Panama Medical Vacations

Laparascopic Surgery

Laparoscopic Hysterectomy in Panama

You have suffered enough. Maybe you experienced heavy bleeding and discomfort due to uterine fibroids. Or perhaps you have been dealing with endometriosis. The truth is that one month of suffering can turn into one year, one year into ten and the quality of your life is too valuable to spend it suffering. Laparoscopic hysterectomy is a procedure performed using a viewing instrument (laparoscope) and surgical instruments inserted through a vaginal incision and one or more small abdominal incisions. The ovaries and other organs may also be removed. The uterus is detached from scar tissue, and then removed through the vagina. It is done:

  • When uterine fibroids are small to moderate in size.
  • When the uterus is slightly larger than normal.
  • When a woman has never given birth (nulliparous).
  • To remove endometriosis and scar tissue (adhesions) confined to the uterus, fallopian tubes, and ovaries.
  • To assess or remove ovaries at the same time as a vaginal hysterectomy.

LAVH is a newer surgery and requires the surgeon to have specialized training.

The Procedure

A laparoscopic hysterectomy involves disconnecting the uterus and other structures as needed and operating only through the laparoscopes in the abdomen, starting at the top of the uterus. The entire uterus is disconnected from its attachments using long thin instruments through the "ports." All tissue that is being removed is passed through the vagina or through the tiny half-inch abdominal incisions. A massive ovarian cyst can be removed without rupturing it inside the abdominal cavity by placing it in a sturdy surgical-grade pouch and passing the pouch out the vagina or, after collapsing the cyst inside the pouch, passing it out through the "port" incision. If the uterus is massively enlarged it can be disconnected from its attachments, then cut into tiny pieces and passed down the vagina. If a cancer is present, it can be removed with the staging procedures such as lymph node sampling, appendectomy, and omentectomy done safely. Abdominal scars consist of two to four tiny one-half inch incisions, one inside the belly-button, one in the top portion of the pubic hair just above the pubic bone, and one each just to the middle side of the front of the hip bone.

After your surgery

After surgery, you will be taken to the recovery room where you will gradually awake from the anesthetic.  Once you have left recovery, you will spend two days in the hospital and two weeks away from work.  You will likely be restricted from heavy lifting activities for six weeks.

Risks

Major operative complications occurring in laparoscopic hysterectomy can include bowel, bladder, ureter, or vascular injuries or significant abdominal wall or other internal bleeding.

 

Surgery always has an element of risk. We have attempted to minimize that risk by having an American-trained surgeon, a professional staff and a world-class hospital ready for your Panama laparoscopic hysterectomy. At Hospital Punta Pacifica, Affiliated with Johns Hopkins Medicine International, we want your visit to be a safe and rewarding procedure.