Hand-assisted Robotic Approach for Ovarian Cancer Management

Abstract

Robotic assisted staging surgery has been increasingly employed for a variety of gynecological malignancies such as ovarian, endometrial, and cervical cancers. Here we demonstrate a hand-assisted robotic approach for managing ovarian cancer with large tumor mass and predominantly solid components, where mini-laparotomy is performed followed by robotic surgical staging procedures. In this retrospective descriptive analysis of 29 ovarian cancer patients, admitted from December 2011 to May 2014, who had a large tumor mass (≥ 7 cm) and received laparoscopic surgical staging, traditional robotic surgical staging or hand-assisted robotic procedures, we reviewed for patient demographics, surgical procedures, and perioperative parameters. The results were comparable and we conclude the hand-assisted robotic approach offers a safe and feasible way to perform ovarian cancer surgical staging for patients with large tumor masses.