Premium
THE PLACE OF SURGERY IN MANAGEMENT OF HODGKIN'S DISEASE *
Author(s) -
Stephens Frederick O.
Publication year - 1974
Publication title -
medical journal of australia
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.904
H-Index - 131
eISSN - 1326-5377
pISSN - 0025-729X
DOI - 10.5694/j.1326-5377.1974.tb93643.x
Subject(s) - laparotomy , medicine , splenectomy , disease , general surgery , surgery , pathology , spleen
In its earlier stages, Hodgkin's disease is potentially curable by radical irradiation. In order to assess the radiotherapeutic field requirements, it is essential to determine accurately the extent of disease involvement. When the exact extent of disease is otherwise not known with certainty, laparotomy is a valuable but not infallible aid to staging. Laparotomy is best used in conjunction with lymphography. Splenectomy is valuable both in staging and in reducing the extent of irradiation. There are risks to laparotomy, but these can be kept to a minimum with the cooperative efforts of a team involving an experienced haematologist and a surgeon experienced in haematological surgery in both preoperative and postoperative management.