Repeat laparotomy as a preclinical diagnostic and therapeutic method for treating ovarian carcinoma

One hundred forty-two cases of epithelial ovarian carcinoma were treated from 1972 to 1976 in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, University Central Hospital, Turku, Finland. Repeat laparotomy was performed on 37 of the patients about six months after total extirpative surgery (group I). In addition, a second laparotomy was performed on 14 patients after partial surgery or exploratory laparotomy (group II). All patients were given external radiation therapy combined with cytostatic treatment prior to the repeat laparotomies. A preclinical carcinoma was detected in six of the 37 patients in group I. Two of them are asymptomatic after five years of follow-up. In group II, total surgery after initial partial or exploratory laparotomy succeeded in half of the cases. Serous and endometroid carcinomas appeared to respond best to conservative therapy preceding repeat laparotomy.