Retroperitoneal vascular aberrations increase the risk of vascular injury during lymphadenectomy in gynecologic cancers

Exploring Vascular Complications in Ovarian Cancer Surgery: A Narrative Literature Review with a New Management Proposal Algorithm

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES

Vascular complications during ovarian cancer surgery are rare but potentially severe. The objective of this review was to underline the need to standardize and optimize the management of these rare complications within an evidence-based framework.

METHODS

This review included the literature until 29 December 2024 and finally analyzed 17 studies, with 40 vascular complications reported.

RESULTS

Complications primarily occurred intraoperatively and involved both arterial and venous systems. Management approaches involved interdisciplinary collaboration, including vascular surgeons and interventional radiologists. Nevertheless, the collected data do not accurately reflect the reality of vascular complications in ovarian cancer surgery, as more than half of the included studies were case reports or research letters. This highlights the lack of standardized guidelines and limited training in vascular surgery for gynecologic oncologists, the importance of preoperative planning, including detailed imaging, risk stratification, and a multidisciplinary approach to mitigate complications. The authors propose an algorithm emphasizing prevention, timely identification, and effective management of vascular injuries alongside postoperative monitoring.

CONCLUSIONS

The findings stress the need for treatment in high-volume tertiary centers and advocate advanced surgical training, incorporating virtual reality simulations to address vascular complications. Future research should focus on large multicenter studies to establish evidence-based guidelines for managing vascular complications in ovarian cancer surgery. Innovations in technology and education may further improve outcomes, ensuring optimal care for patients undergoing these complex procedures.

A Bipartite Obturator Artery with Multiple Pelvic Branching-A Gynecologic Approach

BACKGROUND

The obturator artery (OA) often presents multiple anatomical variations. These can be an atypical origin, variable anastomosis, or abnormal course within the pelvis.

METHODS

This study aimed to report a rare arterial variation in a Puerto Rican female cadaver that showed two abnormal obturator arteries with multiple pelvic branches. The OA emerged from the anterior branch of the internal iliac artery, which typically runs anteroinferior along the lateral wall of the pelvis to the upper part of the obturator foramen.

RESULTS

The atypical OA described in this report provided two variant branches. Abnormal obturator artery I (AOAI) emerged first and gave rise to three additional branches, while abnormal obturator artery II (AOAII) emerged second and gave rise to two other branches.

CONCLUSIONS

Identifying these accessory arteries is essential for surgical interventions, particularly within the field of gynecology and urogynecology. Knowledge regarding anatomical variations within this region must be assessed preoperatively to decrease the risk of iatrogenic injury.

Paraaortic Lymphadenectomy in Gynecologic Oncology—Significance of Vessels Variations

Lymphadenectomy has been an essential part of the surgical treatment in surgical oncology, as the lymphatic channels and nodes are the main dissemination pathway for most of the gynecological cancers. Pelvic and paraaortic lymphadenectomy are frequent surgical procedures in gynecologic oncology. Paraaortic lymph node dissection facilitates staging, prognosis, surgical and postoperative management of patients. It is one of the most challenging retroperitoneal surgeries. A comprehensive knowledge of the paraaortic region is mandatory. Intraoperative bleeding is the most common complication during lymphadenectomy due to direct vascular injury, poor tissue handling, exuberant retraction and possible anatomical variations of the vessels in the paraaortic region. Approximately, one-third of women will have at least one anatomic variation in the paraaortic region. It must be stressed that anomalous vessels may be encountered in every woman who will undergo surgery. Consequently, detailed knowledge of anatomical vessels variations is required in order to prevent iatrogenic vessel injury. The importance of these variations is well described in urology, vascular and general surgery. Conversely, in oncogynecological surgery, there are few articles, which described some of the vessels variations in the paraaortic region. The present article aims to propose a surgical classification and to describe the majority of vessels variation, which could be encountered during paraaortic lymphadenectomy in gynecologic oncology. Moreover, surgical considerations in order to prevent anomalous vessels injury are well described.

Major vascular injury during gynecologic cancer surgery

OBJECTIVE

Vascular injury during major gynecologic cancer surgery is a rare but potentially fatal complication. The purpose of this study was to review our experience with major vascular injury during gynecologic cancer surgery.

