Is Routine Omentectomy a Necessary Component of Cytoreductive Surgery and HIPEC?

Cytoreductive surgery (CRS) with or without hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy (HIPEC) for peritoneal metastases traditionally includes omentectomy, even in the absence of visible omental metastases. We sought to determine the rate of occult histologic omental metastasis (OHOM), evaluate morbidity with omentectomy, and examine the rate of omental recurrence among patients undergoing CRS-HIPEC.

All CRS-HIPEC procedures from August 2007 to August 2020 were included in this single-center, retrospective, cohort study. Procedures were divided into those that included greater omentectomy (OM) and those that did not (NOM). The incidence of OHOM was evaluated specifically among the OM group with a grossly normal omentum. Multivariate regression analyses were performed to evaluate return of bowel function, ileus, and morbidity in the OM and NOM groups.

Among 683 CRS-HIPEC procedures, 578 (84.6%) included omentectomy and 105 (15.4%) did not. The OM group had higher operative time, blood loss, peritoneal cancer index, number of visceral resections, and length of stay. In the OM group, 72 (12.5%) patients had a grossly normal omentum, and 23 (31.9%) of these had OHOM. Risk-adjusted return of bowel function, ileus, and 60-day complications were no different in the OM and NOM groups. Among 43 patients with residual omentum, 24 (55.8%) recurred, including 9 (20.9%) with omental recurrence.

Histologically occult metastasis was present in one-third of patients undergoing omentectomy during CRS-HIPEC. Omentectomy did not increase the rate of overall morbidity, and one-fifth of patients with residual omentum later developed omental recurrence. Thus, omentectomy is warranted in the absence of gross metastases during CRS-HIPEC.