The value of second-look laparotomy in ovarian cancer.

Since there is no reliable noninvasive way of establishing status of disease in ovarian cancer patients, second-look laparotomy has become an accepted part of the management of these patients. In women with no clinical evidence of disease who undergo laparotomy, more than half are found to have cancer. The operation is used following a planned program of chemotherapy when the physician is faced with a dilemma: Stop chemo and run the risk of recurrence or continue and increase the risk of toxicity? Second-look laparotomy helps resolve this problem by determining the true status of the disease.