Tumor debulking is the removal of as much tumors as possible from the abdominal organs and the inner abdominal walls.
It is applied in cases of advanced gynecologic cancers (i.e. 3rd and 4th stage) with multiple large tumoral foci in the abdominal organs and the abdominal walls.
The purpose of debulking is to eliminate macroscopic tumors, i.e. residual tumors that are visible to the naked eye or over half a centimeter in size, by the end of the procedure. In the event of success, this is called optimal debulking (previously cytoreduction). Fewer or no tumors visible to the naked eye ensure more effective chemotherapy and a better prognosis.
It is one of the heaviest procedures in gynecologic oncology, mainly for the following reasons:
The procedure is performed in patients whose health is already severely impaired as a result of the advanced stage of their condition;
For optimal debulking it is often necessary to remove sections of the small intestine and/or colon, liver, spleen, stomach, etc. This means that surgery takes many hours, increasing morbidity and/or complications.
In 2009, Dr. G. Hilaris and his team performed the first ever robot-assisted surgical staging in Greece, for endometrial cancer in a 39-year-old patient.
Laparotomy is still considered a reliable and trustworthy procedure for a trained surgeon to perform whenever deemed clinically necessary.
It is one of the heaviest procedures as it removes as much tumors as possible from the abdominal organs and the inner abdominal walls.