Abstract
Objective: This study aimed to analyze the safety and feasibility of laparoscopic surgery for early-stage endometrial cancer.
Methods: We performed laparoscopic hysterectomy, bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy, and pelvic lymphadenectomy in 10 patients with pathologically diagnosed grade 1 or 2 endometrioid adenocarcinoma. The expected preoperative clinical stage 1A (International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics staging guidelines 2009) was diagnosed by magnetic resonance imaging and computed tomography. We analyzed the operation time, amount of bleeding, number of resected lymph nodes, perioperative complications, postoperative activities of daily living (ADL), and pathological findings.
Results: The average operation time was 273.9 min, the average bleeding was 40 g, and the average number of resected lymph nodes was 21.6. Postoperative lymphocyst infection occurred in one case. In early-stage endometrial cancer, laparoscopic surgery improved postoperative ADL and shortened hospital stays compared to laparotomy. Postoperative pathological examination revealed one case of grade 3 endometrioid adenocarcinoma. A further case was diagnosed as stage 3A because ovarian metastasis was identified.
Conclusions: The safety and feasibility of laparoscopic surgery, and good postoperative ADL in patients with early-stage endometrial cancer were confirmed by our results. Gynecologists experienced in laparoscopic and oncologic surgery can be introduced easily to laparoscopic surgery for early-stage endometrial cancer.
