Laparoscopic management of selected solid adnexal tumors

Ovarian Sertoli-Leydig cell tumours: How typical is their typical presentation?

Ovarian Sertoli-Leydig cell tumours (OSLCT) are rare and typically present with androgenic manifestations in women of the 2nd-3rd decade. Out of 228 diagnoses of ovarian sex cord-stromal tumours recorded at an academic institution during a 14-year period, eight women were surgically treated for OSLCT. Patient mean age was 54.8 years (range 19-81), five women being in the postmenopausal stage (62.5%). Only one woman presented with androgenic manifestations (12.5%), four with abnormal/postmenopausal uterine bleeding (50%), and three with abdominal pain (37.5%). Fertility sparing or radical surgery was performed depending on patient age and stage of disease. The only patient with an advanced disease (FIGO stage IV) was referred to palliative care postoperatively. The other seven were at FIGO stage I. Five of them were free from disease at a mean follow-up of 67 months, while the remaining two were lost at follow-up. The youngest woman of the series, treated with fertility-preserving unilateral salpingo-oophorectomy at the age of 19, had two spontaneous pregnancies and deliveries of healthy babies during a 10-year follow-up period. In conclusion, our single institution 14-year experience demonstrates that the diagnosis of OSLCT is particularly challenging since many patients are older than expected and lack androgenic manifestations. Impact statement • What is already known on this subjectOvarian Sertoli-Leydig cell tumours (OSLCT) are rare and are thought to typically present with androgenic manifestations in women of the 2nd-3rd decade. • What the results of this study addOur single institution 14-year experience shows that a high proportion of women with ovarian Sertoli-Leydig cell tumours may not present with androgenic manifestations, and many of them also are in the postmenopausal stage. Most patients have a good prognosis and fertility-preserving surgery in younger women can lead to spontaneous pregnancies and deliveries of healthy children after treatment. • What are the implications of these findings for clinical practice and/or further researchThe diagnosis of OSLCT is particularly challenging and therefore not reached before surgery in most of the cases. However, while hysterectomy with bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy and surgical staging are recommended for women with higher stage or no fertility wish, fertility-sparing surgery should be considered in younger women with early disease. Therefore, further research should focus on non-invasive diagnosis possibly by means of laboratory or imaging techniques.

Laparoscopic management of ovarian dysgerminoma presenting with acute abdomen caused by adnexal torsion in a 17-year-old girl

BACKGROUND

Ovarian dysgerminoma cases very rarely present with acute abdomen due to adnexal torsion and the successful laparoscopic management of such a case has not been reported previously.

CASE

A 17-year-old sexually inactive high school girl presenting with acute abdomen was referred to our emergency department. Transabdominal ultrasonography showed the presence of homogeneous tumor in the lower abdomen. Emergency laparoscopic surgery was performed and left ovarian tumor with adnexal torsion was identified. Left salpingo-oophorectomy was performed carefully to avoid damaging the tumor capsule and the excised tissue was removed after retrieval in an endobag. The histopathological diagnosis was pure ovarian dysgerminoma. The postoperative course was uneventful.

CONCLUSION

Laparoscopic management with careful postoperative follow-up to monitor recurrence could be a treatment option in a young girl with dysgerminoma, if the disease condition is detected in the early stage.

Management of large cystic adnexal tumor by gasless laparoscopic-assisted surgery with wound retractor

We used a retrospective analysis to evaluate the efficacy of a wound retractor used in gasless laparoscopic-assisted surgery by the subcutaneous abdominal wall-lift method for the management of large cystic adnexal tumors. In the department of gynecology at a general hospital, 39 patients with large cystic adnexal tumors with an excised tissue weight including cystic contents exceeding 1000 g were treated by gasless laparoscopic-assisted surgery with a wound retractor from January 2001 through December 2006. Intervention was with a gasless laparoscopic-assisted adnexal surgery with a wound retractor. The median age of the patients was 51.5 years (range 16-79 years). The median weight of the excised tissue including cystic contents was 1857 g (range 1044-9454 g). The median blood loss was 30 mL (range 10-570 mL). The median surgical duration was 62 minutes (range 26-107 minutes). There were no major surgical complications. Histopathologic diagnosis of the excised tumor was mucinous cystadenoma, 18 cases; serous cystadenoma, 8 cases; mucinous cystadenocarcinoma of low-grade malignancy, 5 cases; dermoid cyst, 4 cases; paraovarian cyst, 2 cases; endometriotic cyst, 1 case; and clear cell adenocarcinoma, 1 case. Bilateral adnexal tumors were noted in 3 cases. We determined that gasless laparoscopic-assisted adnexal surgery with a wound retractor is an effective, minimally invasive procedure to treat large cystic adnexal tumors.