Vaginal hysterectomy: technique and results in the last twenty years

The objective of this work was to describe patient characteristics and the effect of vaginal hysterectomy in a University hospital in the last two decades. A retrospective review of women undergoing vaginal hysterectomy was performed. The type of hysterectomy and complications were determined. From 1974 to 1994, a total of 6420 hysterectomies were performed. The vaginal route was used for 1530 patients. In the last decade, the Heaney method was used. A comparison of the periods 1974-1984 and 1984-1994 revealed that with the Heaney technique, we had significantly fewer complications, including less febrile morbidity, bleeding requiring transfusion, and injuries. Vaginal hysterectomy, specially using the Heaney method, is a rewarding challenge for any gynecologic surgeon. There are a low postoperative morbidity rate and a low mortality rate, which is well below the average mortality rate associated with abdominal hysterectomy.