da Vinci® Surgery: Hysterectomy

 

A new, minimally invasive approach to hysterectomy, da Vinci® Hysterectomy, combines the advantages of conventional open and minimally invasive hysterectomies but with far fewer drawbacks.

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Physicians perform hysterectomy, the surgical removal of the uterus, to treat a wide variety of uterineconditions. Each year in the U.S. alone, doctors perform approximately 600,000 hysterectomies, making it the second most common surgical procedure.1

 

Types of Hysterectomy

There are various types of hysterectomy that are performed depending on the patient’s diagnosis:

  • Supracervical hysterectomy – removes the uterus, leaves cervix intact

  • Total hysterectomy – removes the uterus and cervix

  • Radical hysterectomy or modified radical hysterectomy – a more extensive surgery for gynecologic cancer that includes removing the uterus and cervix and may also remove part of the vagina, fallopian tubes, ovaries and lymph nodes in order to stage the cancer (determine how far it has spread).

For most patients, da Vinci® Hysterectomy can offer numerous potential benefits over traditional approaches to vaginal, laparoscopic or open abdominal hysterectomy, particularly when performing more challenging procedures like radical hysterectomy for gynecologic cancer.

 

Potential benefits include: 

  • Significantly less pain
  • Less blood loss
  • Fewer complications
  • Less scarring
  • A shorter hospital stay
  • A faster return to normal daily activities

Moreover, da Vinci® provides the surgeon with a superior surgical tool for dissection and removal of lymph nodes during cancer operations, as compared to traditional open or minimally invasive approaches.2 da Vinci® Hysterectomy also allows your surgeon better visualization of anatomy, which is especially critical when working around delicate and confined structures like the bladder. This means that surgeons have a distinct advantage when performing a complex, radical hysterectomy involving adhesions from prior pelvic surgery or non-localized cancer, or an abdominal hysterectomy.3

 

Back to the da Vinci System Overview.

 

1. Center for Disease Control. Keshavarz H, Hillis S, Kieke B, Marchbanks P. Hysterectomy Surveillance — United States, 1994–1999. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. Surveillance Summaries. July 12, 2002. Vol. 51 / SS-5. Page
2. www.cdc.gov/mmwr/PDF/ss/ss5105.pdf 1. Boggess JF. da Vinci® Hysterectomy for Endometrial Cancer with Staging. Presented at ISI WWSSM 1/06. 871391_rev B_dVH Endometrial Cancer Presentation
3. UNC Department of Obstetric & Gynecology Health & Healing in the Triangle Vol 8 No 3 pp 22-23.
 
While clinical studies support the effectiveness of the da Vinci® System when used in minimally invasive surgery, individual results may vary. Surgery with the da Vinci Surgical System may not be appropriate for every individual. Always ask your doctor about all treatment options, as well as their risks and benefits.