Surgical treatment of verrucous carcinoma of the vulva - 15-year experience and literature review

Abstract

This paper seeks to present surgical procedures, results and complications of treatment of verrucous carcinoma (VC) of the vulva treated at the clinics for gynecology and obstetrics within the Faculty of Medicine, University of Novi Sad (Serbia), as well as a literature review of surgical treatment of VC. During a period of 15 years (2005–2019), we performed 76 surgeries of vulvar cancer, nine (11.8%) due to VC of the vulva. In surgical treatment of vulva VC, we performed complete surgical excision of the tumor (three), complete surgical excision of the tumor with defect coverage using VY fasciocutaneous skin flap (two), simplex vulvectomy (two), radical hemivulvectomy (one), and radical vulvectomy (one). We came across two main complications (22.2%): suture bleeding within 12 hours after excision in one patient (11.1%) and lower extremity lymphoedema after inguinofemoral lymphadenectomy with ligation of the great saphenous vein in one patient (11.1%). Out of the total number of nine treated patients, survival rate was 88.8% (eight patients) with death rate of 11.1% (one patient) within 12 months after surgery. In three patients (33.3%), the disease returned after surgery: one residual tumor after surgery, one relapse on the other side one year after surgery, one newly developed invasive squamous cell carcinoma 10 years after primary surgery.

Keywords

• verrucous carcinoma
• vulva
• vulvar cancer
• vulvectomy