When you develop certain issues affecting your uterus, including cancerous or precancerous conditions, you may decide that hysterectomy is the right approach to maintain your health. Our doctors at Southeast Urogyn can help you make the decision as well as perform your surgery.
As hysterectomy specialists, we also choose minimally invasive laparoscopic surgical techniques whenever possible. This allows for treatment on an outpatient basis, rather than a days-long hospital stay, and the benefits only start there.
Full or partial removal of your uterus may become necessary for a variety of reasons, particularly when you’re past your childbearing years. Hysterectomy can treat issues such as:
After cesarean section, hysterectomy is the most common surgery performed on women, with about 300,000 procedures done each year.
Before the invention of the laparoscope, hysterectomy required open surgery performed through the abdomen. The surgeon required line of sight to remove the uterus, making large incisions necessary and damaging otherwise healthy muscle tissue to provide access to the surgical field.
A laparoscope uses a tiny video camera on the end of a long, thin tube. Access to the body requires a small incision that’s a half-inch or shorter. Special surgical tools can use the same incision or other, similarly small incisions nearby.
In some procedures, we can remove the uterus through the vaginal canal, also reducing the need for large incisions.
This provides four distinct advantages over conventional open surgery.
We can do laparoscopic surgery as an outpatient day surgery. Because there’s no large incision that needs extra attention, you don’t need an overnight hospital stay. You recover at home.
Small incisions mean that there’s no need to control widespread bleeding. Much of the pain from open surgery results from cutting and healing of abdominal muscles. Laparoscopic surgery eliminates this damage.
The laparoscopic approach makes it easier for your surgeon to see. Between the video camera and the area lighting provided by the laparoscope, there’s no extra tissue to work around, making the procedure simple and precise.
Perhaps the biggest benefit of laparoscopic hysterectomy is how quickly you'll be back to your regular routine.
Conventional hysterectomy can take as much as six weeks for recovery. There’s a high risk of infection after surgery and more pain associated with healing.
Typical healing time after laparoscopic hysterectomy is 7-10 days. There’s no large wound to protect, so you can usually return to your normal schedule as soon as you feel ready.
Learn more about laparoscopic hysterectomy in consultation with one of our gynecologists at the nearest office. Call our Madison or Flowood, Mississippi, location directly to schedule an appointment today.
