Debulking surgery

Hi, i was firstly diagnosed with OC in Nov 21 although this was benign/borderline. Full hysterectomy at that stage.

Recurrence in Aug 2023, cancer confirmed.  Debulking surgery in Dec 23 followed by chemo in January. About to have my 5th treatment this week so just one left then. Consultant said i would have a CT scan afterwards and CA125 bloods regularly thereafter.

Fingers crossed x

Were you told that it came with a higher risk of complication/death, no one has ever said that regarding any surgery I’ve had. I’ve always been made aware of GA risk but not an actual risk of not making it because of the nature of the op! I hope the treatment is successful, I went on a maintenance drug after my chemo back in 2019 for 2 yrs, I’ve been lucky getting this far cancer free x

No I was never told that debulking surgery had risks or that it could lead to death.

I was on a high dependency ward for 4 days then the general ward for a further 4 days before discharge. The consultant told me prior to surgery that I would be on the HD ward as my obs would need to be checked regularly and that could not be guaranteed on the main ward.

Cannot edit my response but to confirm the consultant did tell me of risks as they normally would but not that there was a high risk of complication or death

Thanks for that reassurance, I was in the HDU too after my hysterectomy and debulking in 2018 not sure why it should be any different this time, I’ll make a list of questions in the meantime x

I don’t see why it would be although what was your original stage last time and treatment?

if the debulking might involve removing parts of other organs this time round, I was told that that is where the bigger risk comes in because of increased chances of complications etc.

I was diagnosed as stage 3B, I had womb,ovaries etc all out plus a humongous ovarian cyst and then as much disease removed as possible, this time around it will be the disease to be removed and most likely the spleen, I was told I could have a colostomy too it depends on what the surgeon finds. Disease covers the bladder bowel and spleen with some large nodes around the spleen too. Of course I can opt for chemo only, but want the best outcome but not at the risk of never leaving the threatre alive. 

Hi Hooked66 

I had a different, but massive surgery for recurrent cervical cancer but thought I would add in my thoughts as there can be similarities in these large surgeries (mine involved losing my whole reproductive system, colon, bladder, vagina and sundry other bits so I have 2 stomas now).

Any surgery at all will carry a risk-I’ve had several operations, from a biopsy under anaesthetic, to a total pelvic exenteration and the risk does increase the bigger the surgery. Any risk needs to be set out before you can sign consent, so for example even with chemotherapy and radiotherapy, the last risk mentioned on my consent form was death. No matter how unlikely the risk was, it still had to be mentioned. As it happened, chemotherapy caused me to have a pulmonary embolism which could have killed me but thankfully didn’t!

I was also given a list of the level of potential risks from each surgery I had eg, 1 in 100 might suffer a particular complication, I in 1000 might suffer another. The risk of death was very tiny. I had a different surgery a few months ago, had my gallbladder out, and my risk of complications was greater because I’d already had a total pelvic exenteration. My surgery was however successful with no complications at all-it was more difficult because of my previous surgery and took longer but was successful.

My other option to exenteration was chemo but I never even considered that because I wanted surgery-for me and my recurrent cancer it was the only option that offered a curative outcome. I considered myself very lucky to be able to have my surgery as it’s not always possible with my type of cancer.

We can be in a car crash, die in an accident, all sorts-those are risks we take every day in ordinary life. But the risks of surgery are rare. These risks are well weighed up in terms of your general health, other medical conditions and risks of anaesthesia.

I felt very comfortable taking the risks of surgery to get rid of my pain, and my cancer, but only you can know if you would accept any level of risk, even if it’s tiny. I’m 4 years out from exenteration surgery with zero complications from it, my cancer fully removed and no further treatment required so I’ve never regretted having it, but hope you can have a good discussion with your surgeon to explain everything. 

Sarah xx

Sarah thank you very much for your response. It was very helpful. I’m aware they always tell you the worst possible outcome but getting as much disease out as possible is a no brainer before chemotherapy.. I’ll be seeing the consultant on Friday. I’m sure his input will be slightly more positive than the oncology doctors was, she did say I needed this chat with him as it wasn’t her field of experience. I’m feeling a bit more hopeful now x I hope you remain in good health going forward x

Hi Hooked66 

I hope your appointment goes well on Friday. I’ve had various consultants involved in my cancer treatment, and my surgeons were always very positive (I had 3 in my surgery) because that was what they were doing for the majority of their time. They had the expertise and confidence.

Sometimes we are looking for nuances of negativity when it may not actually be there-I know I have been guilty of that in the past. Your oncology doctor has admitted this is not her field of experience so was maybe simply giving you factual information in a matter of fact way without appreciating how it was coming across to you. 

I hope you’ll let us know how you get on.

Sarah xx