Sp. Ewen et Cjg. Sutton, INITIAL EXPERIENCE WITH SUPRACERVICAL LAPAROSCOPIC HYSTERECTOMY AND REMOVAL OF THE CERVICAL TRANSFORMATION ZONE, British journal of obstetrics and gynaecology, 101(3), 1994, pp. 225-228
Objective To assess the feasibility and outcome of laparoscopic suprac
ervical hysterectomy with removal of the cervical transformation zone.
Design A prospective clinical study. Setting The department of Gynaec
ology, Royal Surrey County Hospital, Guildford. Subjects Eleven consec
utive women who were on the waiting list for abdominal hysterectomy an
d fulfilled the selection criteria. Intervention Laparoscopic supracer
vical hysterectomy using a modification of the classical abdominal sup
racervical hysterectomy technique with removal of the cervical transfo
rmation zone. Main outcome measures Operating time, blood loss, durati
on of hospital stay, time to full recovery and complications. Results
All 11 procedures were successfully completed laparoscopically. The me
an operating time was III min, and mean blood loss was 185 ml. The mea
n duration of hospital stay was three days, and the mean time to full
recovery was 20 days. There were no major complications. Conclusions L
aparoscopic supracervical hysterectomy appears to result in a shorter
hospital stay and more rapid recovery than total abdominal hysterectom
y. This shortened convalescence is of benefit to the patient. The oper
ation appears to be safe when carried out by surgeons experienced in l
aparoscopic surgery. A randomised comparative study with total abdomin
al hysterectomy is currently being undertaken.