Geonwoo Lee

Developing standardized informed consent for hysterectomy and vulva cancer surgery

Informed consent is a fundamental aspect of surgical care, designed to reinforce patient autonomy, promote shared decision-making, and potentially mitigate legal conflicts by ensuring the provision of comprehensive and consistent information in clinical practice. The Korean Society of Gynecologic Oncology (KSGO) previously published detailed informed consent documents for cervical, endometrial, and ovarian cancer surgery. However, standardized consent forms remain relatively lacking for laparoscopic-robotic hysterectomy performed for non-malignant indications, as well as for vulvar cancer surgery. Hence, the KSGO subcommittee collected, reviewed, and discussed consent forms from domestic medical institutions and subsequently developed informed consent for laparoscopic-robotic hysterectomy and vulvar cancer surgery, aiming to build patient trust and understanding.

Usefulness of sentinel lymph node mapping using indocyanine green and fluorescent imaging in the diagnosis of lymph node metastasis in endometrial cancer

The lymph node status is the most important prognostic factor for endometrial cancer. This study aimed to assess whether sentinel lymph node mapping (SLNM) is applicable in endometrial cancer. A retrospective review of patients with endometrial cancer who were diagnosed and treated in Asan Medical Centre from September 2015 to December 2017 was conducted. One hundred patients underwent robotic (da Vinci®) or laparoscopic surgical treatment, including SLNM with indocyanine green (ICG) fluorescence detection using the Firefly® and NIR/ICG systems. At least one lymph node area was observed in 100% of SLNM cases. Sentinel node detection and frozen biopsy were performed in all cases, and all patients with metastasis were found on SLNM. The sensitivity and negative predictive value were both 100% in the patient-by-patient and station-by-station analyses. SLNM appears to be a feasible method to reduce the morbidity and increase the detection rate in early-stage endometrial carcinoma.