Delivery outcomes following laparoscopic ovarian cystectomy during pregnancy

Objective The purpose of this study was to survey delivery outcomes following gasless laparoscopic ovarian cystectomy with minilaparotomy during pregnancy, and to discuss the safety and benefits of this approach for benign ovarian lesions presenting during pregnancy. Patients and methods Asymptomatic patients underwent operation in the second trimester; symptomatic patients underwent operation when diagnosed. Written informed consent was obtained. Using the database of operation details, we retrospectively assessed the patients who had laparoscopic surgery during pregnancy, and the delivery outcomes for both mothers and babies. Results A total of 44 pregnant patients with benign ovarian mass underwent laparoscopic operation in our hospital. After exclusion of eight patients who had delivered at other hospitals or with complications from pre‐existing diseases, details from 36 patients were analysed. The mean gestational week at the time of surgery was 15.5 weeks; the mean surgical time was 93.2 min. There were no intraoperative or postoperative complications. Pathological examination showed benign cystic teratoma in 24 patients, lutein cyst in six, endometrial cyst in five and a paraovarian cyst in one patient. The mean length of hospitalization was 2.2 days. Of the patients, 32 had a normal vaginal delivery at term, and four delivered by Caesarean section, because of breech presentation, pre‐eclampsia or failure to progress. All the babies were healthy. There was no delivery complication related to the laparoscopic surgery during pregnancy. Conclusions The benefits of laparoscopic management in pregnancy for benign ovarian lesions have been discussed mainly from the point of view of safety and short hospitalization. The delivery outcomes at our hospital showed that gasless laparoscopic cystectomy with minilaparotomy during pregnancy has no effect with regard to subsequent normal delivery.