Technique that prevents seeding
Early vascular ligation before tumour manipulation, handling only healthy tissue, protecting the extraction site with an impervious wound protector, and removing the specimen intact are standard. Where a specimen cannot be delivered intact, the extraction incision is enlarged rather than the specimen fragmented.
Port-site and wound recurrence
Reported rates after minimally invasive cancer resection are well under one percent when these principles are followed, comparable with wound recurrence after open surgery. Higher rates historically reflected early technique and unrecognised advanced disease rather than the access route itself.
Why delay carries its own risk
Postponing an indicated operation allows the tumour to progress and can convert a resectable cancer into an unresectable one. The realistic comparison is not surgery versus nothing, but surgery now versus a tumour that continues to grow.
Common questions
- Should biopsy be avoided in case it spreads the cancer?
- No. Modern biopsy technique places the needle track where it can be excised with the specimen, and treatment cannot be planned safely without tissue diagnosis.
Related reading
This page is general education, reviewed by Dr. Ishaan Allahabadi, MCh Surgical Oncology (Edge Hill, UK) · MS Surgery · MBBS (Accredited by the Royal College of Surgeons of England). It is not a substitute for individual medical advice. Treatment decisions are made after reviewing your imaging and pathology, in a multidisciplinary tumour board.