Laparoscopic ultrasonic dissection of uterine vessels in women with benign uterine pathologies.

Uterine artery dissection is a new minimally invasive surgical technique used for the treatment of leiomyomas and adenomyomas. Three women underwent laparoscopically-assisted bilateral uterine dissection using ultrasonically activated shears. Surgery was uneventful, and patients were discharged on the second day after. Reduction in tumor volume measured by ultrasound was impressive (36%-68%), and the women felt their symptoms had improved. A larger series and longer follow-up are required to evaluate which patients will benefit from this technique. To our knowledge, this is the first report in the literature of origin uterine artery dissection in the area of the off-going part from the hypogastric artery using ultrasonically activated shears in symptomatic leiomyomas.