Laparoscopically-assisted vaginal hysterectomy for fibroid uteri weighing at least 500 grammes.

We retrospectively reviewed the medical records of 13 women who underwent laparoscopically-assisted vaginal hysterectomy (LAVH) where the uterus weighed 500 g or more. LAVH was successfully performed in 10 of these 13 women for whom the mean uterine weight was 619 g, mean operating time 99 minutes, and mean postoperative hospital stay 3.7 days. One of the 3 women who underwent abdominal hysterectomy required blood transfusion for intraoperative bleeding. There was no febrile or other operative morbidity associated with any patient. As up to 75% of hysterectomies are performed abdominally, LAVH may replace many abdominal hysterectomies for large fibroid uteri when vaginal hysterectomy is not feasible.