[Visceral peritonealization after abdominal hysterectomy--a retrospective pilot study].

A closure of the parietal and visceral peritoneum has always been thought to be a necessary measure in gynaecological surgery to avoid postoperative ascending infections or adhesion formation with the risk of a consequent ileus. Based on good experience in radical gynaecological surgery and the opinion of many authors, who consider the closure by means of sutures as the real cause for adhesion formation, we omitted the closure of the visceral peritoneum in abdominal hysterectomies. We performed 80 such procedures and analyzed them with regard to their postoperative course. We found a strikingly low rate of postoperative fever, no signs of infection of the wound and not a single case of postoperative ileus. We therefore believe, that omitting the closure of the visceral peritoneum entails notable advantages, that should be confirmed by follow-up studies.