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Uterine Morcellation

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Hysterectomy

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Abstract

Minimally invasive surgical techniques have been proven to lead to decreased post operative pain, decreased morbidity, and faster recovery times when compared to open abdominal procedures. According to committee opinions from ACOG and the AAGL, the preferred route for hysterectomy is a minimally invasive approach, including a laparoscopic or vaginal approach when feasible. Fibroids are the most common indication for a hysterectomy (40.7 %) which in turn makes specimen removal difficult as the specimen size is often larger than the abdominal or vaginal incisions made during surgery. As stated by Wright et al., patients who are nulliparous or have a large uterine size are at higher risk of requiring alternate methods of specimen removal such as morcellation. Morcellation is defined as “division and removal in small pieces” in the Merriam-Webster dictionary. In addition, a similar challenge arises when removing tissue in the absence of a colpotomy, as in a supracervical hysterectomy or myomectomy.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Minimally Invasive Gynecologic Surgery, Obstetrics and Gynecology, Advocate Lutheran General Hospital, 1775 Dempster St, Park Ridge, IL, 6006, USA

    Courtney J. Steller DO

  2. Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA

    Charles E. Miller MD, FACOG

  3. Minimally Invasive Gynecologic Surgery, Advocate Lutheran General Hospital, Park Ridge, IL, USA

    Charles E. Miller MD, FACOG

  4. The Advanced Gynecologic Surgery Institute, 120 Osler Dr, Suite 100, Naperville, IL, 60540, USA

    Charles E. Miller MD, FACOG

Authors
  1. Courtney J. Steller DO
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  2. Charles E. Miller MD, FACOG
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Correspondence to Courtney J. Steller DO .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Gynecology and Obstetrics, University Hospitals Schleswig-Holstein, Campus Kiel, Kiel, Germany

    Ibrahim Alkatout

  2. Gynecology and Obstetrics, University Hospitals Schleswig-Holstein, Campus Kiel, Kiel, Germany

    Liselotte Mettler

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Steller, C.J., Miller, C.E. (2018). Uterine Morcellation. In: Alkatout, I., Mettler, L. (eds) Hysterectomy. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-22497-8_15

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-22497-8_15

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