LAPAROSCOPIC MANAGEMENT OF OVARIAN MASSES - THE INITIAL EXPERIENCE AND LEARNING-CURVE

Fifty two consecutive patients undergoing laparoscopic surgery for ova rian masses were reviewed. The operative time depended on the experien ce of the surgeon and size of the tumour. It dropped progressively wit hin the first 10 cases and then remained static until after 40 cases w hen there was a further decline. Postoperative pain was minimal and th e median hospital stay was 2 days (range 1-7 days). The majority of pa tients returned to full activity within 2 weeks. The overall morbidity was 7.8% and was mild in nature without sequelae.