omentectomy
Meaning of omentectomy: Omentectomy removes the omentum, a fatty membrane that drapes over the abdominal organs, most often performed during surgery for ovarian or gastrointestinal cancer.
Definition of omentectomy
Omentectomy is a surgical procedure that removes part or all of the omentum, a fold of fatty tissue that hangs from the stomach and drapes over the abdominal organs like an apron. The omentum contains fat, blood vessels, and immune tissue, and it can serve as a site where cancer cells spread within the abdominal cavity.
The procedure is most often performed alongside surgery for ovarian cancer and certain other abdominal or gastrointestinal cancers, both to remove tissue that may already contain cancer cells and to help with accurate staging of the disease. The extent of omentectomy performed, whether partial or complete, depends on the type of cancer and the surgical plan.
Because the omentum is not essential to digestion, its removal does not typically impair the function of the stomach or intestines.
Used in a sentence
A total omentectomy was performed at the time of surgical staging for ovarian cancer.
Good to know
Omentectomy is frequently performed together with other cancer surgery rather than as a stand-alone procedure, since the omentum is evaluated as a potential site of tumor spread rather than the primary source of disease.
Word origin
Where “omentectomy” comes from
Formed from omentum, from Latin omentum, meaning "the membrane covering the bowels," and -ectomy, from Greek ektome, meaning "a cutting out."