Percutaneous-assisted laparoscopy for ovarian tissue cryopreservation: a single-center experience.

PURPOSE: To compare surgical and post-operative outcomes of patients submitted to traditional laparoscopy and percutaneous-assisted laparoscopy for ovarian tissue explant for cryopreservation. METHODS: This is a single-center retrospective comparative study conducted in IRCCS "Regina Elena" National Cancer Institute of Rome. Patients submitted to laparoscopic excision of ovarian tissue, before starting chemotherapy were enrolled. We compared the classic laparoscopic approach vs percutaneous-assisted laparoscopy, using the Percuvance grasping forceps. RESULTS: Fifty-nine young oncologic women were enrolled; 38 underwent a conventional laparoscopy (LAP), 21 received a percutaneous laparoscopy (PERC). The baseline characteristics were similar in both groups, furthermore no differences were found in terms of peri-operative complications, median estimated blood loss (p = 0.4), operative time (p = 0.2), recovery times (p = 0.1), median time to chemotherapy (p = 0.7), median area of collected samples (p = 0.9). The postoperative pain evaluated by VAS-score, was significantly lower in the PERC group vs LAP group, both the day of surgery (range 0-4 vs 0-2; p = 0.02) and after 1 (range 0-3 vs 0-2; p = 0.002) and 2 days (range 0-3 vs 0-1; p = 0.0001). Moreover, better aesthetic results were detected in the PERC group, 2 months after surgery (median 9 vs 10, range 7-10 vs 9-10; p = 0.0001). CONCLUSIONS: Percutaneous-assisted laparoscopy has proven to be an effective and safe procedure for the excision of ovarian tissue for cryopreservation, in young oncologic patients that want to preserve their fertility. The percutaneous procedure appears superior to conventional laparoscopy in terms of aesthetic outcomes and post-operative pain reduction. CLINICAL TRIAL ID: NCT05134090, 24th Nov 2021, retrospectively registered.