Aim To study the role of vaginal hysterectomy in non-descent uterus and to compare it with abdominal hysterectomy with respect to operative time, intraoperative blood loss and complications, ambulation, and postoperative complications. Materials and methods A prospective non-randomized study was carried out on 200 cases at a rural tertiary care center in B.G. Nagara, Karnataka, India for a period of 18 months after obtaining institutional ethical committee approval. One hundred patients underwent a vaginal hysterectomy, and there other 100 underwent an abdominal hysterectomy for similar indications. Results Mean age, parity, mode of delivery, BMI, uterine size, and anesthesia were similar between the groups. The most common indication was fibroid uterus (50%). It was found that the vaginal hysterectomy group was associated with significantly reduced mean operative duration and a decline in postoperative Hemoglobin when compared to the abdominal hysterectomy group. Patients who underwent vaginal hysterectomy had less postoperative pain and were ambulated earlier and discharged earlier. Also, postoperative complications were more common in those who underwent abdominal hysterectomy. Conclusion Vaginal hysterectomy is a safe and the least invasive route and is associated with lesser complications and should be chosen as the preferred method of hysterectomy, whenever feasible.
Keywords: benign tumors; complications; non-descent uterus; rural center; total abdominal hysterectomy; vaginal hysterectomy.
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