Vaginal hysterectomy

The authors report on their experience of vaginal hysterectomy in a prospective series of 14 patients with myomatous uteri of the size of 14 to 20 weeks' gestation. The mean uterine volume at the time of surgery was that of 16 1/2 weeks' gestation. The largest myoma had a diameter of 11.6 cm. Five of the patients were also scheduled to undergo bilateral oophorectomy. The paracervical tissues were infiltrated with a dilute solution of lignocaine and adrenaline. Circumferential incision and reflection of the vaginal wall, dissection of the bladder cephalad, opening of the vesico-uterine fold anteriorly and the pouch of Douglas posteriorly were performed initially. This was followed by clamping, division and ligation of the sacro-uterine and cardinal ligaments and of the uterine vessels, as is done during a vaginal hysterectomy. The next step depended on the size and other features of the uterine corpus and included bisection, myomectomy, morcellation and coring. BISECTION: The cervix was grasped on both sides and the uterus was bisected sagittally towards the fundus, using a knife. The bisection, carried out first along the posterior uterine wall, was aided by the repeated repositioning of the vulsella close to the apex of the incision, combined with rotation of the cervical portion of the uterus around the public arch. If necessary, the uterus was rotated back to its original position and the bisection pursued anteriorly. Complete bisection often allowed half the uterus to be delivered through the vagina and the ovarian pedicle to be secured; the same was then done with the other half of the uterus. Myomectomy was frequently combined with bisection or morcellation. Smaller myomas were removed in one piece while larger ones were morcellated and removed in fragments, one of the vulsella always being attached to the residual bulk of the myoma. Morcellation was carried out on the uterus when despite bisection or myomectomy no further descent was possible. Bisection was recommenced as soon as further descent of the uterus could be achieved after myomectomy and morcellation. Coring was performed instead of bisection when dealing with smaller uteri without any distinct large myoma. A circumferential incision was made at the level of the uterine isthmus about 5 mm into the substance of the corpus. A central core of tissue around the uterine cavity was then excised by progressively undercutting the serosal surface of the uterus towards the fundus. Once the uterus was delivered into the vagina, the hysterectomy was completed in the usual fashion. All 14 procedures with or without oophorectomy or salpingo-oophorectomy were completed successfully. The mean weight of the uteri was 639 g (range 380-1100 g), the mean operating time was 84 minutes (range 30-150 minutes) and the mean operative blood loss was estimated at 296 ml (range 100-800 ml). One patient was given a blood transfusion immediately postoperatively. Six women had macroscopic haematuria that cleared up within 24 hours. There were no other important complications. Postoperative hospital stay averaged 3.7 days (range 2-9 days). Only 2 patients remained in hospital for more than 4 days after surgery. All women had recovered fully by the time of their follow up appointment.