Laparoscopic Surgery for Patients with Early Stage Endometrial Cancer

Abstract

  Laparoscopy has been widely proposed as an alternative to a laparotomy for the treatment of early stage endometrial cancer. The purpose of this study was to assess the efficacy, safety, and prognosis of laparoscopic surgery. We retrospectively analyzed the results of laparoscopic surgery for patients with early stage endometrial cancer at the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Niigata University Medical & Dental Hospital between 2003 and 2011. A total of 44 patients underwent laparoscopic surgery by three different surgeons. Blood loss and number of lymph nodes removed were not statistically significant between surgeons. Although a significant difference in surgery time (P = 0.0017) was initially observed between surgeons, this difference became insignificant as the surgeons gained experience. With increasing surgeons' experience, laparoscopic surgery is useful for the treatment of early stage endometrial cancer.