Laparoscopic hysterectomy in the presence of previous Caesarean section : a review of one hundred forty-one cases in the Sydney West Advanced Pelvic Surgery Unit

The objective of this study was to examine whether laparoscopic hysterectomy is safe in the presence of previous caesarean section (CS). Laparoscopic hysterectomies performed for nonmalignant conditions by 7 gynecologic surgeons in public and private hospitals in Western Sydney were studied. Data were collected from January 2001 through December 2007, involving 574 patients, of which 141 patients had 1 or more previous CS. Conversions to laparotomy and major intraoperative and postoperative complications (within 6 weeks of surgery) were recorded and compared between cohorts of patients with and without previous caesarean sections. Of the 574 laparoscopic hysterectomies identified, 141 (24.6%) patients had at least 1 previous CS. Most women with previous CS had only 1 CS (51.8%), whereas 13.5% had 3 or more CS. The overall major complication rate among patients undergoing laparoscopic hysterectomy was 10.1%. The most common complication was hemorrhage (7.3% of patients) and inadvertent cystotomy (2.1%). The rate of major complications varied between the CS and non-CS groups. Among the non-CS group, the complication rate was 8.8%, whereas the complication rate among the CS group was 14.2%. The rate of inadvertent cystotomy in the group with no previous CS was 5 in 433 patients (1.2%). The rate of bladder complications showed an increase with the number of previous CS: 2.5% of patients with 1 or 2 previous CS and 21.1% of patients with 3 or more previous CS. The rate of inadvertent cystotomy in patients with 3 or more CS was 18 times that of patients with no CS (95% CI 5.1, 66.0). Twenty-four (5.5%) patients without previous CS and 15 (10.6%) patients with previous CS required conversion to laparotomy because of dense bladder or bowel adhesions. Laparoscopic hysterectomy in the setting of previous CS is recommended because long-term sequelae are rare. There are higher rates of major complications in patients undergoing laparoscopic hysterectomy with previous CS; the higher the number of previous CS, the higher the rate of complications. The most significant increase is seen in patients with more than 2 previous CS.