Second-look operation in ovarian carcinoma: postchemotherapy.

One hundred and three patients with advanced ovarian cancer underwent a second-look operation following chemotherapy. Patients should have ten or more courses of chemotherapy before second-look operation. Those patients with no evidence of disease at second laparotomy should discontinue their chemotherapy. Patients who continued chemotherapy after the second-look operation did better than those who were treated with radiation after surgery. Only patients with clinical remission benefit from the second-look procedure. Advantages of second-look operations following chemotherapy are discussed.