Laparoscopy versus laparotomy for benign ovarian tumours

Effect of Laparoscopic Ovarian Cystectomy on Ovarian Reserve in Benign Ovarian Cysts

Background:

Laparoscopic cystectomy is one of the common modes of treatment for benign ovarian cysts. The data related to the effect of cystectomy on ovarian reserve are limited.

Aim:

The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of laparoscopic ovarian cystectomy on anti-Mullerian hormone (AMH) levels in benign ovarian cysts.

Settings and Design:

It was a prospective clinical study conducted in a tertiary care hospital from March 2017 to August 2018.

Materials and Methods:

Seventy-two benign ovarian cyst patients who were admitted for cystectomy were enrolled in the study. Serum AMH levels were estimated in all the patients at baseline, 1 week, and 3 months after cystectomy.

Statistical Analysis:

Paired t-test was used to assess the differences in AMH levels before and after laparoscopic cystectomy.

Results:

AMH was significantly reduced after 1 week (P < 0.05) and 3 months (P < 0.05) of cystectomy compared to preoperative levels in both endometriotic and nonendometriotic cysts. The percentage of reduction in the AMH values measured on the 7^th postoperative day was found to be greater with endometriotic cysts (54%) followed by mucinous cystadenoma (32%). On day 90, greater recoveries of the AMH values to the baseline AMH levels were observed with cystic teratoma (83% of the baseline AMH levels).

Conclusions:

Laparoscopic ovarian cystectomy reduces AMH levels immediately after surgery, and improvement in AMH level was observed after 3 months.

Single incision laparoscopic surgery for a large endometriotic cyst

We describe a technique for the treatment of large benign ovarian cysts by single port laparoscopic surgery via the umbilical approach. X-cone single port system (Karl Storz) was employed in this surgery. Prebent atraumatic grasping forceps were used in conjunction with the straight laparoscopic instruments. We propose using a "to-fro" peeling technique in the z-axis in SPLS cystectomy. Combined use of prebent and straight laparoscopic instruments enables the cystectomy to be performed in the z-axis, thereby avoiding instruments crossing and hands collision outside the abdomen. The proposed technique proved to be feasible, easy to employ, and safe in SPLS cystectomy, with the additional benefit of superior cosmetic outcome.

Gynaecological laparoscopy courses in the United Arab Emirates

BACKGROUND

Laparoscopic surgery is important for gynaecological practice and became the method of choice for many gynaecological procedures having advantages over open surgery.

OBJECTIVES

To report our modified teaching methods, and evaluation of the gynaecological laparoscopy courses in United Arab Emirates.

METHODS

Fifty five participants attended four 3-full day comprehensive hands-on gynaecological laparoscopic skills courses. Non-expensive dry/wet models have been developed for teaching. All participants were evaluated at the end of the course through MCQs and practical laparoscopic exercises. All participants filled out a questionnaire reflecting their opinion on various aspects of the course at its completion. Ethical approval has been received by Research and Ethics Committee of Al-Ain Medical District, Al-Ain, UAE.

RESULTS

Fourteen participants had no laparoscopic experience, 35 had experience at level I and six had experience at level II. There was a statistically significant difference of the MCQ mark between the three levels of experience (p = 0.05, Kruskal Wallis test) but not for the practical part, p = 0.9, Kruskal Wallis test). The courses were highly valued having an overall average rating of 3.8 out of 4.

CONCLUSION

A multimodality non expensive course for teaching gynaecological laparoscopy was highly successful in United Arab Emirates. Models used may be useful for training gynaecological laparoscopy in developing countries. The long term effects of our courses on clinical practice have yet to be evaluated.

Adnexal masses suspected to be benign treated with laparoscopy

OBJECTIVE

Guidelines for referring women with pelvic masses suspicious for ovarian cancer to gynecologic oncologists have been developed by the American College of Obstetrician Gynecologists (ACOG). We set out to evaluate the negative predictive value of these guidelines and to assess a modified algorithm involving minimally invasive surgery in the treatment of women with masses suspected to be benign.

METHODS

257 consecutive patients with adnexal masses of 8cm to 13cm on preoperative ultrasound examination meeting Triage Criteria set forth in ACOG Committee Opinion 280. Patients meeting the selection criteria were scheduled for operative laparoscopy, washings, adnexectomy, bagging, and colpotomy. A total of 240 patients successfully completed intended treatment (93.38%), and 234 of these did not require admission (97.5%). There was a low incidence of significant complications: 97.50% of women were successfully treated as outpatients, 97.92% of surgeries lasted <136 minutes, and <97.08% had blood loss <200mL. The negative predictive value of ACOG Committee Opinion 280 Triage Criteria as a deselector for having invasive ovarian malignancy in our population was 95.57% for premenopausal and 90.91% for postmenopausal women.

CONCLUSIONS

Laparoscopic adnexectomy, bagging, and colpotomy is a desirable goal for patients with ovarian masses in the 8cm to 13cm range meeting selection criteria affording a minimally invasive approach with attendant benefits including outpatient treatment (97.5%), few complications, low likelihood of iatrogenic rupture of the ovarian capsule (1.25%), and low necessity for reoperation after final pathology is evaluated (6.03%). Negative predictive value of ACOG Committee Opinion 280 is confirmed in a community gynecology practice and is recommended to form the basis of a new treatment algorithm for women with adnexal masses.

A premenopausal woman with virilization secondary to an ovarian Leydig cell tumor

BACKGROUND

A 33-year-old woman presented to an endocrinology clinic with a 5-year history of secondary amenorrhea. 2 years before presentation, she had noticed progressively worsening signs of virilization.

