Ovarian Cancer - Surgery

SYMPTOMS & TREATMENTS

Surgery for ovarian cancer

Your doctor confirms that you have ovarian cancer and determines its extent (or stage) by taking biopsies during laparotomy surgery. Your long-term outcome (prognosis) is improved under the care of an experienced gynecologic oncologist whose expertise can help determine the best treatment choices at the time of surgery.15 Your surgery may include:

  • A hysterectomy, which removes your uterus, and salpingo-oophorectomies, which remove your ovaries and fallopian tubes.
  • Taking a sample of peritoneal fluid (peritoneal washings) from the abdominal cavity to look for cancer cells.
  • Removing and checking the pelvic and aortic lymph nodes, to see if the cancer has spread.
  • Checking the abdominal organs and tissues for cancer cells. Biopsies may be done.
  • Removing and checking the fatty tissue (omentum) attached to some of the abdominal organs, to see if the cancer has spread.
  • An appendectomy, which removes your appendix.

Surgery Choices

If you have very early-stage ovarian cancer and wish to have children (preserve fertility), discuss your choices with your doctor.

Most women who have advanced-stage cancer have a hysterectomy to remove the uterus and an oophorectomy to remove both ovaries. The fallopian tubes are usually removed also.

In advanced-stage surgery, your surgeon will take a sample of peritoneal fluid, remove lymph nodes and fatty tissue (omentum), and remove any abdominal tissue that is thought to have cancer.

What To Think About

Side effects from your surgery can include difficulty urinating or problems with bowel functioning, such as constipation or diarrhea. Your ability to have or enjoy sexual intercourse may also be affected.

If your ovaries are removed, you may have symptoms of menopause. Talk with your doctor about medicines to manage these symptoms.

Ovarian cancer may grow and spread to the point that it blocks the bowel. Or the first surgery to remove the cancer may cause problems, such as a blocked bowel. For more information, see the topic Bowel Obstruction.

By: Healthwise StaffLast Revised: October 22, 2009
Medical Review: Joy Melnikow, MD, MPH - Family Medicine
Ross Berkowitz, MD - Obstetrics and Gynecology

© 1995-2011 Healthwise, Incorporated. Healthwise, Healthwise for every health decision, and the Healthwise logo are trademarks of Healthwise, Incorporated. This information does not replace the advice of a doctor. Healthwise, Incorporated disclaims any warranty or liability for your use of this information. Your use of this information means that you agree to the Terms of Use. How this information was developed to help you make better health decisions.

Advertisement
Care Circle

It Seems That You Are Not Logged In...

OR

Join Now

Welcome to Care Circle, an exclusive tool to help you take care of yourself and your loved ones. Here's how it works:

  1. Create profiles for yourself and your loved ones.
  2. Select the topics and conditions that interest each of you.
  3. Get customized news updates, original content, tools, and expert advice for each Care Circle member delivered directly to your personalized homepage.

The information you input is strictly private; you choose who has access to your Care Circle.

How do I add myself or someone else to my care circle?

Click on "Add someone." Fill out the short profile. Choose an avatar. Select the topics and conditions that interest this person from the pulldown menu. You can select as many as you want, but you must choose at least one. Click on "Add Someone" again. You should start getting updates immediately.

How do I save content to my Care Circle?

Click on "Manage My Care Circle." Select the tab of the person for whom you're saving content. Put your cursor over the piece of content that you want to save; a disk icon will appear in the righthand corner. Click on the disk and the piece of content will be moved to a save folder.

How do I add additional topics and conditions for someone in my Care Circle?

Click on "Manage My Care Circle." Select the tab for the person whose preferences you'd like to update. Under "Add More to Follow," select additional topics and conditions.

How do I delete topics and conditions for someone in my Care Circle?

Click on "Manage My Care Circle." Select the tab for the person whose preferences you'd like to update. Under "Follows," scroll over the topic or condition you want to delete. An "X" should appear on the righthand side. Click on the "X" and the topic or condition will be deleted from the list.

See All News

Advertisement