Laparoscopic hysterectomy

Study Objective. To determine the soundness of laparoscopic hysterectomy compared with vaginal and abdominal hysterectomy. Design. Nonrandomized, uncontrolled, retrospective study (Canadian Task Force classification III). Setting. Medium-size community hospitals. Patients. One thousand six hundred forty-eight women undergoing laparoscopic hysterectomy, including those with uterine size 17 weeks' gestation or less. Intervention. Laparoscopic hysterectomy staged as level 4, which includes laparoscopic dissection of the uterine artery. Measurements and Main Results. The median duration of surgery was 36 minutes (range 24-104 min), compared with the usual 115 minutes for laparoscopic-assisted vaginal hysterectomy. Complication rate was 0.66%. No complications occurred in the last 3 years when the procedures included transillumination of the ureters. Although the costs associated with disposable equipment are high, the technique is cost effective. Conclusion. With proper training and ureteral transillumination, laparoscopic hysterectomy is safe and effective, and with stents, ureteral injury is avoided.