Overview of current trends in hysterectomy

Abstract

Hysterectomy is one of the most prevalent surgeries worldwide. Nine out of every ten hysterectomies are performed for noncancerous conditions that are not life threatening but have a negative impact on quality of life. Indication policy must be revised as new treatments become available. Menorrhagia is the primary indication and is not always a response to an anatomical disease. New and improved alternatives are increasingly employed for this indication and are responsible for the fall in the rate of hysterectomies performed in the last decade. Up-to-date knowledge of the procedure and its possible routes and their outcomes should form part of all clinical decision-making processes if optimum short- and long-term results, an improvement in the patient’s quality of life, and cost–effectiveness are to be achieved. Vaginal hysterectomy fulfils all these requirements and, when combined with the laparoscopic approach, represents the best option among possible routes.