Minimally Invasive Hysterectomies: Lower Costs, Better for Patients

Minimally invasive surgical procedures offer lower patient morbidity and faster returns to normal activities, arguably lowering overall costs compared with traditional open procedures. The position of the American Association of Gynecologic Laparoscopists is that most hysterectomies for benign disease should be performed vaginally or laparoscopically and that use of these approaches should be facilitated. Results of two studies support this concept.

The first study was a cohort review of hysterectomies that were performed for benign and malignant disease in either 2006 or 2009 at a major teaching hospital in Boston (in 2006, a division of minimally invasive gynecology was introduced at that institution) to assess the effects of shifting the …