Effects of Oxidized Regenerated Methylcellulose on Lymphocyst Formation and Peritoneum in Gynecologic Cancer Patients

Hypothesis: The role of oxidized regenerated methylcellulose (ORC) in the lymphocyst formation after systematic lymphadenectomy. Methods and Study Design: This was a retrospective case-control study. Patients with gynecologic cancer who underwent systematic lymphadenectomy from May 2000 to April 2006 were considered. Retroperitoneal "no closure" method was performed in all patients. Two groups were identified according to ORC use. The lymphocysts were evaluated via ultrasonography/computed tomography/magnetic resonance imaging between the third and sixth months after surgery. Results: The overall lymphocyst incidence was found to be 75 (29.8%) of 252, and lymphocyst incidence in the ORC and control groups was 45 (30%) of 150 and 30 (29.4%) of 102, respectively. The mean (SD) total number of extracted lymph nodes in the ORC group was 27.5 (10.6), which was significantly higher than that in the control group (22.1 [10.8]; P = 0.001). Duration of drain was significantly longer in the ORC group (P = 0.028). However, when confounding variables were included into the binary logistic regression analysis for the prediction of the duration of drains, only the stage of disease predicted the duration of drains. Conclusions: Use of ORC does not seem to affect lymphocyst formation. Oxidized regenerated methylcellulose use does not affect the duration of drains, hence ORC does not seem to pose a stimulatory effect on the peritoneum.