Ovarian Cancer - Diagnosis

Exploratory Surgery

An exploratory surgical procedure called laparotomy generally is required for the definitive diagnosis of ovarian cancer. Laparotomy involves the following steps:

• It requires general anesthesia and employs standard surgical techniques to make a vertical, midline incision from the pubic bone to the navel.
• Such an incision ensures careful evaluation of the entire abdominal area. After the incision is made, the surgeon assesses the fluid and cells in the abdominal cavity.
• During this procedure, cysts or other suspicious areas will be removed and biopsied (tested for cancer).
• If the lesion is cancerous, the surgeon continues with a process called surgical staging to ascertain how far the malignant tumor has spread and to remove the ovaries and any cancerous tissue.

Investigators are also studying laparoscopy - instead of more invasive surgery - for initial surgical evaluation (staging).

Click the icon to see an image of pelvic laparoscopy.

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