Dr. David Gorman is Northern NY 's Leader in minimally invasive surgery including almost painless, out-patient advanced laparoscopic hysterectomies, incontinence surgery, and stereotactic breast biopsies.

Hysterectomy is the removal of the uterus and is one of the most common types of surgery performed in women. A hysterectomy is one way of treating problems affecting the uterus. In our practice we explore all options with our patients prior to recommending a hysterectomy. Some of the reasons women end up with a hysterectomy are: uterine fibroids, endometriosis, uterine prolapse, cancer, endometrial hyperplasia (heavy growth of uterine lining), menstrual and menopausal symptoms, cervical dysplasia (precancerous changes) and pain.

There are different kinds of hysterectomy -

• Supracervical - cervix is left behind
• Total hysterectomy - uterus and cervix are removed completely
• Radical - for cases of cancerous growth
• Hysterectomy can be combined with the removal of the tubes and the ovaries - this is called hysterectomy with unilateral or bilateral salpingo-oophrectomy in selected situations.

There are different methods to perform a hysterectomy

Hysterectomies

• Approach
• Abdominal- surgery done through an open incision in the abdomen
• Vaginal- surgery done through the vagina. The cervix must be removed with the uterus for technical reasons.
• Laparoscopic- surgery done entirely with a laparoscopic approach (tiny incisions in the abdomen).
• Laparoscopic assisted vaginal hysterectomy (LAVH) - a small part of the operation is done through a laparoscopic approach to make a vaginal hysterectomy easier or possible.
• Types
• Supercervical- the body of the uterus, only, from the internal os upwards, but not including the cervix. May be laparoscopic or abdominal open.
• Total- the body of the uterus and the cervix. Does not include either tubes or ovaries. Maybe abdominal or laparoscopic.
• Note: a supercervical hysterectomy cannot technically be done by a vaginal approach.
• Tubes and ovaries
• Salpingectomy- removal of tube
• Oophrectomy- removal of ovary
• Salpingo-oophrectomy- removal of both tubes and ovaries.
• Bilateral salpingo-oophrectomy- removal of both tubes and ovaries
• a, b, c, and d can be combined with a supercervical hysterectomy, total hysterectomy, vaginal hysterectomy or LAVH

*It is important to understand that your physicians will educate you about the best route of surgery for your particular case. Our goal is to have our patients have the safest, most comfortable surgery and to be able to return to normal activity as soon as possible.