ABSTRACT
Metastatic ovarian cancer may involve important anatomical structures in the left upper abdomen including the transverse colon, the spleen, the tail of the pancreas, the left hemi-diaphragm and the stomach. The proximate relationship of these structures to the greater omentum and gastrocolic ligament predisposes to tumor spread by direct extension from a large omental cake. The spleen and left hemi-diaphragm, and rarely the stomach, may also be involved by independent metastatic lesions that are discontinuous with an omental tumor. This chapter will outline the relevant regional anatomy and address the cytoreductive surgical procedures required for the operative management of ovarian cancer extending to the left upper abdomen.
