Hysterectomy through minilaparotomy for benign gynaecological conditions: a valid option

OBJECTIVE: Efforts are continuously being made for surgery to be less invasive with a minimal access approach. This article reports our experience with minilaparotomy hysterectomy in patients with benign gynecological disease or preinvasive pathology. MATERIAL AND METHODS: A prospective study to analyse the outcome and per-operative and post-operative complications was conducted in 69 patients undergoing hysterectomy by the minilaparotomy approach through 4-5cm Pfannenstiel incision. RESULTS: The mean operating time and postoperative hospital stay were 41.3 min and 3.1 days, respectively. Composite morbidity was encountered in 12 women (17.4%) with no major complications or mortality. None of the patients had an estimated blood loss over 500ml. CONCLUSION: Minilaparotomy hysterectomy in benign gynecological disease provides an appealing, effective, expeditious, minimal access and cost-effective option/alternative to the traditional abdominal hysterectomy. It obviates the need for any additional expensive equipment and above all improves upon the per-operative and post-operative outcomes without compromising, whatsoever, the quality of surgery.