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Endoscopic surgery for mature teratoma of the ovary
U Ulrich1, J Keckstein, W Paulus
1Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, University of Ulm, Germany.
Background:
This study was undertaken to assess the value of laparoscopic surgery as treatment for benign mature teratomas of the ovary.
Methods:
A total of 70 patients treated exclusively with laparoscopic surgery for ovarian mature teratoma were studied. The tumors were either enucleated with preservation of the ovary or removed by salpingo-oophorectomy.
Results:
Ovary-preserving surgery was performed in 60 cases; salpingo-oophorectomy was accomplished in 10 cases. All tumors removed were histologically benign. No surgical complications were encountered throughout the series. In eight patients who underwent primary ovary-preserving surgery, a second-look laparoscopy was undertaken with virtually no pathological findings noted.
Conclusions:
Our findings confirm those of other authors- when performed by experienced surgeons, laparoscopic removal of ovarian mature teratomas is a safe and recommendable alternative to laparotomy. Preoperative diagnosis and intraoperative inspection of the tumor must be as thorough as possible.