Effects of Electrosurgery and Vaginal Closure Technique on Postoperative Vaginal Cuff Dehiscence

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES The aim of our study is to evaluate the role of electrosurgery and vaginal closure technique in the development of postoperative vaginal cuff dehiscence. METHODS From prospective surgical databases, we identified 463 patients who underwent total laparoscopic hysterectomy (TLH) for benign disease and 147 patients who underwent laparoscopic-assisted vaginal hysterectomy (LAVH) for cancer. All TLHs and LAVHs were performed entirely by use of electrosurgery, including colpotomy. Colpotomy in the TLH group was performed with Harmonic Ace Curved Shears (Ethicon Endo-Surgery, Cincinnati, OH, USA), and in the LAVH group, it was performed with a monopolar electrosurgical pencil. The main surgical difference was vaginal cuff closure--laparoscopically in the TLH group and vaginally in the LAVH group. RESULTS Although patients in the LAVH group were at increased risk for poor healing (significantly older, higher body mass index, more medical comorbidities, higher blood loss, and longer operative time), there were no vaginal cuff dehiscences in the LAVH group compared with 17 vaginal cuff dehiscences (4%) in the TLH group (P = .02). CONCLUSION It does not appear that the increased vaginal cuff dehiscence rate associated with TLH is due to electrosurgery; rather, it is due to the vaginal closure technique.