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Updated: Aug 14, 2026
Blocking Lymph Flow by Suturing Afferent Lymphatic Vessels in Mice
Published on: May 14, 2020
Prevention of lymphocyst formation following systematic lymphadenectomy
R Yamamoto1, T Saitoh, T Kusaka
1Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Hokkaido University School of Medicine, Sapporo, Japan. tellme33@netfarm.ne.jp
Background:
The occurrence of pelvic lymphocysts is an important complication following systematic lymphadenectomy for gynecological malignancies. We employed a procedure to prevent vaginal shortening following radical hysterectomy and we examined whether this procedure could be effective in preventing pelvic lymphocyst formation.
Methods:
We studied the incidence of lymphocysts in 190 patients with 84 cervical cancers, 74 endometrial cancers and 32 ovarian cancers, using computed tomographic examination at 3 and 6 months subsequent to the surgery. The surgery included radical hysterectomy and a procedure to prevent vaginal shortening (101), modified radical hysterectomy (79) and simple hysterectomy (7), with systematic lymphadenectomy.
Results:
There was a significant difference in the incidence of pelvic lymphocysts between cervical cancer (4.8%) and ovarian cancer (18.8%). The postoperative incidence of lymphocyst formation in patients undergoing radical hysterectomy with the procedure to prevent vaginal shortening (5.9%) was significantly lower than in those who underwent modified radical hysterectomy (15.2%).
Conclusion:
Our procedure to prevent vaginal shortening could be effective in preventing not only the shortening of the vagina but also the occurrence of pelvic lymphocysts in patients undergoing radical hysterectomy with systematic lymphadenectomy for gynecological malignancies.
