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Surgery has been the cornerstone of treatment for most gynecological malignancies for centuries. In the beginning of the 19th century, the pioneers of gynecological oncologic surgery marked the path that we still follow many years later. Dr Ephraim McDowell performed the world’s first ovarian surgery on 25 December 1809. Principles such as adequate and transparent informed consent, the importance of appropriate and adequate infrastructural and institutional support, the concept of prehabilitation, the recognition of adequate patient selection and stratification as key to success, optimal conditions for adequate perioperative care, comprehensive surgical documentation and mapping, and long-term follow-up and holistic support persist today across centers, countries, and continents. Our society is currently evolving at a rapid, almost vertiginous speed, and gynecological oncologic surgery is no exception. We have …