Safety and efficacy of using advanced electrosurgical bipolar vessel sealing during vaginal hysterectomy in morbidly obese patients: a retrospective cohort analysis.

Abstract

To assess the safety and efficacy of electrosurgical bipolar vessel sealing during vaginal hysterectomy in morbidly obese patients MATERIAL AND METHODS: A total of 105 morbidly obese patients who underwent vaginal hysterectomy due to benign gynecologic pathologies between January 2010 and April 2017 were included in the study. Patients were divided into two groups according to whether conventional suture ligation technique (n = 64) or electrosurgical bipolar vessel sealing (n = 41) were used during vaginal hysterectomy. The surgical procedure was performed with the same technique in both study groups. The primary outcomes were duration of surgery and estimated blood loss. The secondary outcomes were intra-operative complications and post-operative complications. The duration of surgery and estimated blood loss in the vessel sealing group was significantly less than in the conventional suture group (p < 0.05). No significant difference was present between the two groups in the rate of intra-operative and post-operative complications. The primary outcome of our study is that the EBVS system can be used equally and even more effectively in some aspects; and as safe an alternative approach to conventional suture ligation technique during vaginal hysterectomies performed specifically on morbidly obese patients with reduced operation times and blood loss, and without increasing the complication rates.