Mini-laparotomy versus vaginal surgery for class II-III obese patients with early-stage endometrial cancer.

AIM To compare minilaparotomic and vaginal surgery in selected obese patients with early-stage endometrial cancer at high surgical risk. PATIENTS AND METHODS Data of 37 consecutive class II-III obese patients submitted to minilaparotomic surgery were retrospectively reviewed. Thirty-seven women matched for demographic characteristics, BMI and stage of disease submitted to vaginal surgery in the same period comprised the control group. RESULTS No difference was observed concerning intra- and postoperative data among the two groups. The patients who were submitted to general anesthesia exhibited a larger use of supplemental drugs for pain control (p>0.01), a higher incidence of thromboembolic events (p>0.005) and a longer hospitalization (p>0.02). No statistical difference was observed in terms of pattern of recurrence, disease-free survival and overall survival between the two groups of patients. CONCLUSION Obese patients with endometrial cancer unfit for vaginal surgery can be safely managed through mini-laparotomy with the same surgical and oncological outcomes.