Laparoscopic-assisted vaginal hysterectomy and bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy with suturing technique.

Since December 1992 we have performed laparoscopic-assisted vaginal hysterectomy (LAVH) in 50 women using strict, conventional, basic operative rules, and compared it with open abdominal hysterectomy with respect to operation time, cost, postoperative analgesia requirements, and length of hospital stay. The indications for hysterectomy were uterine myoma in 32 patients, dysfunctional bleeding in 13, and postmenopausal bleeding in 5. The mean operating time was 118 minutes. The mean blood loss was 3.2% for preoperative and postoperative hematocrit values. The complication rate was 15%. The advantages of LAVH include short hospitalization, early recovery, low blood loss, and minimal postoperative discomfort.