INITIAL EXPERIENCE WITH SUPRACERVICAL LAPAROSCOPIC HYSTERECTOMY AND REMOVAL OF THE CERVICAL TRANSFORMATION ZONE

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.