Objective This study is intended to clarify the significance of different types of intrafascial hysterectomies in comparison to classical hysterectomy techniques in cases of benign uterine disorders.
Design A comparison of six types of hysterectomy, performed for benign indications, as transabdominal, vaginal or intrafascial hysterectomy which were carried out in our Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology between 1993 and 1994.
Subject and intervention 368 women who underwent hysterectomies for benign disorders at the University of Kiel. Of these, 58.7% were performed either by pelviscopic or by laparotomic classic intrafascial supracervical hysterectomy (CISH). Of the remaining, 14.8% were performed by abdominal hysterectomy, 13.6% by intrafascial vaginal hysterectomy (IVH), 12.2% by vaginal hysterectomy (VH), and only 0.05% by laparoscopic‐assisted vaginal hysterectomy (LAVH).
Measures Comparative data of these six surgical techniques, concerning patient characteristics, indications for operation, histological features, blood loss, operating time, hospital stay, uterine weight and postoperative analgesia, are described.
Results and conclusions Although no striking advantages of the three intrafascial supracervical hysterectomy techniques described became evident, the operating time of the new procedures was a little shorter than the conventional ones as was the postoperative convalescence time, and the techniques, although new, could compare well with to 50 years of experience with abdominal and vaginal hysterectomy.