Abstract
Background: The aim of surgery for advanced-stage ovarian cancer is a complete cytoreduction, because this is the most important independent prognostic factor for prolonged survival. Yet this can be difficult to achieve when there are micrometastases on the intestinal mesentery or intestines. The PlasmaJet device is an instrument to remove these micrometastases, but little is known about the depth of damage in human tissue compared to electrocoagulation devices. Methods: A prospective study was performed for the ex-vivo comparison of the histological depth of thermal damage of neutral argon plasma (PlasmaJet®) and electrocoagulation devices, in a series of 106 histological slides of 17 advanced-stage ovarian cancer patients. Depending on the tissue types resected during complete cytoreductive surgery, samples were collected from reproductive organs (uterus, ovaries), intestines (ileum, colon, rectum) and omentum, intestinal mesentery and peritoneum. Results: Average thermal damage depth was 0.15 mm (range 0.03–0.60 mm) after use of neutral argon plasma and 0.33 mm (range 0.08–1.80 mm) after use of electrocoagulation (p < 0.001). Greater disruption of the tissue surface was often observed after electrocoagulation. Conclusion: Our case series suggests that the use of neutral argon plasma during cytoreductive surgery produces significantly less thermal damage than electrocoagulation treatment. It is therefore considered a thermally safe alternative, aiding in the achievement of cytoreductive surgery.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Article number | 140 |
| Journal | Journal of Ovarian Research |
| Volume | 15 |
| Issue number | 1 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 29 Dec 2022 |
Bibliographical note
Funding Information:The authors declare that they have no competing interests. The PlaComOv-study is funded by the Netherlands Organization for Health Research and Development (ZonMw), projectnumber 843001805. PlasmaSurgical and Medical Dynamics provide an in kind subsidy: the loan and maintenance of the PlasmaJet systems during this research. Neither company was involved in the study design, in the collection, analysis or interpretation of data, nor in the writing of the manuscript or in the decision to submit this manuscript for publication.
Publisher Copyright: © 2022, The Author(s).
