Evaluation and complications of 107 staging laparotomies for Hodgkin's disease

From 1971--1975, 107 staging laparotomies for Hodgkin's disease were performed at the University of Wisconsin Hospitals. Forty-one per cent of patients with abnormal abdominal lymphangiograms preoperatively had abdominal nodes which were negative for Hodgkin's. Thirteen per cent of patients with negative preoperative lymphangiograms had positive nodes at staging laparotomy. Twenty-nine per cent were upstaged by laparotomy, i.e. assigned to a less favorable stage (II A to III A), and 11.2% were downstaged. There were no surgical mortalities. Minor surgical complications occurred in 14.9%, and major ones in 3.7%. We conclude that surgical staging for Hodgkin's disease is valuable in making an accurate diagnosis and, hence, in determining the most effective treatment.