What is staging laparotomy?

A staging laparotomy is a surgical procedure used to determine the stage of a patient's cancer, most commonly for Lymphomas. It involves removing lymph nodes and sometimes the spleen to allow a pathologist to see if the malignant (cancer) cells have reached that far. This procedure is much less common than it once was, as there are few cases in which the treatment would be changed depending on its results. Also, more recently staging has been performed with the use of laparoscopy instead of laparotomy (small incisions and a camera rather than the traditional larger incision.)