Laparoscopic-assisted abdominal small incision for management of adnexal mass during pregnancy: an academic institution study

BACKGROUND: Adnexal masses during pregnancy is not rare. More and more evidences imply that surgery for adnexal masses performed during pregnancy could be safe and feasible. A novel technique, laparoscopic-assisted minimally invasive surgery with abdominal small incision has been developed by our team, our study aims to evaluate its safety and feasibility for the management of adnexal masses during pregnancy. RESULTS: 12 pregnant women with an adnexal mass were treated by the procedure during the second-trimester. 1. The median age was 28.5 years (range, 25-40 years), all procedures were done during the second trimester, the mean gestation week was 16 weeks (range, 12-17weeks) at operation. 2. The mean operational time was 130 minutes (range, 45-200 minutes). The median blood loss was 10ml (range, 5-200ml). The mean decrease of hemoglobin was 12g/L (range, 2-35g/L). The mean onset of flatus was 24h (range, 22-56h). The mean hospital stay was 5.5days (range, 2-7days). 3. 13 ovarian cysts and 1 mesosalpinx cyst were sent to histopathological diagnosis and the most common diagnosis is corpus luteum cyst (35.7%, 5/14). Cystectomy was performed for all women. 4. All patients had an uneventful recovery. The median gestation at delivery was 39.5weeks (range, 33-41 weeks), and the median birth weight was 3,227.5 g (range, 1465-4,300 g). 5. The median follow-up time was 3.5 years (range, 0.5-7years). All babies were healthy. CONCLUSIONS: Based on these initial findings, laparoscopic-Assisted abdominal small incision appears to be a safe and technically feasible alternative to multiport laparoscopic surgery for patients with adnexal mass during pregnancy.