Transient occlusion of uterine arteries with endoscopic vascular clip preceding laparoscopic myomectomy.

BACKGROUND: To determine whether performing transient occlusion of uterine arteries (TOUA) immediately before laparoscopic myomectomy can reduce intraoperative complications.

SUBJECTS AND METHODS: In a retrospective case-control study, laparoscopic myomectomy with and without TOUA was examined. Data were analyzed from 89 laparoscopic myomectomies performed by a single surgeon (Y.-S. Kwon) at Ulsan University Hospital (Ulsan, Korea) between March 2011 and December 2011. Surgical outcomes included preoperative myoma size, number of myoma, operative time, and operative blood loss.

RESULTS: Forty-nine women underwent laparoscopic myomectomy with TOUA with endoscopic vascular clipping, whereas 40 control patients underwent laparoscopic myomectomy alone. The TOUA group had no case of nerve or vascular injury during the operation time. The mean time of occlusion of both the uterine arteries was 15 minutes. The TOUA group had less mean blood loss during the operation than the group with laparoscopic myomectomy alone (111.9 versus 203.4 mL; P<.001). There were no significant differences in size and number of uterine myomas and intraoperative complications between the two groups. Moreover, there was not even a single case of conversion of laparoscopy to laparotomy in either group.

CONCLUSIONS: TOUA performed immediately before laparoscopic myomectomy facilitated minimally invasive surgery with lower blood loss and no differences in other intraoperative complications.