Safety and efficacy of immediate postoperative feeding and bowel stimulation to prevent ileus after major gynecologic surgical procedures.

CONTEXT: Postoperative ileus is a major complication of abdominal surgical procedures OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the incidence of ileus and gastrointestinal morbidity in patients who received immediate postoperative feeding and bowel stimulation after undergoing major gynecologic surgical procedures. METHODS: During a 5-year period, the authors tracked demographic, surgical outcome, and follow-up information for 707 patients who underwent major gynecologic operations. All patients received the same postoperative orders, including immediate feeding of a diet of choice and bowel stimulation with 30 mL of magnesium hydroxide (milk of magnesia) twice daily until bowel movements occurred. RESULTS: Of 707 patients, 6 (<1%) had postoperative ileus. No patients experienced postoperative bowel obstruction and 2 patients (0.3%) had postoperative intestinal leak. No serious adverse effects associated with bowel stimulation were reported. CONCLUSION: Immediate postoperative feeding and bowel stimulation is a safe and effective approach to preventing ileus in patients who undergo major gynecologic surgical procedures.

Laparoscopic-assisted cytoreduction for primary advanced ovarian cancer: success, morbidity and survival.

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this paper is to evaluate laparoscopic-assisted cytoreduction for primary advanced ovarian cancer: feasibility, morbidity, response to chemotherapy and survival. METHODS: All patients with presumed stage 3/4 primary ovarian cancer underwent attempted laparoscopic cytoreduction. All patients had CT evidence of omental metastasis and ascites. A five port (5-mm) transperitoneal approach was used. A bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy, supracervical hysterectomy and omentectomy were performed with the PlasmaKinetic (PK) cutting forceps. A laparoscopic 5-mm Argon-Beam Coagulator was used to coagulate tumor in the pelvis, abdominal peritoneum, intestinal mesentery, and diaphragm. RESULTS: Twenty-three cases (92%) were successfully cytoreduced laparoscopically without conversion to laparotomy. Median operative time was 2.3h and median blood loss was 340 cc. All tumors were debulked to less than 2 cm and 36% had no residual disease. Median length of stay was 1 day. Median VAS pain score was 4-discomforting. Six patients (24%) had post-operative complications, none grades 3-4. Median overall survival is 3.5 years. CONCLUSION: Laparoscopic-assisted cytoreduction for primary advanced ovarian cancer was successful, resulting in minimal morbidity, and acceptable survival.

Laparoscopic major gynecologic surgery in patients with prior laparotomy bowel resection.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: To review the success and morbidity of laparoscopic major gynecologic surgery in patients with prior laparotomy bowel resection. METHODS: Review of a prospective surgical database of all cases of laparoscopic major gynecologic surgery in patients with prior laparotomy bowel resection. No cases were excluded. Bowel diagnoses and procedures were total colectomy for inflammatory bowel disease (4), partial colectomy for colon cancer (6), partial small bowel resection for obstruction (1), and Whipple for pancreatic cancer (2). Two patients had 3 prior laparotomies, 8 patients had 2 prior laparotomies, and 3 patients had 1 prior laparotomy. All prior abdominal incisions were midline. Gynecologic diagnoses and procedures were laparoscopic cytoreduction for ovarian cancer (1), lsh/bso/staging for ovarian cancer (1), lavh/bso/lymphadenectomy for endometrial cancer (4), and lavh/bso, lsh/bso, or bso for large ovarian mass (7). Median patient age was 57 years, median BMI was 31kg/m(2), and all patients had medical comorbidities. RESULTS: All 13 laparoscopic gynecologic surgeries were successful without trocar insertion injury, conversion to laparotomy, and without enterotomy. Abdominal adhesions were present in all cases. Median operative time was 2 hours, median blood loss was 100cc, and median hospital stay was 1 day. There were no postoperative complications. CONCLUSION: Laparoscopic major gynecologic surgery in patients with prior laparotomy bowel resection is feasible for experienced laparoscopic surgeons.

Transvaginal application of a laparoscopic bipolar cutting forceps to assist vaginal hysterectomy in extremely obese endometrial cancer patients.

INTRODUCTION: The purpose of this report is to evaluate our experience with transvaginal application of a laparoscopic bipolar cutting forceps to assist vaginal hysterectomy in extremely obese women with endometrial cancer in whom obesity precluded LAVH/BSO and lymphadenectomy and vaginal obesity limited visualization and exposure. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We performed a retrospective review and identified 6 consecutive cases. No cases were excluded. A laparoscopic 33-cm Plasma Kinctic (PK) cutting forceps with a 5-mm diameter was applied transvaginally to coagulate and cut the uterosacral and cardinal ligaments, uterine vasculature, and ovarian ligaments. The uterus was delivered vaginally. Staging lymphadenectomy was not performed. RESULTS: Median age was 51 years, median weight was 405 lbs, and median BMI was 66 kg/m². Five of 6 cases were successfully performed vaginally (83%). Median operative time was 1 hour 10 minutes, median blood loss was 500 mL, and pain was only discomforting. All patients were discharged the day after surgery. There were no complications. At median follow-up of 1 year, all patients were alive with no evidence of disease. CONCLUSION: It is our opinion that the transvaginal application of a laparoscopic bipolar cutting forceps can successfully assist vaginal hysterectomy in extremely obese endometrial cancer patients who cannot tolerate LAVH/BSO and lymphadenectomy and vaginal obesity limits visualization and exposure.

Laparoscopic cytoreduction for primary advanced ovarian cancer.

INTRODUCTION: We evaluated the feasibility of laparoscopic cytoreduction for primary advanced ovarian cancer. METHODS: All patients with presumed stage 3/4 primary ovarian cancer underwent attempted laparoscopic cytoreduction. All patients had CT evidence of omental metastasis and ascites. A 5-port (5-mm) transperitoneal approach was used. A bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy, supracervical hysterectomy, and omentectomy were performed with PlasmaKinetic (PK) cutting forceps. A laparoscopic 5-mm Argon-Beam Coagulator was used to coagulate tumor in the pelvis, abdominal peritoneum, intestinal mesentery, and diaphragm. RESULTS: Nine of 11 cases (82%) were successfully debulked laparoscopically without conversion to laparotomy. Median operative time was 2.5 hours, and median blood loss was 275 mL. All tumors were debulked to <2 cm and 45% had no residual disease. Stages were 1-3B, 7-3C, and 1-4. Median length of stay was one day. Median VAS pain score was 4 (discomforting). Two of 11 patients (18%) had postoperative complications. CONCLUSION: Laparoscopic cytoreduction was successful and resulted in minimal morbidity. Because of our small sample size, additional studies are needed.