Extrapelvic bowel resection and anastomosis in cytoreductive surgery for ovarian cancer

Ovarian cancer is known as the second most common cause of death among gynecologic cancers. Survival outcome has been reported to be significantly associated with the efforts to minimize residual disease after cytoreductive surgery. As ovarian cancer often invades the small and large bowel without boundary, bowel surgery has been a crucial part of the cytoreductive surgery to achieve complete tumor removal. The scope of surgical resections has progressively expanded to include small and large bowel resections, making advanced surgical skills essential for gynecologic oncologists. In this review, we discuss the extra-pelvic bowel resection in cytoreductive surgery, with a focus on the regional anatomy and surgical techniques.