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Background and Objectives:After being encouraged to change the technique for opening the vaginal cuff during robotic surgery, this study was performed to determine the correlation between vaginal cuff complications and electrosurgical techniques.Methods:The study group consisted of patients who had their vaginal cuffs opened with a cutting current compared to the group of patients having their vaginal cuff opened with a coagulation current. Data were collected on 150 women who underwent robotic surgery for endometrial cancer. All patients received preoperative antibiotics. Data, including operative time, type of electrosurgery used, estimated blood loss, transfusion rate, and complications, were collected from the patients' records.Results:Surgeries in 150 women and the associated complications were studied. The mean age of the patients was not significantly different between the groups (P = .63). The mean body mass index was 38 kg/m2 in the coagulation arm and 36 kg/m2 in the cutting arm (P = .03). Transfusion was not required. Estimated blood loss and operative time were not significantly different in the coagulation versus the cutting arms (P = .29 and .5; respectively). No patients in the cutting arm and 4 patients (with 5 complications) in the coagulation arm had cuff complications (P = .02).Conclusions:Complications involving the vaginal cuff appear to occur more frequently when the vagina is entered by using electrosurgery with coagulation versus cutting in this cohort of patients undergoing robot-assisted surgery for endometrial cancer..

Background The impact of striae gravidarum (SG), or stretch marks of pregnancy, on quality of life (QoL) is unclear. Objective The purpose of this study was to investigate how SG affect QoL in pregnant women. Methods In this cross-sectional survey study of healthy pregnant women who developed SG during their current pregnancy, we asked about the impact of lesions on emotional, psychological, and life-quality facets. Spearman product-moment correlation coefficients were generated to determine the strength of relationships between variables. Results We analyzed 116 valid surveys. Participants reported permanency of SG as the top physical concern (n = 87; 75%). With regard to severity, nearly three-quarters of participants rated their lesions as very prominent (n = 24; 21%) or moderate (n = 57; 49%). Among the life-quality facets queried, embarrassment/self-consciousness was the most frequently associated with SG, with over one-third of participants reporting “a lot” (n = 19; 16%) or a “moderate” (n = 26; 22%) amount of embarrassment/self-consciousness related to having SG. Lesion severity significantly correlated with the degree of embarrassment/self-consciousness ( r = .543), as well as the impact of SG on other life-quality facets, including overall QoL ( r = .428), clothing choice ( r = .423), self-image/self-esteem ( r = .417), feelings of anxiety/depression ( r = .415), and social activities ( r = .313; all p ≤ .001). Nearly one-quarter of participants believed that emotional distress related to SG was similar or greater than that caused by other skin problems, such as acne, psoriasis, or eczema. Conclusion SG can be associated with a host of negative reactions reflecting increased psychological and emotional distress, including embarrassment and decreased QoL. These consequences may compound the emotional stress of pregnancy, potentially warranting psychological support and adjustment strategies.

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