INVESTIGATIONS

Measurement of levels of serum free and total testosterone, androstenedione, dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate and gonadotropins; transvaginal ultrasonography, abdominal and pelvic MRI and (18)F-fluorodeoxyglucose PET imaging.

DIAGNOSIS

Virilization secondary to an ovarian Leydig cell tumor.

MANAGEMENT

The patient underwent a left salpingo-oophorectomy that confirmed the diagnosis of a unilateral Leydig cell tumor. Complete normalization of androgens and gonadotropin levels was achieved after surgery.

External validation of mathematical models to distinguish between benign and malignant adnexal tumors: a multicenter study by the International Ovarian Tumor Analysis Group

PURPOSE

Several scoring systems have been developed to distinguish between benign and malignant adnexal tumors. However, few of them have been externally validated in new populations. Our aim was to compare their performance on a prospectively collected large multicenter data set.

EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN

In phase I of the International Ovarian Tumor Analysis multicenter study, patients with a persistent adnexal mass were examined with transvaginal ultrasound and color Doppler imaging. More than 50 end point variables were prospectively recorded for analysis. The outcome measure was the histologic classification of excised tissue as malignant or benign. We used the International Ovarian Tumor Analysis data to test the accuracy of previously published scoring systems. Receiver operating characteristic curves were constructed to compare the performance of the models.

RESULTS

Data from 1,066 patients were included; 800 patients (75%) had benign tumors and 266 patients (25%) had malignant tumors. The morphologic scoring system used by Lerner gave an area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) of 0.68, whereas the multimodal risk of malignancy index used by Jacobs gave an AUC of 0.88. The corresponding values for logistic regression and artificial neural network models varied between 0.76 and 0.91 and between 0.87 and 0.90, respectively. Advanced kernel-based classifiers gave an AUC of up to 0.92.

CONCLUSION

The performance of the risk of malignancy index was similar to that of most logistic regression and artificial neural network models. The best result was obtained with a relevance vector machine with radial basis function kernel. Because the models were tested on a large multicenter data set, results are likely to be generally applicable.

Inclusion of CA-125 does not improve mathematical models developed to distinguish between benign and malignant adnexal tumors

PURPOSE

To test the value of serum CA-125 measurements alone or as part of a multimodal strategy to distinguish between malignant and benign ovarian tumors before surgery based on a large prospective multicenter study (International Ovarian Tumor Analysis).

PATIENTS AND METHODS

Patients with at least one persistent ovarian mass preoperatively underwent transvaginal ultrasonography using gray scale imaging to assess tumor morphology and color Doppler imaging to obtain indices of blood flow.

RESULTS

Data from 809 patients recruited from nine centers were included in the analysis; 567 patients (70%) had benign tumors and 242 (30%) had malignant tumors-of these 152 were primary invasive (62.8%), 52 were borderline malignant (21.5%), and 38 were metastatic (15.7%). A logistic regression model including CA-125 (M2) resulted in an area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) of 0.934 and did not outperform a published (M1) without serum CA-125 information (AUC, 0.936). Specifically designed new models including CA-125 for premenopausal women (M3) and for postmenopausal women (M4) did not perform significantly better than the model without CA-125 (M1; AUC, 0.891 v AUC, 0.911 and AUC, 0.975 v AUC, 0.949, respectively). In postmenopausal patients, serum CA-125 alone (AUC, 0.920) and the risk of malignancy index (AUC, 0.924) performed very well. Results were very similar when the models were prospectively tested on a group of 345 new patients with adnexal masses of whom 126 had malignant tumors (37%).

CONCLUSION

Adding information on CA-125 to clinical information and ultrasound information does not improve discrimination of mathematical models between benign and malignant adnexal masses.

Medical liability insurance claims on entry-related complications in laparoscopy

BACKGROUND

Installation of the pneumoperitoneum is an essential part of laparoscopic surgery. Creation can be performed by either the open or a closed technique. The aim of this study was to assess the number of and contributing factors to entry-related complications in medical liability insurance claims in The Netherlands.

METHODS

A retrospective chart review was performed, including all malpractice claims filed at MediRisk, which is presently the largest medical liability mutual insurance company for institutions, mainly hospitals, in healthcare in The Netherlands.

RESULTS

From January 1993 to December 2005, 41 claims were identified as entry-related complications which comprised 18% of all laparoscopy-related complications leading to claims. Most were young (median age = 35 years) female patients who had routine, nonadvanced, laparoscopic procedures planned as short-stay or day-care procedures. The claims were equally divided between general surgery (n = 20) and gynecology (n = 21). A total of 51 structures were injured. There were 18 vascular structure injuries, 30 bowel injuries, and three other injuries. An open entry technique was used in only two (5%) patients. Vascular injury was exclusively associated with closed entry. In only 19 (46%) patients the entry-related complication was diagnosed peroperatively, consisting of 70% of the vascular and 25% of the bowel injuries. Twenty-six patients (64%) were admitted to the intensive care unit for a median of five days. There was no mortality. Besides conversion, the majority of the patients filed a claim to compensate for a longer hospital stay and related costs. A payment was made in 17 (57%) of the 30 settled claims.

CONCLUSIONS

Medical liability claims concerning laparoscopic entry-related complications comprised a fifth of all laparoscopy-related claims. Claims concerning entry-related complications occurred in young patients who had routine, nonadvanced procedures. In the investigated cases most claims involved the closed-entry technique.