Vaginal hysterectomy in a Nigerian tertiary health facility

Despite evidence that vaginal hysterectomy offers advantages in regard to operative time, complication rates and return to normal activities, gynaecologists remain reluctant to change their practice patterns because of concerns about safety and feasibility of the vaginal approach. We reviewed cases...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Nigerian journal of medicine 2010-07, Vol.19 (3), p.324-325
Main Authors: Obiechina, N J A, Ugboaja, J O, Onyegbule, O A, Eleje, G U
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adult
Age Distribution
Aged
Female
Hospitals, Teaching
Humans
Hysterectomy, Vaginal - methods
Hysterectomy, Vaginal - statistics & numerical data
Length of Stay - statistics & numerical data
Middle Aged
Nigeria - epidemiology
Postoperative Complications - epidemiology
Retrospective Studies
Uterine Prolapse - epidemiology
Uterine Prolapse - surgery
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Summary:Despite evidence that vaginal hysterectomy offers advantages in regard to operative time, complication rates and return to normal activities, gynaecologists remain reluctant to change their practice patterns because of concerns about safety and feasibility of the vaginal approach. We reviewed cases of vaginal hysterectomies done in Nnamdi Azikiwe University Teaching Hospital Nnewi, Nigeria over a ten year period. This is a retrospective analysis of cases of vaginal hysterectomy that were done in the hospital between 1st January 1998 and 31st December 2007. Data was analyzed with Epi info version 3.3.2. Outcome measures include duration of hospital stay, indication for the surgery, postoperative morbidity and mortality and the need for blood transfusion. Hysterectomy accounted for 224 of 1,370 gynaecological surgeries (16.4%). Vaginal hysterectomy was responsible for 47 (21.0%) of these 224 cases and accounted for 3.7% of all gynaecological surgeries. Majority of the patients were in the 7th decade of life with a mean age of 65.2 +/- 6.8. Most (87.5%) patients were retired farmers and grandmultiparous with a mean parity 6.5 +/- 2.4). Utero-vaginal prolapse was the only indication for the surgery. The only postoperative complication accounted was febrile morbidity which was reported in 5 (10.6%) of the patients had febrile morbidity. There were no cases of conversion to abdominal procedure. All the surgeries were done by the consultants. Vaginal hysterectomy was safe and associated with minimal morbidity to the patient. The only indication was uterovaginal prolapse and all the procedures were done by the consultants. There is need to transfer the skill to the Residents.
ISSN:1115-2613
2667-0526
1115-2613
DOI:10.4314/njm.v19i3.60228