[Complications of second-look surgery for ovarian cancer]

All complications were registered in 139 consecutive second-look operations for ovarian cancer. Forty-one complications were registered in 33 patients, none lethal. The most frequent complications were anaemia requiring blood-transfusion (10.7%) and acute cystitis (4.3%). Other complications were seen with frequencies between 0.7 to 2.8 percent. No differences with respect to complications were found between patients with residual tumour versus those without, nor between patients where only biopsies were taken versus those who had organs removed. Although the patients were in clinical complete remission, 53% were found to have residual disease at second-look operation.