Pelvic lymphocysts following retroperitoneal lymphadenectomy: retroperitoneal partial "no-closure" for ovarian and endometrial cancers.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES

Pelvic lymphocysts have been reported mainly following pelvic lymphadenectomy for cervical cancer. We attempted to assess whether retroperitoneal partial "no-closure" reduces the incidence of lymphocyst formation following retroperitoneal lymphadenectomy.

METHODS

Sixty-one patients with ovarian cancer or endometrial cancer who underwent retroperitoneal lymph node resection were assigned at random to a retroperitoneal partial "no-closure" group or a "closure" group. The incidence of lymphocysts in the two groups as determined using ultrasonography was compared.

RESULTS

Lymphocysts appeared in 23/61 patients (38%) in total. In the "closure" group, the incidence was 52% (16/31), but in the "no-closure" group it was only 23% (7/30); the incidence in the "no-closure" group was significantly lower (P < 0.05). The incidence of postoperative fever was 17% (5/30) in the "no-closure" group, which was lower than that in the "closure" group (42%, 13/31), but not significantly so (P < 0.1). No patients in the "no-closure" group required surgical procedures such as needle aspiration or cyst drainage.

CONCLUSIONS

Retroperitoneal partial "no-closure" appears to be a useful procedure for reducing the incidence of pelvic lymphocysts associated with retroperitoneal lymphadenectomy.