Laterally extended endopelvic resection:: Surgical treatment of infrailiac pelvic wall recurrences of gynecologic malignancies

OBJECTIVE: My purpose was to treat infrailiac pelvic wall recurrences of gynecologic malignancies with extended radical surgery. STUDY DESIGN: On the basis of cadaver dissection studies, I developed the laterally extended endopelvic resection techniques. The new operations were offered to patients with infrailiac sidewall disease during a 3-year feasibility study. RESULTS: Laterally extended endopelvic resections extending the lateral resection plane of pelvic exenteration to the medial aspects of the acetabulum, obturator membrane, sacrospinous ligament, and sacral plexus/piriformis muscle were performed in 18 consecutive patients. After this procedure, all patients had tumor-free intraoperative biopsy specimens taken from the remaining pelvic wall structures within the tumor bed area. The final histopathologic report confirmed clean margins in 6 patients and margins with microscopic tumor extensions only in 12 patients. Severe complications occurred in 4 patients (22%), without treatment-related deaths. CONCLUSION: Laterally extended endopelvic resection allows the complete surgical removal of infrailiac pelvic-side-wall tumors, the most frequent local recurrence of lower genital tract cancer, either with free margins or with potential microscopic residual tumor as a prerequisite for combined operative and radiation treatment.