Evaluation of ovarian cancer by second-look laparotomy after treatment

In the five-year period 1975 to 1979, 234 patients entered the Royal Brisbane Hospital Consultative Ovarian Cancer Clinic's management programme. Thirty-six patients were considered suitable for evaluation by a subsequent laparotomy following completion of the treatment programme. The clinic's protocol for second-look surgery and its results are presented. The findings from the protocol-based surgery were accurate in 23 of 24 patients (96%) on the basis of subsequent follow-up, and surgery was free of complications in 33 of 36 patients (92%). The objectives of management are reviewed, and a recommendation about the timing of surgery is made. In all cases there must be individualization of treatment.