Die Entwicklung radikaler Operationstechniken in der Gynäkologie am Beispiel des Ovarial- und Zervixkarzinoms*

: Surgical treatment of genital cancers has changed over the last 40 to 50 years, as shown by two examples: cancer of the ovary, and cancer of the cervix. With the first, optimal (radical) debulking surgery is the cornerstone of treatment, with the second, a more individualized therapy, including pelvic evisceration for specific indications, are (almost) a generally accepted policy. Controversial issues are the therapeutic effect of an extended aortopelvic lymphadenectomy in both malignancies or the radical parametrial excision in cancer of the cervix. A rather sceptical attitude is taken towards the second-look laparotomy or secondary debulking surgery in cancer of the ovary and the pretherapeutic or staging laparotomy in cervical malignancies.