Comparative Study of Laparoscopic versus Conventional Open Surgical Staging Procedure for Endometrial Cancer: Our Institutional Experience

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to compare laparoscopic surgical staging of endometrial cancer with conventional open methods. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The retrospective data were collected from 90 endometrial cancer patients who were operated between 2013 and 2018 in our government institution. The safety and morbidity of the two groups were compared based on mean operative time, blood loss, intraoperative complications, postoperative complication, etc., and the results were analyzed. Statistical analysis was performed using IBM SPSS statistics version 20. Clinical and pathologic factors were compared between two groups with Fisher's exact test and Student's t-test for data analysis. The survival data were analyzed using Kaplan–Meier survival curves. P < 0.05 was considered statistically significant. RESULTS: Thirty-two patients underwent laparoscopic staging, 45 underwent laparotomy, and 13 cases lap converted to open surgery. The mean operative time for the laparoscopic procedure was lower than the open procedure (P = 0.001). The mean hospital stay of patients who underwent laparoscopic staging was around 7.1 days significantly less compared to the laparotomy group. Intraoperative blood loss of patients undergoing laparoscopic surgery was significantly less than that of the laparotomy group (P = 0.015). There was no statistically significant difference in nodal retrieval between laparotomy and laparoscopy group (P = 0.172). The mean duration of hospitalization was statistically significantly greater in the laparotomy group than the laparoscopic group (13 and 7 days, P < 0.001). Based on the Kaplan–Meier survival curve, there was no difference in survival rates between the groups. Median follow-up duration was 32 months. CONCLUSION: Laparoscopic surgical staging is oncologically safe for the management of endometrial cancer with acceptable morbidity compared to the open approach with far less blood loss and shorter postoperative stay.