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OBJECTIVE To compare survival rates of surgically treated advanced epithelial ovarian cancer patients before and after a programmatic change in surgical approach from standard surgery towards ultra-radical surgery. METHODS 247 patients with FIGO stage IIIB-IV ovarian, tubal, and primary peritoneal carcinoma were operated during 2013-2019 either by primary or interval cytoreduction in Tampere University Hospital, Finland. Group 1 (n = 122) patients were operated during 2013 and February 2016. Group 2 patients (n = 125) were operated between March 2016 and March 2019, when a systematic change in surgical approach towards more extensive surgery was implemented. RESULTS The complete resection (R0) rate increased significantly from 17.2% (21/122) to 52.0% (65/125) within the study period (p < 0.001). The median progression-free survival (PFS) was 15.6 months vs 19.3 months (p = 0.037), and the median overall survival (OS) was 33.5 months vs 54.5 months in Groups 1 and 2, respectively (p = 0.028). Median OS for stage III patients in Group 1 was 36.1 months (95% CI 27.4-44.8) but could not be reached in Group 2 (p = 0.009). In Stage IV patients, OS was 32.0 months (16.4-47.7) and 39.3 months (24.8-53.8) in Group 1 and 2, respectively (p = 0.691). Multivariable Cox regression analysis revealed that OS was independently affected by the amount of residual tumor and complication grade. CONCLUSIONS The change of surgical approach towards maximal surgical effort improved both progression-free and overall survival. The survival benefit was unquestionable for stage III patients but did not reach statistical significance in stage IV patients.