[Second look operations in ovarian cancer--a clinical study on the detection of recurrent tumors and the judgment on termination of treatment in 84 cases].

: Various investigations were conducted on 84 patients undergoing a second look operation (S.L.O.) intended to detect any recurrent tumors and determine the timing of the cessation of therapy. The following conclusions were obtained: Tumors were found in 18 patients (21.4%) whose preoperative diagnosis was neither subjectively nor objectively abnormal. Patients who received S.L.O. had a considerably better 5 year survival rate than the control group. S.L.O. can safely be omitted only in patients with Stage I border line ovarian tumors. S.L.O. is essential in cases where basic surgical procedures were not carried out during the initial operation. No occlusion could be reached as to the best time to perform S.L.O. In almost all of the patients who died, the site of recurrence was somewhere outside the abdominal cavity, but no recurrent tumors had been found during S.L.O. S.L.O. is still a more efficient follow-up method than CA125, TPA or IAP tumor markers, although the preoperative results of these tests reflected the laparotomy findings relatively well.