OU study backs surgery in uterine cancer fight
BY SUSAN SIMPSON
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Published: October 28, 2009
A study that included 446 patients at OU Medical Center endorses laparoscopic surgery for uterine cancer.
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The procedure results in shorter hospital stays and fewer complications than traditional "open” surgery, said
Dr. Joan Walker, a gynecologic oncologist with the OU Cancer Institute.
The study Walker took part in is published this month in the
Journal of Clinical Oncology.
Instead of using a large abdominal incision, the surgeon inserts a lighted viewing instrument called a laparoscope and instruments through small incisions to reach the uterus and surrounding tissue.
More than 40,000 women each year are diagnosed with uterine cancer.
Carolyn Zachritz, 72, of
Oklahoma City had laparoscopic surgery two years ago and is cancer free. She said she recovered more quickly from the procedure than she did a cesarean section 40 years ago.
The study involved 2,600 patients from around the nation starting in 1998, when laparoscopy was fairly new, Walker said. Now many doctors are transitioning to robot-assisted surgery.
For more cancer information, go to Knowit.
NewsOK.com/cancer.
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