largest blinded study ever conducted to examine ovaries for residual salpingeal tissue after salpingectomy. In addition, this is the only study to compare learner versus attending outcomes in this setting. This study found that over 94% of salpingectomies resulted in complete removal of salpingeal tissue. Of the ovaries with residual salpingeal tissue, there wasn't a difference among surgeon level and surgery type, but the study was not powered to detect this. This study supports the continued clinical practice of prophylactic salpingectomy for ovarian cancer risk reduction.