Professor Park Jung-yeol (right) of the department of obstetrics and gynecology at Asan Medical Center removes a borderline ovarian tumor through laparoscopic surgery.

Researchers at Asan Medical Center have safely removed a 13-centimeter ovarian tumor through a laparoscopy surgery.

The team, led by Professor Park Jung-yeol of the department of obstetrics and gynecology at the hospital, looked at the progression of 643 patients who underwent surgery to remove borderline ovarian tumors from 1990 to 2015.

Of the total, 210 patients who underwent laparoscopic surgery had their tumors completely removed, while 23.2 percent of the patients suffered from an ovarian tumor larger than 13 centimeters. The study confirmed that laparoscopic surgery was superior to open surgery for tumor removal as only 99.1 percent of the other 433 patients had their tumors completely removed.

Also, the recurrence rate after an average of 57 months was 4.3 percent for laparoscopic surgery and 5.3 percent for open surgery, while the incidence of complications was 2.4 and 3.96 percent, respectively.

Overall survival rate during the research period was 99 percent in both laparoscopic and open surgeries

Because of the risk of rupture of tumors greater than 5 centimeters, medical professionals had recommended open surgery. However, when operated by a skilled physician who is careful to avoid resection of the tumor outside of the ovary as demonstrated by the low recurrence rate of this study, large tumors can be safely removed by laparoscopy, the hospital said.

“This study demonstrated the safety of laparoscopic surgery by eliminating the concerns over tumor rupture in the removal of a large ovarian borderline tumor,” Professor Park said. “It is important that patients with borderline ovarian tumors choose appropriate surgical procedures through consultation with experienced surgeons.”

Laparoscopic surgery may be a reasonable choice for patients with borderline ovarian tumors who are worried about postoperative recovery and scarring, he added.

International Journal of Gynecological Cancer published the result of the study.

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