Incidence of deep venous thrombosis after gynaecological laparoscopy

Objective To evaluate the incidence of deep venous thrombosis (DVT) after g ynaecological laparoscopy. Methods The incidence of DVT was studied in 72 consecutive patients who und erwent gynaecological laparoscopy in the Liverpool Health Service between M ay and September 1997, B-mode ultrasound supplemented by Doppler was used t o examine venous patency and intraluminal echoes to diagnose DVT. Sixty-one patients who had pneumoperitoneum less than 60 minutes were classified a m inor procedure and 11 who had pneumoperitoneum more than 60 minutes were cl assified as major procedure. Two Doppler ultrasound scans were planned for every patient. The first one was done within 24 hours and the second was pe rformed on day 7 post-surgery. All 72 patients had the first scan and 40 ou t of 61 in the minor procedure group and 9 out of 11 in the major procedure had the second scan. Twenty-three patients who did not come for the second scan were followed up by phone. Results No DVT was found in our study. Conclusion This study confirms an impression that gynaecological laparoscop ic procedure has a very low incidence of DVT. If it occurs, the diagnosis a nd treatment must be made as soon as possible so that the fatal complicatio ns such as pulmonary embolus can be avoided.