Place de la cœlioscopie dans le traitement des cancers de l’endomètre à un stade précoce (stade I)

[Robotic surgery in endometrial cancer: a review]

Robotic surgery has spread for a few years. This access is now important in urologic surgery, especially for prostatic procedures. Development of robotic surgery in gynecology is more recent. Gynecologic oncology is probably one of the most interesting fields of development of this access. Robotic surgery is frequently used in endometrial cancer. As no randomized study is available, it seems to be interesting to make a review of retrospective studies. Feasibility seems to be high and the learning curve is short (around 20 cases). Operative lengths are longer when compared to laparotomy, but are similar or shorter than laparoscopy. Robot setting increases the global length of the procedure, but decreases with experience. Operative blood loss, as well as transfusion rate are decreased when compared to laparotomy, but are similar to those of laparoscopy. The overall morbidity rate seems lower than with other approaches. Postoperative pain, hospital stay and time to recovery are decreased when compared to laparotomy as well as to laparoscopy for some authors. The main limit to the diffusion of robotic surgery is accessibility because of its important cost. Other limits are pointed out by the most trained teams.

[Sentinel lymph node procedure and uterine cancers]

Lymph node metastases in cervical and endometrial cancer are major prognostic factors. Lymph-nodal involvement determines adjuvant therapy. As imagery is not reliable to diagnose lymph node status, pelvic +/- para-aortic lymphadenectomy remains the gold standard. These surgical procedures are, however, responsible for specific morbidity: lymphocele and lymphedema. Sentinel lymph node procedure could avoid lymphadenectomy and their complications in cervical and endometrial cancer with good negative predictive values. We present actual indications, procedure and results of sentinel lymph node procedures in cervical and endometrial cancer.