What happens during the procedure?
Your healthcare provider will tell you the type of hysterectomy that’s best for your condition. You will wear a hospital gown and be connected to machines that monitor your heart rate. Your doctor will place an intravenous (IV) line in a vein in your arm to supply fluids and medications to your system.
To suppress any pain, your anesthesiologist will administer:
- General anesthesia. This will make you fall asleep. So, you will not be awake throughout the procedure.
- Regional anesthesia is also known as epidural or spinal anesthesia [6]. The drugs will be placed close to the nerves in the lower portion of your back to suppress pain. Unlike general anesthesia, this drug does not make you fall asleep.
A hysterectomy can be done using multiple surgical approaches, such as:
- Abdominal hysterectomy: Your surgeon removes your uterus through a six-to-eight-inch-long incision in your abdominal area. In most cases, the incision is done from your belly button to your pubic bone. It can also be done through the top of your pubic hairline. The incision is closed with staples or stitches. This approach is recommended for people with cancer, when the uterus swells up, or when an illness spreads to other pelvic regions. You may have to remain in the hospital for two to three days after the procedure.
- Laparoscopic hysterectomy: A laparoscope is a thin tube with a video camera on the end. Your doctor makes an incision in the belly button and inserts the tube into the inferior portion of the abdomen. Other incisions are made to insert surgical equipment. Since the incisions are small, the uterus is removed in tiny pieces through your vagina or the incisions in your abdomen. The recovery period usually lasts for one or two days and is shorter than an abdominal hysterectomy.
- Robotic-assisted laparoscopic hysterectomy: This procedure is done with a robotic machine. Your doctor inserts a landroscope into your abdomen so your pelvic area can be viewed properly. Three to five incisions are made around your belly to insert small, thin surgical equipment. The surgeons will control the arms of the robots. Like the laparoscopic hysterectomy, the recovery period lasts for one or two days.
- Vaginal hysterectomy: This approach involves removing your uterus through a cut at the upper portion of your vagina. It doesn’t involve any external incision. Your healthcare provider will place dissolvable stitches inside the vagina to help heal the cuts. The approach is usually used in people who have non-malignant diseases and uterine prolapse. Since it has the lowest risks of complication, it is considered the go-to approach. In most cases, patients go home immediately after the procedure