Laparoscopically assisted vaginal hysterectomy -: A suitable substitute for abdominal hysterectomy?

OBJECTIVE: To compare short-term clinical results in a retrospective case-control review of laparoscopically assisted vaginal hysterectomy (LAVH) versus total abdominal hysterectomy (TAH). STUDY DESIGN: One hundred seventeen women undergoing laparoscopically assisted vaginal hysterectomy were compared to 177 women undergoing total abdominal hysterectomy, with or I without bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy. The perioperative and postoperative courses of the matched groups were compared. RESULTS: The time intraoperatively suns longer ill the LAVH group. The mean blood loss was increased in the LAVH group. The reed fur blued transfusion was higher in the LAVH group. The number of of women with intraoperative complications differed significantly between LAVH and TAH. The number of postoperative complications did not. Postoperative lime in the hospital was shorter in the LAVH group. The cost of the average case, including operating room time, instruments and hospital stay, did not differ. CONCLUSION: LAVH offers benefits to patients in the form of less time in the hospital and presumably, therefore, faster recovery, though at the expense of potentially longer intraoperative time, increased risk of blood transfusion and increased risk of intraoperative complications.