Effect of surgical laparoscopy on prognosis of early and limited ovarian malignancies

9375 laparoscopies were performed at our clinic between 1987 and 1993. In this patient group the incidence of early or localised stages of ovarial malignomas FIGO I and II is 0.9 per cent. 81 laparoscopies were performed on patients suffering from localised stages of ovarial malignomas. 32% (n = 26) of these laparoscopised patients suffering from ovarial malignomas were subjected to extended diagnostic-surgical laparoscopy. These 26 localised stages of ovarial malignomas on which tumour-aggressive laparoscopy had been performed, were followed up and the relevant literature studied and processed. In 23 of the patients thus subjected to tumour-aggressive laparoscopic surgery we did not observe any deterioration of the prognosis during the treatment period (1-8 years). Problematic postoperative courses were seen in 3 patients; the reasons for this are discussed in the present paper. Measures resulting in opening of the tumours during diagnostic-surgical laparoscopy are neither accidental nor unforeseen incidents, but are rather part of an overall surgical strategy. If safety techniques are adopted - as described in this paper - diagnostic-surgical laparoscopy can be performed even during localised stages of ovarial malignomas without any presently recognisable adverse effect on patient prognosis.