The completeness and associated morbidity of surgical staging in 86 patients with early ovarian carcinoma were analyzed. According to strict criteria for completeness of the procedure established before the onset of the study, surgical staging after one or two laparotomies was complete in only 53% of cases. Initial staging in a peripheral hospital was complete in only 15% of patients. Intraoperative complications occurred in between 8 and 15% of patients and included injury of the vena cava (5), small bowel injury (2), myocardial infarction (1), transection of the ureter (1), and splenic rupture (1). The most frequently omitted staging steps were biopsy of the paracolic gutter, biopsy of the pelvic peritoneum, and sampling of retroperitoneal lymph nodes. Reasons for incomplete surgical staging were divided into factors associated with increased risk of difficulty of the procedure and lack of knowledge of the sites at risk for ovarian cancer metastases. It was found that both phenomena should be held responsible to the same extent for the large number of incomplete surgical staging procedures. The conclusion was made that either gynecologists should be better educated in the staging of ovarian cancer or a more efficient patient referral policy should be considered.