Development of Transvaginal Uterus Amputation Device for Laparoscopic Hysterectomies in Gynecologic Surgeries

Abstract

Hysterectomy, that is removal of uterus, is one of the most common major operations in gynecologic surgeries. Laparoscopy technique is preferred in hysterectomy because of its advantages such as lower intra-operative blood loss, decreased surrounding tissue/organ damage, less operating time, lower postoperative infection and frequency of fever, shorter duration of hospitalization and post-operative returning time to normal activity. During total laparoscopic hysterectomy, first uterine vessels and ligaments are cauterized respectively, and then cervicovaginal connections are cauterized and coagulated to remove uterus completely. Uterine manipulators are used during laparoscopy to maximize the endoscopic vision of surgeons by moving related organs. However, conventional uterine manipulators have important drawbacks particularly to move uterus in three dimensions and to show cervicovaginal landmark during laparoscopic circular cauterization and amputation of the uterine cervix. A new transvaginal uterine manipulator may overcome these two important drawbacks of these currently available devices. For this reason, a3D scanned technique was used to get uterus sizes and computer aided design software is used in designing of the new manipulator and then 3D printer was used in prototyping. Special light emitting diodes (LEDs) were mounted on the cervical cap of the manipulator to guide light beams from inside of cervicovaginal tissue to abdominal cavity to facilitate the visualization of tissue landmarks. Moreover, performances of different caps and LED systems will be evaluated. Furthermore, after integration of self-cutting and self-suturing mechanisms into our system, final prototype will be produced by using titanium which is biologically and mechanically appropriate. Therefore, aim of this study was to design and produce a new uterine manipulator with three dimensional movements, LED illumination, self-cutting and self-suturing systems to facilitate laparoscopic hysterectomy