Patient Satisfaction with Laparoscopic-Assisted Removal of Large Myomas

The main indications for laparoscopic myomectomy in 10 women (mean age 39.8 yrs) were symptomatic pelvic mass (9), menorrhagia (6), dyspareunia (5), dysmenorrhea (2), and infertility (2). All patients had one or more fibroids larger than 5 cm removed, and in seven the myomata were larger than 10 cm. The mean fibroid mass was 394.7 g (range 130-675 g), and extensive morcellation was required in all women. The mean length of surgery was 153 minutes and hospital stay 3 to 4 days. Overall recovery was excellent in seven and good in three patients. The mean return to normal activity and work was 5.3 weeks (mode 3.0 wks, median 4.5 wks). All women reported improvement in their symptoms as follows: symptomatic mass (9), gone in six and smaller in three; menorrhagia (6), lighter in five and unchanged in one; dyspareunia (5), gone in four and less in 1; dysmenorrhea (2) gone and less in one each. Of the three women trying to conceive since the procedure, two were successful. The mean scar length was 4.9 cm (range 1-6 cm), reported by five women as expected, by four as shorter, and one as longer than expected, but all the patients were satisfied with the scars.