Pelvic exenteration

Pelvic exenteration offers the only possibility for cure in patients who have pelvic recurrence after receiving optimum amounts of irradiation. With improved radiotherapy techniques, the number of patients with isolated central failure is steadily diminishing, but there remains a significant number of patients with recurrent cancer of the cervix after radiation therapy for whom the procedure offers the only chance for life. Each patient must be assessed individually, with the risks of the procedure weighed against the possible benefits. Technical advances continue to reduce the operative mortality and ameliorate the postoperative morbidity associated with pelvic exenteration.