Debulking surgery for ovarian cancer

The operation may occur before chemotherapy or after an initial course of chemotherapy. Its timing and extent depend on where disease is located, whether it appears removable, a person's fitness for major surgery and the expected balance of benefit and harm.

The surgeon examines the abdominal and pelvic surfaces and removes visible disease where feasible. Surgery may include the ovaries and fallopian tubes, uterus, fatty tissue called the omentum, and selected affected tissue from nearby organs or the abdominal lining.

An oophorectomy is removal of an ovary; within debulking, the procedure can be broader than ovarian removal alone. The planned components should be explained before consent, including the possibility of bowel, bladder, spleen or diaphragm procedures if those areas are involved.

Before surgery, review imaging, medical conditions, medicines, nutrition and physical fitness with the team. Ask which procedures are planned, whether a temporary or lasting stoma is possible, how pain and blood-clot prevention will be managed, and when chemotherapy may fit around recovery.

After discharge, follow the wound, movement, breathing-exercise and medicine instructions provided by the hospital. Gradually increase activity within the surgical team's limits, protect the abdomen from heavy strain and track eating, bowel function, urine output, pain and wound changes.

Contact the surgical team urgently for fever, a wound becoming red or draining, increasing abdominal swelling, repeated vomiting, inability to eat or drink, absent bowel movements with worsening pain, reduced urine output or pain that is escalating rather than settling.

Call emergency services for sudden breathlessness, chest pain, coughing blood, collapse, severe confusion, or a painful swollen leg with breathing symptoms. These can indicate a serious postoperative problem and should not wait for a routine appointment.

Ask what the scans suggest must be removed, who will be part of the surgical team, what findings could change the operation, how fertility or menopause may be affected, whether chemotherapy comes before or after surgery, what support may be needed at home, and whom to contact during recovery.