The role of mini laparotomy in patients with uterine myomas.

AIM: The aim of this study was to evaluate the therapeutic effectiveness of myomectomy by mini laparotomy in patients with subserosal and/or intramural uterine myomas.

MATERIALS AND

METHODS

Between January 2002 and December 2008, 83 women with symptomatic uterine myomas were referred to the Second Department of Gynecology of St. Savvas Anticancer--Oncologic Hospital of Athens. The study included women with subserosal and/or intramural uterine myomas with a maximum diameter of ten cm. All patients underwent myomectomy by mini laparotomy.

RESULTS

The median age of the patients was 36.8 years (range 19-43). The median number of the removed uterine myomas was 3.1 (range 1-12) and the median operative time was 98 minutes (range 47-170). All patients were mobilized within the first 24 hours and the median time of postoperative ileus was 1.6 days (range 1-3). The median hospital stay was 44 hours (range 30-120). There were no serious intraoperative or early postoperative complications. Conversion to laparotomy was performed only in four cases (4.82%), but none of the patients underwent emergency hysterectomy. During a mean follow up of 38 months, no recurrences of uterine myomas in the study population were observed.

CONCLUSION

Mini laparotomic myomectomy is a safe and effective minimally invasive method alternative to laparoscopic myomectomy for patients with subserosal and/or intramural uterine myomas.