Additional uses of a vaginal fornices delineator

Abstract

A vaginal fornices delineator was introduced in the mid-90s by a gynecologic surgeon named Charles Koh as a device that would facilitate total laparoscopic hysterectomy. It is also used in robot-assisted and traditional laparoscopic hysterectomies. The delineator delineates the vaginal fornices and provides improved visualization of vital structures during a hysterectomy. The determination of the anatomic level of the cervix is vital in the identification of the inferior borders of a total hysterectomy and to avoid injury to the ureters and uterine vessels. As such, we describe 3 gynecologic surgeries in which the identification of this level was suboptimal. Our solution was to utilize a vaginal fornices delineator as the cervical "guide" to enhance this visualization and to allow for a complete and safe surgical outcome. The following surgical scenarios and the surgical facilitation provided by the vaginal fornices delineator will be presented: (1) a postpartum cesarean hysterectomy complicated by a large lower uterine fibroid tumor that distorts the cervix, (2) a robotic-assisted placement of an abdominal cerclage in a first-trimester pregnancy, (3) abdominal hysterectomy complicated by a necrotizing uterine infection and the associated difficulty in the identification of the cervicouterine junction.