METHODS

This was a retrospective chart review of women undergoing surgery by our gynecologic oncology department from 7/1/99 to 6/30/20 who had a major vascular injury. We identified women who sustained a vascular injury by a combination of CPT code and medical record searches, fellow case logs and a list maintained for an ongoing quality assurance program. Data were expressed as median and range for continuous variables and as frequency and percentage for categorical variables. Fisher's exact test was used to analyze differences in complication rates between groups.

RESULTS

Major vascular injury was identified in 52 patients and procedures. The inferior vena cava was the most common site of injury, 32.7% (17/52), followed by the external iliac vein, 23.1% (12/52). Lymph node dissection was the most common time for a vascular injury to occur 51.9% (27/52). The majority of injuries required suture repair, 80.8% (42/52). Estimated blood loss in cases with vascular injury ranged from 100 mL to massive unquantifiable blood loss in the case of an aortic injury. Patients required a median of 2units of packed red blood cells. Postoperative complications included anemia requiring blood transfusion, 19.6% (9/46) and venous thromboembolism, 19.6% (9/46).

CONCLUSIONS

Vascular injury remains a rare but potentially morbid complication of gynecologic oncologic surgery. Prompt recognition and management are imperative in minimizing persistent bleeding and complications.

Pelvic Lymphadenectomy in Gynecologic Oncology-Significance of Anatomical Variations

Pelvic lymphadenectomy is a common surgical procedure in gynecologic oncology. Pelvic lymph node dissection is performed for all types of gynecological malignancies to evaluate the extent of a disease and facilitate further treatment planning. Most studies examine the lymphatic spread, the prognostic, and therapeutic significance of the lymph nodes. However, there are very few studies describing the possible surgical approaches and the anatomical variations. Moreover, a correlation between anatomical variations and lymphadenectomy in the pelvic region has never been discussed in medical literature. The present article aims to expand the limited knowledge of the anatomical variations in the pelvis. Anatomical variations of the ureters, pelvic vessels, and nerves and their significance to pelvic lymphadenectomy are summarized, explained, and illustrated. Surgeons should be familiar with pelvic anatomy and its variations to safely perform a pelvic lymphadenectomy. Learning the proper lymphadenectomy technique relating to anatomical landmarks and variations may decrease morbidity and mortality. Furthermore, accurate description and analysis of the majority of pelvic anatomical variations may impact not only gynecological surgery, but also spinal surgery, urology, and orthopedics.

Implications of extraperitoneal paraaortic lymphadenectomy to the left renal vein in locally advanced cervical cancer. A Spanish multicenter study

OBJECTIVE

Paraaortic lymph node involvement is an important prognostic factor in locally advanced cervical cancer (LACC), but the anatomic limit of aortic lymphadenectomy is controversial. We assessed the impact of extraperitoneal paraaortic lymphadenectomy up to the left renal vein in patients with LACC undergoing pretherapeutic staging.

METHODS

A retrospective, multicenter study of patients with LACC stages FIGO 2009 IB2 and IIA2-IVA treated in 10 Spanish reference hospitals in gynecological oncology between 2000 and 2016. Sites of metastatic paraaortic lymph nodes above or below the inferior mesenteric artery were evaluated. Procedural-related intraoperative and early and late complications were assessed.

RESULTS

We included 634 patients undergoing paraaortic lymphadenectomy, in 616 (97.2%) of which the left renal vein was the upper limit of dissection (laparoscopy 592, robotic-assisted 24). The median surgical time was 150 min (interquartile range (IQR) 120-180), blood loss was 50 mL (range 20-80), and the length of stay was 2 days (range 2-3). Metastatic paraaortic involvement was found in 114 patients (18.5%), with infrarenal metastases in 73 (64%) of them. There were 11 patients (9.6%) with infrarenal metastases only, whereas in the remaining 62 (54.4%) patients concomitant infrarenal and inframesenteric metastases were observed. Intraoperative, early, and late postoperative complications occurred in 3.6%, 7.0%, and 4.5% of patients, respectively.

CONCLUSIONS

In this study of patients with LACC undergoing surgical staging, paraaortic lymphadenectomy up to the left renal vein detected skip or isolated infrarenal metastasis in 9.6% of patients, with an acceptable surgical morbidity.

