Meigs Syndrome Treatment & Management

Updated: Feb 19, 2021
  • Author: Klaus-Dieter Lessnau, MD, FCCP; Chief Editor: Leslie M Randall, MD, MAS, FACS  more...
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Treatment

Medical Care

Medical care of patients with Meigs syndrome is intended to provide symptomatic relief of ascites and pleural effusion by means of therapeutic paracentesis and thoracentesis.

Consultations

Consult with a gynecologic surgeon for surgical management of the patient.

Consult with a pulmonologist for management of pleural effusion. Medical pleuroscopy is typically not indicated but may be useful in complicated patients.

Activity

Patients can maintain activities as tolerated.

Next:

Surgical Care

Note the following:

  • Resolution after tumor resection has been widely documented.   [3, 18, 10]

  • Exploratory laparotomy with surgical staging is the treatment of choice. Perform a frozen section of the ovarian mass during exploratory laparotomy. If the frozen section is consistent with benign tumor, conservative surgery (salpingo-oophorectomy or oophorectomy) is appropriate. Findings of lymph node biopsies and omentum and pelvic washings are negative for malignancy if these procedures are performed during surgery.

  • In women of reproductive age, perform unilateral salpingo-oophorectomy.

  • In postmenopausal women, options include bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy with total hysterectomy and unilateral or occasionally bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy.

  • In prepubertal girls, options include wedge resection of ovary and unilateral salpingo-oophorectomy.

  • The cure rate after either type of surgery is high and recurrence is rare.

Observe standard postsurgical management protocols.

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