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Objective: The purpose of this study was to determine the impact of patient weight on the frequency of surgical staging lymphadenectomy and pelvic radiation. Adverse effects, disease relapse, and survival outcomes were investigated., Study Design: Records of 766 women who underwent surgery for presumed corpus-confined endometrial cancer were reviewed. Body mass index (BMI) was calculated to categorize women as obese (BMI, > or = 30 kg/m2) or nonobese (BMI, < 30 kg/m2). Radiation-related toxicity was scored retrospectively. Median duration of follow-up period was 38 months. Chi2, logistic regression, correlation, Kaplan-Meier, and Cox multivariate proportional hazards were used for analysis., Results: Lymphadenectomy was completed as often in nonobese as obese women (P = .24). Adjuvant pelvic radiation treatment was administered more often in nonobese women (P = .01). Among 681 women with endometrioid histopathologic findings, 4-year cancer-related survival in obese women was 10% higher than all cause deaths, compared with 6% in nonobese women., Conclusion: Obesity was not a barrier to lymphadenectomy, but did influence adjuvant pelvic radiation use.

Objective: The expanded use of laparoscopy has led to reports of tumor dissemination and spread to laparoscopic port sites. We previously showed that carbon dioxide insufflation produced tumor dissemination compared with laparotomy. It is unknown whether the type of gas used influences this dissemination. Although carbon dioxide is commonly used during laparoscopy, helium and nitrous oxide could be used. This study was undertaken to compare the effects of carbon dioxide, helium, and nitrous oxide gas on tumor spread in an animal model to determine whether the type of gas used for the pneumoperitoneum would affect tumor spread., Study Design: Viable MATB mammary adenocarcinoma cells were injected into the peritoneal cavity of Fisher 344 rats (1 x 10(5) cells/rat). The animals were then divided into three groups. Four 18-gauge angiocaths were inserted into each of four quadrants of the peritoneal cavity, and induction of pneumoperitoneum with helium, nitrous oxide, or carbon dioxide gas was done at approximately 7 mm Hg for 2 hours. Animals were killed at 7 days and the ventral peritoneal wall and abdominal cavity were examined for evidence of tumor formation. Tumor implants were counted for each of the four quadrants on the anterior peritoneal wall and for the total abdominal cavity., Results: A total of 39 rats were studied with 13 animals per group. The total number of implants was calculated for the groups: carbon dioxide, n = 57; helium, n = 62; nitrous oxide, n = 66. There was no significant difference in the total number of implants according to the type of gas or the size of implants. When implants that were <5 mm were analyzed, the four quadrants of the anterior peritoneum showed a random difference in tumor disbursement between one quadrant in the helium (n = 15) and one quadrant in the nitrous group (n = 23). However, when the three gasses were compared with all four quadrants, there was no statistical significance (carbon dioxide, n = 35; helium, n = 38; nitrous oxide, n = 44)., Conclusion: There is no difference in tumor implantation when with use of carbon dioxide, helium, or nitrous oxide gas in an animal model. Thus, carbon dioxide insufflation does not appear to increase tumor spread compared with other gasses.

We report the cases of 3 patients in whom tumor implantation developed at the port site at which ovarian cancer was removed laparoscopically. The 3 patients, who were aged 30, 32, and 40 years, all had an ovary that did not appear cancerous removed by laparoscopy through a port site. All 3 patients underwent re-exploration within 3 weeks and were found to have tumoral spread and port site implantation of tumor. When ovarian cancer is removed laparoscopically, the potential exists for intra-abdominal tumoral spread. When surgical staging is undertaken after laparoscopic removal of ovarian cancer, the port site should be excised in a full-thickness fashion.

Objective: Our purpose was to study the effect on wound healing when intraperitoneal chemotherapy was instilled on a daily basis., Study Design: Intraperitoneal carboplatin, Taxol, or saline solution was instilled daily into 70 rats after they underwent laparotomy. The animals were killed and analyzed for adhesions. An area measuring 5 x 5 cm including the incision was also harvested for biomechanical testing. The wound thickness was measured, and the Shore Western Materials Testing System (Monrovia, Calif.) was used to test the force required to break the wound, the stress, and the stiffness., Results: Groups of 10 rats received saline solution control, carboplatin 6 mg/kg, 7 mg/kg, 8 mg/kg, or Taxol 2.5 mg/kg, 3.0 mg/kg, or 3.5 mg/kg. The total dose was divided into seven equal amounts, administered daily. No significant adhesions developed in any of the animals. The carboplatin group experienced no significant decrease in wound thickness whereas the higher-dose Taxol group had a significant decrease in thickness from 1.06 mm to 0.72 mm (p = 0.02). The wound-breaking strength (force) also decreased for the highest-dose Taxol group from 710 gm to 411 gm (p = 0.02). The wound stiffness was also decreased from 69 gm/mm to 46 gm/mm (p = 0.01). The other measured parameters for both the Taxol and carboplatin groups were not significantly decreased when compared with those of controls., Conclusion: The immediate instillation of divided daily carboplatin did not influence wound strength whereas the use of Taxol on a similar schedule significantly decreased wound strength.