The Vienna method of prophylaxis against complications after radical surgery for cancer of the uterus

Radionuclide-guided radical surgery for cervical cancer

Radio-isotope radical operation has been developed in three steps. The rate of complete lymphadenectomies determined by the complete removal of labelled tissue was increased from 52.2% in the first observation period to 67.2% in second and finally to 75.8% in the third observation period. Although no improvement could be shown in the survival rate in histological Stage II carcinomas, a marked reduction of recurrence mortality in histological Stage I could be observed: from 15.8% in the first observation period to 12.3% in the second and finally to 8.4% in the third observation period.

A comparison between peritoneal sheathing of the ureters (Ohkawa technique) and retroperitoneal pelvic suction drainage in the prevention of ureteral damage during radical abdominal hysterectomy

Sixty patients had a radical abdominal hysterectomy with or without a bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy. The Ohkawa procedure was utilized in 26 (43.3%) of the patients and retroperitoneal ureteral placement with suction drainage in 34 (56.7%) of the patients. These two operative procedures were evaluated for complications such as fistula, obstruction, and hydronephrosis by comparing preoperative and postoperative intravenous pyelograms. Five of the 60 patients (8.3%) had surgical complications within one postoperative month. A ureteral obstruction occurred in two patients, and a uretrovaginal fistula occurred in two patients. Hydronephrosis was found in both sets of patients. All of these complications occurred in an additional two patients, both of whom had an Ohkawa procedure. The study led us to conclude that retroperitoneal ureteral placement is not only quicker to perform but also leads to fewer complications than the Ohkawa technique.