[Splenectomy in cytoreductive surgery in ovarian cancer]

During the course of surgery for the treatment of ovarian cancer, splenectomy is rarely performed since this tumour rarely infiltrates the parenchyma although it spreads around the spleen. Surgery is significant if surgical efforts successfully reduce tumour volume to less than one centimetre in diameter. Perisplenic involvement is frequent, even if not always massive and infiltrating, in relation both to biological aggressiveness and clinical and instrumental diagnostic delay. Between January '81 and December '91 a total of 16 splenectomies were performed during the course of surgery relating to 311 (5.1%) patients suffering from mullerian ovarian carcinoma at the 3rd and 4th stage. Of these, 7 were performed during the first operation and 9 during the course of a second-look. The mean age of patients was 56 with a range of 33-71 years. Massive hilar infiltration was found in 14 cases, in 7 together with contemporary capsular infiltration. Parenchymal infiltration was present in 3 cases; one splenectomy was performed following an iatrogenic complication during the mobilization of the left colic flexure, necessary for the creation of the colon-rectal anastomosis. Splenectomy was always well tolerated in an overall assessment of surgery and was without severe local complications. The most frequent complications were pleural (7/16) with reactive effusion and bronchopulmonary with basal dystelectasia (3 cases) and bronchopneumonic foci (4 cases). A silent hematoma in a splenic site was revealed using ultrasonography in 3 cases but resolved spontaneously without requiring drainage.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)