Objective: The aim of the study was to describe the surgical treatment of early-stage cervical cancer (CC) via minimally invasive surgery (MIS) and a sequential hybrid approach combining MIS and mini-Pfannenstiel. Evaluate sentinel lymph node (SLN) detection using a hybrid tracer (ICG-99m Tc nanocolloid).
Patients and methods: Prospective, observational, descriptive, single-center study conducted at Son Espases University Hospital between January 2019 and September 2021. Patients with early-stage CC (FIGO 2018 IA1 with ILV-IIA1) who underwent surgical treatment with a follow-up of at least one year were included.
Results: Thirty early-stage CC patients were included, of whom four (13.3%) were upstaged due to positive SLNs. In these cases, laparotomy was avoided, and paraaortic lymphadenectomy was performed via MIS approach. Twenty-six patients had a radical hysterectomy: 15 underwent a hybrid approach, 10 laparoscopy, and one laparotomy. Patients undergoing laparoscopic surgery had a smaller estimated tumor size than those undergoing the hybrid approach. The overall SLN detection rate was 96.1%, with 88.5% of cases occurring bilaterally. Five out of 26 patients (19.2%) presented SLN macrometastases, and five (19.2%) had atypical drainage. Surgery refined staging in 33.3% (10/30) of cases. No recurrences were reported after an average follow-up of 32 months.
Conclusions: MIS for SLN avoids laparotomy leading to rapid recovery and early adjuvant treatment initiation in nodal metastasis. In our study, tumor size is an important clinical implication in the surgical approach to be used. The hybrid tracer provided a high detection rate and combined the advantages of the two tracers. The hybrid approach has a quick recovery and optimal results.