American Association of Gynecologic Laparoscopists' 1988 membership survey on operative laparoscopy

The American Association of Gynecologic Laparoscopists' (AAGL) 1988 membership survey on operative laparoscopy had a response rate of 24%. A total of 880 respondents reported performing 36,928 operative laparoscopy procedures. A total of 75% of the respondents reported performing 47 or fewer procedures. The most frequently reported conditions managed with operative laparoscopy were endometrial implants, extensive adhesions and ovarian cysts. Most operative laparoscopies were performed because of infertility (40%) or pelvic pain (41%). The overall serious complication rate was 15.4 per 1,000 procedures. Complications that occurred in greater than 1 per 1,000 procedures included hospitalization greater than 72 hours, persistent human chorionic gonadotropin titer elevation after ectopic pregnancy, hospital readmission and unintended laparotomy to manage bowel injury, urinary tract injury or hemorrhage. Two deaths (5.4 per 100,000 procedures) were reported.