Accessory polar renal artery not pre-operatively visualized at extra-peritoneal para-aortic lymphadenectomy

The objective of this video is to describe the technique of extra-peritoneal para-aortic laparoscopic lymphadenectomy and emphasize potential vascular risks that should be taken into account during the procedure.The procedure was performed at Donostia University Hospital, a tertiary referral and educational center in San Sebastián, Spain.A 58-year-old woman, body mass index 25.4 kg/m2, G2P2, with a diagnosis of intermediate-risk endometrial adenocarcinoma, International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics (FIGO) IBG2 based on pre-operative endometrial histology and pre-operative magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), but upstaged to high-risk endometrial adenocarcinoma on final report (IBG3). In our hospital, risk stratification is based on pelvic MRI (myometrial invasion, cervical invasion) and biopsy (histology and grade) to tailor surgery. Computed tomography (CT) scan pre-operatively is only performed for type 2 endometrial carcinoma and grade 3 histologies.The local institutional review board was consulted, which confirmed that the study was exempt from requiring approval.The patient underwent an extra-peritoneal para-aortic laparoscopic lymphadenectomy, trans-peritoneal bilateral pelvic lymphadenectomy, and a total hysterectomy and bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy.It is mandatory to check pre-operative imaging studies in order to identify vascular anomalies that are not uncommon and may increase the risk of vascular complications.1 Frequently these vascular anomalies, such as a retro-aortic left renal vein, or a double vena cava or left vena cava, may be a casual finding in the pre-operative study, and often such findings are not reported by the radiologist. It is vitally important that the surgeon checks for and identifies any such anomolies, as the risk of complications may be decreased if anomalies of this type are detected pre-operatively.In addition, in the case of existing polar renal arteries, these are frequently not identified in the pre-operative study,2 leading to a risk of injury and partial renal necrosis. There are several anatomical variations of the renal arteries, with an aortic lower polar artery found in 3% of cadavers and 1% of patients on CT, more frequently on the right side.3 Renovascular hypertension4 secondary to an injury of an accessory polar renal artery (APRA) has also been described.Although vascular anomalies, especially venous ones, are more frequently found at the infra-renal left level, in this video we show access to the right side of the dissection and the care that needs to be taken in order not to damage a vascular structure at this level. Special caution is required with the right side of the dissection so as not to injure any perforating veins, including Fellow's vein, when pushing all the nodes to the roof of the dissection.The dissection maneuvers are fine and blunt, establishing bridges of tissue to be sectioned, and thus identifying vascular structures, such as a right APRA that is to be identified and preserved.The surgeon must have a good knowledge of retro-peritoneal vascular anatomy, they should examine pre-operative imaging studies to check for vascular anomalies, and they need to possess an accurate surgical technique to avoid potential vascular injury during laparoscopic para-aortic lymphadenectomy.

[A propensity score evaluation of single-port or multiport extraperitoneal para-aortic lymphadenectomy and the transperitoneal approach for gynecological cancers]

INTRODUCTION

Endoscopic para-aortic lymphadenectomy (PALN) is a crucial step in the management of gynecological cancers. However, some concerns exist on the completeness of PALN according to the route (transperitoneal vs. extraperitoneal single-port or multiport). We compared these three surgical techniques using a propensity score.

METHODS

We retrospectively reviewed all patients undergoing an endoscopic PALN for a gynecological cancer from May 2010 to Mars 2015. Fifty-one patients had a single-port extraperitoneal PALN, 16 a multiport extraperitoneal PALN and 62 a transperitoneal PALN. Factors independently related to technique performances were tested on a multivariate model adjusted for a propensity score.

RESULTS

The number of lymph nodes removed by transperitoneal route was 15 and extraperitoneal route single and multiport was 12. After adjustment for the propensity score of undergoing the extraperitoneal approach, no difference in the number of lymph node removed was noted (P=0.17). There was more lymphocyst after transperitoneal (17%) and multiport extraperitoneal PALN (19%) than after extraperitoneal PALN (2%) (P=0.04). Success rate of single-port extraperitoneal PALN was 94% (n=48). Four patients required a conversion to an open route due to vascular injury.

DISCUSSION

Using a propensity score, single-port extraperitoneal route offers similar efficacy to perform PALN than transperitoneal or multiport extraperitoneal route but with less lymphocysts.